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What It Takes to Give a Great Presentation

  • Carmine Gallo

what are the 4 key elements of presentation

Five tips to set yourself apart.

Never underestimate the power of great communication. It can help you land the job of your dreams, attract investors to back your idea, or elevate your stature within your organization. But while there are plenty of good speakers in the world, you can set yourself apart out by being the person who can deliver something great over and over. Here are a few tips for business professionals who want to move from being good speakers to great ones: be concise (the fewer words, the better); never use bullet points (photos and images paired together are more memorable); don’t underestimate the power of your voice (raise and lower it for emphasis); give your audience something extra (unexpected moments will grab their attention); rehearse (the best speakers are the best because they practice — a lot).

I was sitting across the table from a Silicon Valley CEO who had pioneered a technology that touches many of our lives — the flash memory that stores data on smartphones, digital cameras, and computers. He was a frequent guest on CNBC and had been delivering business presentations for at least 20 years before we met. And yet, the CEO wanted to sharpen his public speaking skills.

what are the 4 key elements of presentation

  • Carmine Gallo is a Harvard University instructor, keynote speaker, and author of 10 books translated into 40 languages. Gallo is the author of The Bezos Blueprint: Communication Secrets of the World’s Greatest Salesman  (St. Martin’s Press).

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4 Keys to Great Presentation Design

Presentations are a great way to educate others about a new idea, or persuade an audience that your opinion is the right one. They are effective tools for communicating with large groups of people; it’s one thing to communicate your thoughts on a new project to your coworker, and quite another when you are talking to your whole department.

Seventy-four percent of respondents to the 2017 Annoying Presentation Survey stated that they were seeing about two presentations created in Microsoft’s PowerPoint per week. That’s roughly 104 presentations a year! How can a presenter ensure their audience retains the information they worked so hard to collect?

what are the 4 key elements of presentation

There are four keys that will help your audience follow along and remember your presentation: content , audience , structure , and consistency .

Choose your content

When developing a presentation, the first thing to do is decide on what you’re presenting. Choose a single subject; by focusing on a small amount of information, you won’t overwhelm your audience. This also gives them the time and opportunity to really understand the position or reasoning on why you are giving a presentation in the first place. 

Start by creating a high-level outline that captures three main ideas about the topic you are presenting on. At this stage, you don’t have to get too into the weeds on what your presentation will include; just sketch out the idea and some supporting statements. This information can later inform what topics to include or ignore, visuals, and, in the end, how many slides you’re aiming for.

Do note that many people often say “less is more” when it comes to the number of slides in a presentation. There is an oft-cited myth that humans have a limited attention span thanks to technology—this is false! You will not lose your audience’s attention because they are unable to focus; you will lose their attention because you have a boring or confusing presentation.

By knowing your message, you’ll be able to create a powerful presentation that focuses on the essentials.

Understand your audience

People change their way of speaking when talking with a child versus when talking with an adult. It’s the same in the workplace; you might be more informal with a coworker with whom you are close. Then you would speak another way with your boss or the company’s CEO.

what are the 4 key elements of presentation

Taking some time to think about how your audience will react to the information tells you how it should be presented. If your audience is brand new to the subject, you might want to take some time discussing background information. Let’s walk through an example: talking to a group of executives about web design . They will probably be unfamiliar with UI/UX, back end versus front end, or what a server is. Educating them about these terms can help support an argument that spending more time on the UX will result in more sales simply because your audience understands you.

If you were to give the same presentation to a group of web designers, you’ll probably bore them to death, and instantly have all eyes dropping to phone screens the moment you reveal your cover slide. Understanding your audience will tell you what areas are of most importance and should have some of your valuable presentation time. It will also tell you what is unimportant and should not be included in a presentation.

Develop the structure

Once you know the what and how, you can plan out your presentation. This is where you decide what content will go on each slide, in what order. Some good rules of thumb:

One idea, one slide

Keep the content of each slide focused on a single idea that supports the subject you’re discussing. This information should be straightforward and easily summarized by a visual. More information has the potential to easily become too much text, which can become a problem of its own. One big complaint mentioned in the 2017 Annoying Presentation Survey was that presenters often ended up simply reading their own slides. When that happens, you know the presentation should have been an email.

Cut down on the text

Continuing the same thought from above, less text means there’s less of a chance that your audience will become overwhelmed and mentally check out, constantly looking at their watch for when your presentation will end. Trying to include too many thoughts on one slide is the fastest way to intimidate and scare away your audience. Keep it simple, and keep it focused.

Clear is more

As we said before, don’t concentrate on keeping the number of slides in your presentation to a minimum; use as many slides as are needed to fully explain the idea. A good rule to work by is one slide per minute you have to present in; so if you have 30 minutes, use 30 slides. The important thing to focus on is ensuring your slides themselves do not overwhelm the audience with content.

Provide a map

One great way to keep your audience focused on your presentation is to tell them where you all are within the presentation. This can be done with slides that are structured like a document’s table of contents, or a high-level agenda. They can be placed between sections to show what has come before, and what’s still to come; or they can be included in the design of the slides themselves, such as in a header or footer on the slide. 

what are the 4 key elements of presentation

This way, if you do end up having a presentation with a lot of slides, your audience won’t be staring at the ceiling; they’ll be staring at your presentation, curious about where all of this is leading.

Visuals, visuals, visuals

You know that saying that a picture is worth a thousand words? It might be a cliché at this point, but that doesn’t make it any less true. Visuals can say a lot in just one glance that would otherwise take readers some time to understand. And when you know your topic, you can create really impactful visuals—whether using charts, icons, or graphics, you can bring your presentation to life and wow your audience with something beautiful to look at. 

One such tool that can be extremely effective in creating striking visuals is an image background remover. This can be used to  isolate the subject of a picture , thereby removing any distractions within the frame. By doing so, you simplify the image and draw attention to the part that truly matters. This can be particularly useful when you're trying to highlight or emphasize a certain point in your presentation.

Be consistent

One of the most important things in the presentation development process is creating a presentation theme that is consistent. When your slides vary in size, display, or structure, audiences can become confused or distracted, which means they’re not paying attention to your message. You can create a consistent theme by doing the following:

Choose a color scheme

Choosing a good color scheme might be one of the most important parts of developing a good presentation, right under understanding your content and your audience. Differing colors are a great way to draw your audience’s attention, and incite particular emotions when discussing different ideas. However, this doesn’t mean you should use whatever color strikes your fancy all at the same time. Choose a handful of colors for a particular and impactful color scheme. 

Colors should be complementary, and draw the eye to particular parts of the screen that you want your audience to pay attention to. Choose your colors purposefully! And if the text will sit on top of a particular color, ensure that the two don’t cancel each other out. You want colors that work together that still allow text to be read and ideas understood.

Use readable fonts

Picking a great font is very important; aside from visuals, text is the other way you’re going to get your message across. There are two types of fonts: serif and sans-serif. Serif fonts have small, decorative flourishes, whereas the sans-serif fonts do not (thus, “sans” serif, or without). 

Choose a font family that is easy to read; san-serif fonts are typically easier to read when it comes to presentations and digital content because of the dots per inch (DPI). Printed works have 300 DPI, whereas computer monitors typically have 100 DPI. This makes serif characters more difficult to read because of their complex shape. 

Sans serif font:                 

The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Over The Lazy Dog  

Serif font:

The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Over The Lazy Dog

Some of the most popular sans-serif fonts are Helvetica, Verdana, and Arial.

Stick with the same layout

The way content is structured on a page is often called a grid, frame, or layout. When developing your presentation, it’s good to use consistent layouts for the same kind of slides. For example, use one type of layout for the cover slide; keep all section intro slides consistent; and all content slides consistent. This way, your audience knows where to look, what information is important, and can follow along easily as you present. If your audience is constantly searching for pertinent information on the slide in front of them, that means they’re not listening to you talk!

what are the 4 key elements of presentation

Cheat Sheet for a Good Presentation

Creating a compelling and engaging presentation requires careful planning and design. To assist in this process, we've compiled a "cheat sheet" for good presentation design, which includes three essential tables.

The first table outlines the ideal content structure, from the introduction to the conclusion, ensuring your narrative is clear and engaging.

The second table emphasizes the presentation skills that every presenter should hone, such as clarity, confidence, and time management.

Lastly, the third table offers guidance on visual elements, such as slide design, use of images, and font and color choices. Utilizing this cheat sheet will help guide your presentation design, helping you create a visually appealing, well-structured, and engaging presentation that effectively communicates your message.

Content Structure:

Presentation Skills:

Visual Elements:

Let’s wrap up

As you can see, a lot of work goes into a good presentation. There are many factors to consider to ensure your message is being heard loud and clear. But don’t feel overwhelmed! Most of these steps build on one another, like how picking one topic to focus on and understanding your audience tells you how to structure and present your material. 

Once you’ve got it all together, the best thing to do is go through the material with a dry run. By practicing, you’re making sure that you’re not missing any gaps or have accidentally left in any unnecessary material. It also makes sure that you know your presentation; this helps you avoid reading off the slides, and can help abate presentation anxiety. 

Making a presentation is more than just slapping a few slides together, but with Softjourn’s tips about presentation structure and design, you too can create a stellar presentation. Let us know in the comments which you found most helpful, or add your own ideas! 

Softjourn Accredited Company on DesignRush

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Self-Assessment • 18 min read

How Good Are Your Presentation Skills?

Understanding your impact.

By the Mind Tools Content Team

what are the 4 key elements of presentation

How do you feel when you have to make a presentation? Are you well prepared and relaxed, confident that your performance will have the desired impact on your audience? new score

Or is the thought of standing on a podium, holding a microphone, enough to give you stage fright?

Enjoy it or not, presenting – in some form – is usually a part of business. Whether you get up in front of formal audiences on a regular basis, or you simply have to make your voice heard in a meeting, you're using presentation skills.

Many believe that good presenters are born, not made. This is simply not true . Sure, some people are more relaxed and comfortable speaking in front of others – but everyone can learn the skills and techniques they need to increase their level of confidence and performance when presenting.

From sales pitches to training lectures, good presentation and public speaking skills are key to many influential roles in today's business world. The good news about presenting is that you can improve with practice.

So do you have the skills you need to do a good job? And how effective are you when you have to "perform?" Take this short quiz to help you assess your skills.

Instructions

For each statement, click the button in the column that best describes you. Please answer questions as you actually are (rather than how you think you should be), and don't worry if some questions seem to score in the "wrong direction." When you are finished, please click the "Calculate My Total" button at the bottom of the test.

Becoming a Better Presenter

Effective presentations are a mixture of a variety of elements. You have to know what your audience wants. You need to prepare good, interesting, engaging content. You must be confident in presenting the material, you have to know how to manage your environment successfully, and you need to make sure that your message has maximum impact.

Balancing all four elements is no easy task. And, when combined with the natural anxiety often felt before giving presentations, it's no wonder that many people struggle with this skill. In fact, fear of public speaking is extremely common.

However, you don't have to remain fearful and stressed by the thought of giving a presentation. With the right tools and material, along with planning and preparation, you can present with energy and confidence.

Let's now look in detail at those four key elements of effective presentations:

  • Understanding your audience.
  • Preparing your content.
  • Delivering confidently.
  • Controlling the environment.

Understanding Your Audience

(Questions 2, 5, 9)

The success of most presentations is generally judged on how the audience responds. You may think you did a great job, but unless your audience agrees with you, that may not be the case. Before you even begin putting your PowerPoint slides together, the first thing you need to do is understand what your audience wants. Try following these three steps:

Determine who the members of the audience are.

Find out what they want and expect from your presentation. What do they need to learn? Do they have entrenched attitudes or interests that you need to respect? And what do they already know that you don't have to repeat?

Create an outline for your presentation, and ask for advance feedback on your proposed content.

When what you say is what your audience wants or needs to hear, then you'll probably receive positive reinforcement throughout your presentation. If you see nods and smiles, or hear murmurs of agreement, for example, then this will motivate you to keep going and do a great job.

When your audience is satisfied, it doesn't matter if your delivery wasn't absolutely perfect. The primary goal of the people listening to your presentation is to get the information they need. When that happens, you've done a good job. Of course, you want to do a great job, not just a good job – and that's where the rest of the tips can help.

Preparing Your Content

(Questions 6, 11, 13, 14)

The only way to satisfy your audience's needs and expectations is to deliver the content they want. That means understanding what to present, and how to present it. Bear in mind that if you give the right information in the wrong sequence, this may leave the audience confused, frustrated, or bored.

If you provide the information in a well-structured format, and you include various techniques to keep the audience engaged and interested, then they'll probably remember what you said – and they'll remember you.

There are a variety of ways to structure your content, depending on the type of presentation you'll give. Here are some principles that you can apply:

Identify a few key points -  To help the audience retain the messages you're giving them, use the chunking principle to organize your information into five to seven key points.

Don't include every detail -  Good presentations inspire the audience to learn more, and ask further statements to maximize their understanding of the issue.

Use an outline -  At the beginning, tell your audience what you intend to cover, and let them know what to expect. This helps build anticipation and interest from the start.

Start and end strongly -  Capture people's interest as soon as you begin, and leave them with a message they won't forget. It's tempting to put all of your effort into the main body of the presentation. However, if you don't get people's attention at the start, they'll probably lose interest, and not really hear the rest anyway.

Use examples -  Where possible, use lots of examples to support your points. A lecture is often the least interesting and engaging form of presentation. Look for ways to liven things up by telling stories, talking about real-life examples, and using metaphors to engage your audience fully.

A special type of presentation is one that seeks to persuade. Monroe's Motivated Sequence , consisting of five steps, gives you a framework for developing content for this kind of presentation:

1. Get the attention of your audience - Use an interesting 'hook' or opening point, like a shocking statistic. Be provocative and stimulating, not boring or calm.

2. Create a need - Convince the audience there's a problem, explain how it affects them – and persuade them that things need to change.

3. Define your solution - Explain what you think needs to be done.

4. Describe a detailed picture of success (or failure) - Give the audience a vision; something they can see, hear, taste, and touch.

5. Ask the audience to do something right away - Get the audience involved right from the start. Then it's usually much easier to keep them engaged and active in your cause.

To brush up on your skills of persuasion, look at The Rhetorical Triangle . This tool asks you to consider your communication from three perspectives: those of the writer, the audience, and the context. It's a method that builds credibility and ensures that your arguments are logical.

Delivering Confidently

(Questions 1, 4, 7, 10)

Even the best content can be ineffective if your presentation style contradicts or detracts from your message. Many people are nervous when they present, so this will probably affect their delivery. But it's the major distractions that you want to avoid. As you build confidence, you can gradually eliminate the small and unconstructive habits you may have. These tips may help you:

Practice to build confidence – Some people think that if you practice too much, your speech will sound rehearsed and less genuine. Don't necessarily memorize your presentation, but be so familiar with the content that you're able to speak fluently and comfortably, and adjust as necessary.

Be flexible – This is easier to do if you're comfortable with the material. Don't attempt to present something you just learned the previous night. You want to know your material well enough to answer statements. And, if you don't know something, just admit it, and commit to finding the answer.

Welcome statements from the audience – This is a sign that a presenter knows what he or she is talking about. It builds audience confidence, and people are much more likely to trust what you say, and respect your message.

Use slides and other visual aids – These can help you deliver a confident presentation. The key point here is to learn how much visual information to give the audience, and yet not distract them from what you're saying.

Keep your visuals simple and brief – Don't use too many pictures, charts, or graphs. Your slides should summarize or draw attention to one or two items each. And don't try to fit your whole presentation onto your slides. If the slides cover every single detail, then you've probably put too much information on them. Slides should give the overall message, and then the audience should know where to look for supporting evidence. Manage your stress – Confidence has a lot to do with managing your stress levels. If you feel particularly nervous and anxious, then those emotions will probably show. They're such strong feelings that you can easily become overwhelmed, which can affect your ability to perform effectively. A little nervousness is useful because it can build energy. But that energy may quickly turn negative if nerves build to the point where you can't control them.

If you have anxiety before a presentation, try some of these stress management tools:

Use physical relaxation techniques , like deep breathing and visualization, to calm your body and ease your tension.

Use imagery to help keep calm, and visualize yourself delivering a successful presentation.

Learn strategies to build your self-confidence in general. The more assured you are about yourself and your abilities, the better you'll feel when you get up in front of people, and say what you want to say.

When you present with confidence and authority, your audience will likely pay attention and react to you as someone who's worth listening to. So "pretend" if you need to, by turning your nervousness into creative and enthusiastic energy.

For other tips on delivering confidently, see Delivering Great Presentations , Speaking to an Audience , Managing Presentation Nerves , and our Skillbook Even Better Presentations .

Controlling the Environment

(Questions 3, 4, 8, 12)

While much of the outside environment is beyond your control, there are still some things you can do to reduce potential risks to your presentation.

Practice in the presentation room – This forces you to become familiar with the room and the equipment. It will not only build your confidence, but also help you identify sources of risk. Do you have trouble accessing your PowerPoint file? Does the microphone reach the places you want to walk? Can you move the podium? Are there stairs that might cause you to trip? These are the sorts of issues you may discover and resolve by doing one or two practice presentations.

Do your own setup – Don't leave this to other people. Even though you probably want to focus on numerous other details, it's a good idea not to delegate too much of the preparation to others. You need the hands-on experience to make sure nothing disastrous happens at the real event. Test your timing – When you practice, you also improve your chances of keeping to time. You get a good idea how long each part of the presentation will actually take, and this helps you plan how much time you'll have for statements and other audience interactions.

Members of the audience want you to respect their time. If you end your presentation on time or early, this can make a huge, positive impression on them. When speakers go over their allowed time, they may disrupt the whole schedule of the event and/or cause the audience unnecessary inconvenience. Be considerate, and stick to your agenda as closely as possible.

Presenting doesn't have to be scary, or something you seek to avoid. Find opportunities to practice the tips and techniques discussed above, and become more confident in your ability to present your ideas to an audience. We all have something important to say, and sometimes it takes more than a memo or report to communicate it. You owe it to yourself, and your organization, to develop the skills you need to present your ideas clearly, purposefully, engagingly, and confidently.

This assessment has not been validated and is intended for illustrative purposes only. It is just one of many that help you evaluate your abilities in a wide range of important career skills.

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Hello, This was really an excellent overview with concise instructions, using clear communication methods. I found the article to be captivating and poignant. Thank You

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Oral Presentations

Presentation basics, key elements of good presentations.

what are the 4 key elements of presentation

There are three key elements of good presentations: Content, Organization, Delivery.  Your audience needs interesting and appropriate content in order to pay attention, especially at the start of a presentation.  Logical organization helps retain your audience’s attention – they need to be able to follow your train of thought and predict where you are going with your ideas.  Delivery also is important, as your own engagement with the information helps your audience engage.

Content deals with the substance of your presentation. Your ideas and information should be original and significant.  Use accepted and relevant sources in your research, and reference those sources as needed.  Offer a clear analysis that’s comprehensive and concise at the same time – strive for the right amount of information for your audience’s needs and the allotted presentation time. Make sure that your content is relevant to your audience, so that they understand immediately why they should pay attention to your presentation.

Garr Reynolds, in his book Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery , identifies characteristics of presentation content that create what he calls SUCCES(s): [1]

  • Simplicity – reduce information to key points and essential meanings
  • Unexpectedness – pose questions, offer interesting statistics, “make the audience aware that they have a gap in their knowledge and then fill that gap”
  • Concreteness – use specific language, provide real-life examples
  • Credibility – use sources, facts, statistics to back up your content; deliver information confidently; know your information well
  • Emotions – engage your audience to feel something about your content
  • Stories – use examples and illustrations to create a “story element” to the presentation

Finally, to make your content effective, repeat key information throughout your presentation. A memory research pioneer, German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus, found that we forget approximately 50 percent of new information within 18 minutes, with retention falling to 35 percent after a week. However, Ebbinghaus also discovered that repetition of the new information at key intervals can change this trajectory, a discovery known as the spacing effect. The lesson for presenters: work repetition into your presentation content.

Organization

Good organization requires a clear beginning, middle, and end. Link your ideas logically throughout the presentation to lead to an ending that resolves the problem or summarizes the situation you presented at the start. If you’re presenting based on a formal report or proposal, you may want to follow the order of the longer written document, but you don’t have to; as long as you include main ideas, it’s up to you to determine your presentation’s organization based on your audience and purpose. Strive for clear transitions between individual points, slides, and topics.

what are the 4 key elements of presentation

Delivery involves a range of factors from body language and word choice to vocal variety. A good presenter has a passion for the subject and an ability to convey and perhaps elicit that emotion in the audience. Audience engagement through eye contact, facial expression, gestures, and/or vocal tone contributes to an effective presentation. Delivery also deals with the confidence and professionalism with which you deliver the presentation.  Hesitations, “ums,” and other types of vocal fumbling will distract your audience, while a clear, confident presentation helps to engage them.

Content, organization, and delivery work together and are equally important aspects of presentations.

The following two videos provide basic tips for creating effective presentations in terms of content, organization, and delivery.  As you view them, consider their similarity of information and dissimilarity in presentation style. What can you infer about the presenter and intended audience of each presentation?  Which video resonates more fully with you personally, and why?  In terms of conveying information to a general audience, which video do you think is most effective, and why?

Planning Presentations

As you can see based on the video examples, presentations always require a situational analysis in the planning stage.  Identify your audience, purpose, context, and all of the communication variables that you need to consider in order to make choices that will result in an effective presentation for your purpose and audience. For example, your purpose – the one, main idea that you want to convey through your presentation – can influence your content, organization, delivery, and overall approach.  Identifying your audience can help you with what may be the most critical aspect of your presentation, making your information relevant to your audience.  Analyzing communication variables for your presentation also will help you determine if you need supplemental materials or handouts, how to arrange a room for an in-person presentation, how best to structure a virtual presentation, and more.

Even if you are creating a presentation based on a formal report or proposal for which you have already done a situational analysis, do another situational analysis for your presentation, as your audience, organization, language, and overall approach may differ based on the different communication mode.

Planning Online Presentations

In addition to doing a situational analysis, online presentations may require some additional planning time in terms of how you present information.  A real-time, in-person audience may pay attention to your presentation simply because you are present, and you may be able to adapt your presentation to audience reaction.  However, it’s more difficult to capture the attention of a virtual audience, either real-time or asynchronous, so online presentations need to be thought through very deliberately in terms of their content, organization, look, and approach.

The following video, while written for online instructors, nonetheless offers important points to consider for any type of virtual, online presentation.

Understanding Presentation Audiences

Audiences are egocentric, meaning that they operate under the principle of WIIFM: what’s in it for them. Don’t expect your audience to meet you where you are; meet them where they are and then take them where you want to go together. According to Lucas, audiences “pay closest attention to messages that affect their own values, beliefs, and well being. Listeners approach speeches with one question uppermost in mind: ‘Why is this important to me?’ … What do these psychological principles mean to you as a speaker?  First, they mean that your listeners will hear and judge what you say on the basis of what they already know and believe.  Second, they mean you must relate your message to your listeners–show how it pertains to them, explain why they should care about it as much as you do.” [2]

Also, audiences have relatively short attention spans, and often decide whether or not to give you their attention within the first minute or so of a presentation. Various research studies indicate a five – twenty minute attention span for any type of presentation (note that results of studies vary). An article titled “ Neuroscience Proves You Should Follow TED’s 18-Minute Rule to Win Your Pitch ” discusses the concept of “cognitve backlog,” or the idea that the more information you provide, the more information your audience will tune out and not remember. [3]

what are the 4 key elements of presentation

These audience characteristics lay the groundwork for presentation strategies identified in the videos, strategies such as starting with and continuing a story, engaging attention with an interesting statistic, and more.  The point to remember is that you need to make conscious, reasoned decisions about ways to engage your audience.  Keeping audience attention span and egocentrism in mind, strive for the following presentation basics:

  • Conciseness
  • Connection with audience

Expectations for Presentations

The 10/20/30 rule, generally attributed to venture capitalist Guy Kawasaki, is a good guideline to help you achieve a “just right” balance in your presentations. Geared for entrepreneurs pitching their business, his advice is a discipline that would improve the quality—and, effectiveness—of most presentations. In brief, 10/20/30 translates to a maximum of 10 slides, a maximum of 20 minutes and a minimum of 30 point font. [4]

A visual representation of the 10/20/30 rule as described in the text.

While this rule is a good starting point, it does not overrule your audience analysis or understanding of your purpose. Sometimes, you may need more slides or have a more involved purpose—like training people in new software or presenting the results of a research study—that takes more than 30 minutes to address. In that case, go with what your audience needs and what will make your presentation most effective. The concept behind the 10/20/30 rule—to make new learning easy for your audience to take in, process and remember—should still be your guide even if you don’t follow the rule exactly.

One last way to gauge presentations is to consider most audiences’ expectations for good presentations:

  • main ideas are compelling and relevant
  • information is organized with a clear beginning, middle, and end; audience can follow where the ideas are leading
  • delivery shows the presenter’s enthusiasm and engagement
  • visuals apply good design practices
  • presentation length is appropriate for audience, purpose, and context

The following video summarizes characteristics that create effective presentations.

[1] Reynolds, Garr. (2012) Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery. 2nd ed. New Riders, Pearson Education. Information from pages 78- 81. http://ptgmedia.pearsoncmg.com/images/9780321811981/samplepages/0321811984.pdf

[2] Lucas, Stephen E. (2020) The Art of Public Speaking (13th edition).

[3]  Gallo, Carmine. “Neuroscience  Proves You Should Follow TED’s 18-Minute Rule to Win Your Pitch.”   Inc. ,  https://www.inc.com/theupsstore/small-biz-ings.html

[4] Kawasaki, Guy.  The 10/20/30 Rule of PowerPoint . December 2005.  ↵

  • Presentation Basics, original material and material adapted from Business Communication Skills for Managers, see attributions below. Authored by : Susan Oaks. Project : Communications for Professionals. License : CC BY-NC: Attribution-NonCommercial
  • Making a Presentation for a Meeting. Authored by : Nina Burokas. Provided by : Lumen Learning. Located at : https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wmopen-businesscommunicationmgrs/chapter/making-a-presentation-for-a-meeting/ . Project : Business Communication Skills for Managers. License : CC BY: Attribution
  • image of professional making a presentation. Authored by : rawpixel. Provided by : Pixabay. Located at : https://pixabay.com/photos/agreement-brainstorming-business-3408113/ . License : CC0: No Rights Reserved
  • video Create an Effective Business Presentation. Authored by : Nick Morgan. Provided by : Harvard Business Review. Located at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTRt0zkD73M . License : Other . License Terms : YouTube video
  • video How to Give a Great Presentation - 7 Presentation Skills and Tips to Leave an Impression. Provided by : Practical Psychology. Located at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnIPpUiTcRc . License : Other . License Terms : YouTube video
  • video Teaching Tip: Designing Online Lectures and Recorded Presentations. Authored by : Greg Steinke and Jill Zimmerman. Provided by : CCAPS Teaching Tips, University of Minnesota. Located at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCAaRZJFJAU . License : Other . License Terms : YouTube video
  • image of businesswoman presenting to an audience. Authored by : rawpixel. Provided by : Pixabay. Located at : https://pixabay.com/photos/analyzing-audience-board-3565815/ . License : CC0: No Rights Reserved
  • Visual Aids. Authored by : Nina Burokas. Provided by : Lumen Learning. Located at : https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wmopen-businesscommunicationmgrs/chapter/visual-aids/ . Project : Business Communication Skills for Managers. License : CC BY: Attribution
  • video Five Simple Rules for Creating World Changing Presentations. Authored by : Nancy Duarte. Provided by : Duarte Inc.. Located at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hT9GGmundag . License : Other . License Terms : YouTube video

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The formal presentation of information is divided into two broad categories: Presentation Skills and Personal Presentation .

These two aspects are interwoven and can be described as the preparation, presentation and practice of verbal and non-verbal communication. 

This article describes what a presentation is and defines some of the key terms associated with presentation skills.

Many people feel terrified when asked to make their first public talk.  Some of these initial fears can be reduced by good preparation that also lays the groundwork for making an effective presentation.

A Presentation Is...

A presentation is a means of communication that can be adapted to various speaking situations, such as talking to a group, addressing a meeting or briefing a team.

A presentation can also be used as a broad term that encompasses other ‘speaking engagements’ such as making a speech at a wedding, or getting a point across in a video conference.

To be effective, step-by-step preparation and the method and means of presenting the information should be carefully considered. 

A presentation requires you to get a message across to the listeners and will often contain a ' persuasive ' element. It may, for example, be a talk about the positive work of your organisation, what you could offer an employer, or why you should receive additional funding for a project.

The Key Elements of a Presentation

Making a presentation is a way of communicating your thoughts and ideas to an audience and many of our articles on communication are also relevant here, see: What is Communication? for more.

Consider the following key components of a presentation:

Ask yourself the following questions to develop a full understanding of the context of the presentation.

When and where will you deliver your presentation?

There is a world of difference between a small room with natural light and an informal setting, and a huge lecture room, lit with stage lights. The two require quite different presentations, and different techniques.

Will it be in a setting you are familiar with, or somewhere new?

If somewhere new, it would be worth trying to visit it in advance, or at least arriving early, to familiarise yourself with the room.

Will the presentation be within a formal or less formal setting?

A work setting will, more or less by definition, be more formal, but there are also various degrees of formality within that.

Will the presentation be to a small group or a large crowd?

Are you already familiar with the audience?

With a new audience, you will have to build rapport quickly and effectively, to get them on your side.

What equipment and technology will be available to you, and what will you be expected to use?

In particular, you will need to ask about microphones and whether you will be expected to stand in one place, or move around.

What is the audience expecting to learn from you and your presentation?

Check how you will be ‘billed’ to give you clues as to what information needs to be included in your presentation.

All these aspects will change the presentation. For more on this, see our page on Deciding the Presentation Method .

The role of the presenter is to communicate with the audience and control the presentation.

Remember, though, that this may also include handing over the control to your audience, especially if you want some kind of interaction.

You may wish to have a look at our page on Facilitation Skills for more.

The audience receives the presenter’s message(s).

However, this reception will be filtered through and affected by such things as the listener’s own experience, knowledge and personal sense of values.

See our page: Barriers to Effective Communication to learn why communication can fail.

The message or messages are delivered by the presenter to the audience.

The message is delivered not just by the spoken word ( verbal communication ) but can be augmented by techniques such as voice projection, body language, gestures, eye contact ( non-verbal communication ), and visual aids.

The message will also be affected by the audience’s expectations. For example, if you have been billed as speaking on one particular topic, and you choose to speak on another, the audience is unlikely to take your message on board even if you present very well . They will judge your presentation a failure, because you have not met their expectations.

The audience’s reaction and therefore the success of the presentation will largely depend upon whether you, as presenter, effectively communicated your message, and whether it met their expectations.

As a presenter, you don’t control the audience’s expectations. What you can do is find out what they have been told about you by the conference organisers, and what they are expecting to hear. Only if you know that can you be confident of delivering something that will meet expectations.

See our page: Effective Speaking for more information.

How will the presentation be delivered?

Presentations are usually delivered direct to an audience.  However, there may be occasions where they are delivered from a distance over the Internet using video conferencing systems, such as Skype.

It is also important to remember that if your talk is recorded and posted on the internet, then people may be able to access it for several years. This will mean that your contemporaneous references should be kept to a minimum.

Impediments

Many factors can influence the effectiveness of how your message is communicated to the audience.

For example background noise or other distractions, an overly warm or cool room, or the time of day and state of audience alertness can all influence your audience’s level of concentration.

As presenter, you have to be prepared to cope with any such problems and try to keep your audience focussed on your message.   

Our page: Barriers to Communication explains these factors in more depth.

Continue to read through our Presentation Skills articles for an overview of how to prepare and structure a presentation, and how to manage notes and/or illustrations at any speaking event.

Continue to: Preparing for a Presentation Deciding the Presentation Method

See also: Writing Your Presentation | Working with Visual Aids Coping with Presentation Nerves | Dealing with Questions Learn Better Presentation Skills with TED Talks

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Elements of a Great Presentation

The 10 Key Elements of a Great Presentation Explained

Whether we’re at a team meeting or making a presentation for an audience, we all have to speak in public once in a while. 

We can do it well, or we can do it badly, but one thing is sure: the result will affect what other people will think about us.

That’s why public speaking causes so much anxiety and worry; the good news is that with preparation, practice, and other techniques, you will overcome your nervousness and perform exceptionally well! In this article, you will learn which elements make an excellent presentation.

The 10 Key Elements of a Great Presentation

We all want to make a good impression, build rapport, and ace any presentations that we do at work or when speaking in front of others in general. Some are great at it, and those who fail at it for the lack of proper guidance and experience, or worse, never even try to do it due to fear.

The question that arises then is…

What are the elements of a good presentation? 

The 10 key elements of a GREAT presentation a 1. PREPARATION AND PLANNING 

Before getting into a strong presentation opening, the overall delivery techniques to keep the audience engaged and so on, we have got to talk about Planning. In order for a Great presentation to come to be, there needs to be serious planning for it (like many things in life).  

Unless, of course, you’re making an impromptu speech , then that is a different story, and you can learn more about how to successfully deliver those here .

What are the key aspects of Planning a Great Presentation?

  • Get to know Your Audience
  • Select a Relatable Topic
  • Plan the Delivery from Beginning to the End
  • Write down a simple speech outline
  • Get some interesting Quotes and Stories ready
  • Rehearse and Rehearse some more!
  • Finish under 10% below the Real Presentation allotted time
  • Familiarize with the venue
  • Arrive early and test all the tech before starting the delivery

2. THE DEBUT AND OPENING

A successful entry will give you energy, a good connection with the audience, and establish your presence on stage.

Most presentations are often determined by the quality of how they begin; hardly an audience will be interested in what you have to say if a negative image is already created in their head.

Start big and make your mark! Before entering the stage, you will be backstage, seated in the back of the stage or at the foot of it.

As soon as your turn arrives, enter the stage by walking with a determined step, neither too soft nor too fast, make eye contact with the audience as soon as possible ( keep on reading, and we will explain to you why this is crucial ).

To deliver the presentation, we advise you to move to the center of the stage, take your support and count to three before you start talking.

3. SHARE VALUABLE INFORMATION

The first thing that will guarantee you to make a good presentation is the choice of material: talk about what you know, so much so that you’re comfortable talking about it.!

To prepare your presentation, make a list of some ideas; they must be in a few words and be logically linked: it is the structure of your outline that you must know by heart.

Each of these points must be simple enough to be dealt with in less than ten minutes; too long a development would make you lose attention.

When you hold your structure, you can work on transitions. These are key moments where you release the audience and mobilize their attention again for the next part.

what are the 4 key elements of presentation

4. PRESENTATION STYLE

There are many ways to tell your story. Some people, primarily if they are not used to speaking in public, prefer to write a text and read it aloud; others prefer to make a list of things they want to talk about.

Finally, some people who speak in public do not need notes to make their presentations. 

Choose the style that suits you best, and you will probably notice that your presentation style will change over time or depending on the audience you are speaking to.

If you want to learn more, we have an interesting piece on the different methods of speech delivery . Check it out, it should prove helpful in deciding your approach.

5. GOOD ARTICULATION OF IDEAS

A good speaker must have several qualities, which you will develop as you make presentations; in addition to conveying your message, you need to showcase yourself. Show the public that you are confident – even if you are not entirely convinced.

Being an excellent speaker requires having some degree of knowledge of the topic of discussion, it is not helpful to not have anything to say; this is why we always advise starting by identifying the key message.

Be aware of the words you use and make sure they are appropriate for your audience. For example, if you talk to young people, use words they understand.

Use terms that will attract their attention based on their interests; whatever you say, be yourself, and don’t use slang or jargon if you don’t know the meaning. 

6. ENGAGE THE AUDIENCE WITH COMPELLING STORYTELLING 

Telling a story is much catchier and can be very visual and engaging to the audience when it comes to delivering the message and engaging the audience.

There are several ways to do this, but none draws so much attention to the public and creates future memories, such as using a good story. 

Inserting experiences, facts, and anecdotes will make the whole thing more personal, appeal to each listener, and make it easier to remember your message more.

According to the book “Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive, and Others Die,” in a speech, only one in ten students counts one.

It is curious to note that after the end of the speech, about 63% of the public say they remember the stories told. It seems so obvious this is a great way to create an impactful presentation.

7. CONTENT OF THE PRESENTATION 

Be sure to highlight the three key ideas you want to share; these ideas will be the thread of your presentation and will prevent you from getting lost along the way.

The simpler and clearer they are, the better. The same goes for the visual support, and we hope it is user-friendly without it becoming a distraction to what you have to say. Less is more; that is the rule.

In video conferencing, the same approach applies; opt for a simple presentation, with moments for your audience to ask questions. 

If you need to submit complex charts, you can also send them in advance to avoid losing your audience’s attention.

8. VISUAL CONTACT

One of the most common mistakes is to address everyone as a group; the best way to hook an audience is to look at people individually and face-to-face, and spend 3-5 seconds talking to each one of them, as you shift to a different sentence or idea.

If you have a videoconference, choose to look at the virtual eyes and try to look at the camera rather than yourself; this way, you will not give the impression of looking elsewhere.

If it intimidates you, we look for an open and benevolent gaze in the audience to which we can return whenever the nervousness takes over.

In a video conference, you can hang a picture of a person you are comfortable with above your camera and pretend to present it to that person to look in the right place. Although, some people may see through this trick.

9. BODY LANGUAGE 

Good body language will give you comfort on stage and reinforce the critical passages of your speech; the gestures are much simpler than they seem.

A good body language also is natural, open, and expressive. Natural, because it corresponds to your style. If you are rather expansive, you can make significant and many gestures.

Each gesture has a meaning, so if you try to adapt some motion that doesn’t correspond to your natural communication style, it can be noticed, and everything may seem forced.

We will explain how to practice the gestures, but before that, let us list some gestures to avoid:

  • Putting one or two hands in the pockets gives an impression of disregard, of flippancy;
  • Contrary to a common myth, keeping your arms crossed does not mean that you have a closed attitude; it is usually just a comfortable position and may sound a bit informal.
  • Having the arms behind the back this is a position indicating a certain discomfort on the part of the speaker;
  • Finger-pointing (regardless of a finger): This is a gesture that is considered coarse or inappropriate in many cultures;
  • If you want to show a direction, it is better to do it by extending the whole hand, using an image, or verbally.

10. STRESS MANAGEMENT (Keeping Fear in Check) 

Public speaking is one of the most feared activities, as it leaves us very vulnerable to the sometimes unpredictable reactions of the public.

Fortunately, there are different methods to manage this stress; we are all different, and what works for one person does not necessarily work for another. 

For example, some people will use meditation to relax before delivering a presentation, or in other situations, they get anxious or nervous. In contrast, for others, it will only increase their stress.

However, fundamentally, the root causes are almost the same for everyone:

A. The fear of facing judgment and the eyes of the public, this fear can also derive from fear of failure;

B. The fear of the unknown, the impossibility of controlling the future, generates anguish of sometimes unbearable waiting.

To combat these two causes, there are many methods. I will list a few here:

  • Repeat to yourself the content until you know you know it. Lack of preparation is one of the significant causes of stress and one of the reasons why people choose reading notes;
  • Stay in the present moment by counting each time you inhale and exhale to avoid building disaster scenarios or worrying about the future;
  • Treat the content like a casual conversation you will relate your friends in so it will be easier for you to remember without anxiety because it’s familiar.
  • Do not assume that you don’t know enough, teach what you know, and endeavor to keep learning about what you don’t know. One sentence of what you know today could very well change the life of one or more people in your audience.

9 Basic Elements of a Great Persuasive Speech

9 Basic Elements of a Great Persuasive Speech

As human beings, we commonly face debates, sales pitch, or even casual conversations, where we discuss with an audience (that can be familiar or not) about a subject that we want to convince, to think in a similar or same perspective that we do. If we are playing the speaker role, we need to bring…

11 Best Body Language Tips For Engaging Presentations (#11 is Underrated)

11 Best Body Language Tips For Engaging Presentations (#11 is Underrated)

Growing up, we were always taught how we should have manners while talking to others and that there were some things we could not do in front of people like sprawling or even putting our elbows on the table while eating because it was rude. In the examples above, the rudeness comes from gestures, not…

The 7 Basic Elements of Public Speaking

The 7 Basic Elements of Public Speaking

Remember that time you had to present a topic in front of a crowd? Probably it was a proposal at work or an oral report in grade school. You took the time to prepare and gather materials, after which you climbed the podium and started talking. There are seven basic elements of public speaking that…

Conclusion 

Public speaking is an area where we progress with each experience; your presentation will never be perfect, especially if it is the first one. Embrace it and be authentic.

Reference and Further Reading

AcethePresentation. 7 Basic Elements of Public Speaking.

AcethePresentation. How to Stand Out In a Presentation.

Inc. 6 Key Elements of a Great Presentation.

Seawater Foundation. 9 Elements of Great Presentations.

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Watch CBS News

4 Elements of a Powerful Presentation

By Dave Johnson

Updated on: March 10, 2010 / 11:53 AM EST / MoneyWatch

Here are four elements you should consider building into any visuals you bring into the conference room or auditorium.

Of course, no presentation has to include PowerPoint slides. You might choose to go solo, or use an alternative solution like the breathtaking, elegant Prezi . But Productivity 501 recently summarized four elements of a powerful presentation. Here are the highlights:

Focus the audience's attention . Your visuals should focus attention on what you're saying, not distract from it. Consider clean, minimalist slides with little clutter and simple backgrounds. Don't distract with animations, busy headers and footers, and other visual debris.

Be terse . Likewise, the fewer the words, the better. Use bullets, not paragraphs, and let the text compliment and summarize your points. Let the slides emphasize your main points -- they don't have to reiterate everything you're saying.

Use images smartly . A picture is worth a thousand words, so you can sometimes use an image to replace a slide full of text.

Anchor the audience in your presentation . If people don't know where you are and how much time is left, they can get frustrated and distracted. Keep the audience informed about where you are in the presentation. You can do that by showing an outline of your presentation up front, and then keeping everyone informed about where you are as you progress.

Of course, Rick suggests killing PowerPoint entirely .

dave-johnson220x140.jpg

View all articles by Dave Johnson on CBS MoneyWatch » Dave Johnson is editor of eHow Tech and author of three dozen books, including the best-selling How to Do Everything with Your Digital Camera . Dave has previously worked at Microsoft and has written about technology for a long list of magazines that include PC World and Wired .

More from CBS News

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Blog Beginner Guides

How To Make a Good Presentation [A Complete Guide]

By Krystle Wong , Jul 20, 2023

How to make a good presentation

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

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

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

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

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

Click to jump ahead:

What are the 10 qualities of a good presentation?

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

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

1. Clear structure

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

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

what are the 4 key elements of presentation

2. Engaging opening

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

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

3. Relevant content

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

4. Effective visual aids

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

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

what are the 4 key elements of presentation

5. Clear and concise communication

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

6. Engaging delivery

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

7. Interaction and audience engagement

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

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

what are the 4 key elements of presentation

8. Effective storytelling

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

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

9. Well-timed pacing

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

10. Strong conclusion

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

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

Peloton Pitch Deck - Conclusion

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

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

1. Understand the audience and their needs

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

2. Conduct thorough research on the topic

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

3. Organize the content with a clear structure

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

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

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

what are the 4 key elements of presentation

4. Develop visually appealing and supportive visual aids

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

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

5. Practice, practice and practice

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

6. Seek feedback and make necessary adjustments

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

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

Venngage Real Time Collaboration

7. Prepare for potential technical or logistical issues

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

8. Fine-tune and polish your presentation

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

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

what are the 4 key elements of presentation

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

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

1. Confidence and positive body language

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

2. Eye contact with the audience

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

3. Effective use of hand gestures and movement

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

4. Utilize storytelling techniques

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

what are the 4 key elements of presentation

5. Incorporate multimedia elements

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

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

6. Utilize humor strategically

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

7. Practice active listening and respond to feedback

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

what are the 4 key elements of presentation

8. Apply the 10-20-30 rule

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

9. Implement the 5-5-5 rule

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

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

what are the 4 key elements of presentation

1. How to start a presentation?

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

2. How to end a presentation?

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

3. How to make a presentation interactive?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Blog > How to structure a good PowerPoint Presentation

How to structure a good PowerPoint Presentation

08.09.21   •  #powerpoint #tips.

When creating presentations, it is particularly important that they are well organized and have a consistent structure.

A logical structure helps the audience to follow you and to remember the core information as best as possible. It is also important for the presenter, as a good presentation structure helps to keep calm, to stay on the topic and to avoid awkward pauses.

But what does such a structure actually look like? Here we show you how to best organize your presentation and what a good structure looks like.

Plan your presentation

Before you start creating your presentation, you should always brainstorm. Think about the topic and write all your ideas down. Then think about the message you want to communicate, what your goal is and what you want your audience to remember at the end.

Think about who your audience is so that you can address them in the best possible way. One possibility is to start your presentation with a few polls to get to know your audience better. Based on the results, you can then adapt your presentation a little. Use the poll function of SlideLizard and have all the answers at a glance. SlideLizard makes it possible to integrate the polls directly into your PowerPoint presentation which helps you to avoid annoying switching between presentation and interaction tool. You can keep an eye on the results while the votes come in and then decide whether you want to share them or not.

Ask your audience questions with SlideLizard

  • an informative
  • an entertaining
  • an inspiring
  • or a persuasive presentation?

Typical Presentation Structure

The basic structure of a presentation is actually always the same and should consist of:

Introduction

Structure of a good presentation including introduction, main part and conclusion

Make sure that the structure of your presentation is not too complicated. The simpler it is, the better the audience can follow.

Personal Introduction

It is best to start your presentation by briefly introducing yourself which helps to build a connection with your audience right away.

Introduce the topic

Then introduce the topic, state the purpose of the presentation and provide a brief outline of the main points you will be addressing.

Mention the length

In the introduction, mention the approximate length of the talk and then also make sure you stick to it.

The introduction should be no longer than two slides and provide a good overview of the topic.

Icebreaker Polls

According to studies, people in the audience only have an average attention span of 10 minutes, which is why it is important to increase their attention right at the beginning and to arouse the audience's interest. You could make a good start with a few icebreaker polls for example. They lighten the mood right at the beginning and you can secure your audience's attention from the start.

For example, you could use SlideLizard to have all the answers at a glance and share them with your audience. In addition, the audience can try out how the polls work and already know how it works if you include more polls in the main part.

Icebreaker polls with SlideLizard

Get to know your audience

As mentioned earlier, it is always useful to think about who your audience actually is. Ask them questions at the beginning about how well they already know the topic of your presentation. Use SlideLizard for this so that you have a clear overview about the answers. You can use both single- and multiple-choice questions or also open questions and display their results as a WordCloud in your presentation, for example.

Include a quote

To make the beginning (or the end) of your presentation more exciting, it is always a good idea to include a quote. We have selected some powerful quotes for PowerPoint presentations for you.

Present your topic

The main part of a presentation should explain the topic well, state facts, justify them and give examples. Keep all the promises you made earlier in the introduction.

Length and Structure

The main part should make up about 70% of the presentation and also include a clear structure. Explain your ideas in detail and build them up logically. It should be organized chronologically, by priority or by topic. There should be a smooth transition between the individual issues. However, it is also important to use phrases that make it clear that a new topic is starting. We have listed some useful phrases for presentations here.

Visualize data and statistics and show pictures to underline facts. If you are still looking for good images, we have selected 5 sources of free images for you here.

Focus on the essentials

Focus on what is most important and summarize a bit. You don't have to say everything about a topic because your audience won’t remember everything either. Avoid complicated sentence structure, because if the audience does not understand something, they will not be able to read it again.

Make your presentation interactive

Make your presentation interactive to keep the attention of your audience. Use SlideLizard to include polls in your presentation, where your audience can vote directly from their smartphone and discuss the answers as soon as you received all votes. Here you can also find more tips for increasing audience engagement.

Make your presentation interactive by using SlideLizard

Repeat the main points

The conclusion should contain a summary of the most important key points. Repeat the main points you have made, summarize what the audience should have learned and explain how the new information can help in the future.

Include a Q&A part

Include a Q&A part at the end to make sure you don't leave any questions open. It's a good idea to use tools like SlideLizard for it. Your audience can ask anonymous questions and if there is not enough time, you can give them the answers afterwards. You can read more about the right way to do a question slide in PowerPoint here.

Get Feedback

It is also important to get feedback on your presentation at the end to keep improving. With SlideLizard you can ask your audience for anonymous feedback through star ratings, number ratings or open texts directly after your presentation. You can then export the responses and analyse them later in Excel.

Feedback function of SlideLizard

Presentation style

Depending on the type of presentation you give, the structure will always be slightly different. We have selected a few different presentation styles and their structure for you.

Short Presentation

Short presentation

If you are one of many presenters on the day, you will only have a very limited time to present your idea and to convince your audience. It is very important to stand out with your presentation.

So you need to summarize your ideas as briefly as possible and probably should not need more than 3-5 slides.

Problem Solving Presentation

Problem Solving Presentation

Start your presentation by explaining a problem and giving a short overview of it.

Then go into the problem a little more, providing both intellectual and emotional arguments for the seriousness of the problem. You should spend about the first 25% of your presentation on the problem.

After that, you should spend about 50% of your presentation proposing a solution and explaining it in detail.

In the last 25%, describe what benefits this solution will bring to your audience and ask them to take a simple but relevant action that relates to the problem being discussed.

Tell a Story

Tell a story

A great way to build an emotional connection with the audience is to structure a presentation like a story.

In the introduction, introduce a character who has to deal with a conflict. In the main part, tell how he tries to solve his problem but fails again and again. In the end, he manages to find a solution and wins.

Stories have the power to win customers, align colleagues and motivate employees. They’re the most compelling platform we have for managing imaginations. - Nancy Duarte / HBR Guide to Persuasive Presentations

Make a demonstration

Make a demonstration

Use the demonstration structure to show how a product works. First talk about a need or a problem that has to be solved.

Then explain how the product will help solve the problem and try to convince your audience of the need for your product.

Spend the end clarifying where and when the product can be purchased.

Chronological structure

Chronological structure of a presentation

When you have something historical to tell, it is always good to use a chronological structure. You always have to ask yourself what happens next.

To make it more interesting and exciting, it is a good idea to start by telling the end of something and after that you explain how you got there. This way you make the audience curious and you can gain their attention faster.

Nancy Duarte TED Talk

Nancy Duarte is a speaker and presentation design expert. She gives speeches all over the world, trying to improve the power of public presentations.

In her famous TED Talk "The Secret Structure of Great Talks" she dissects famous speeches such as Steve Jobs' iPhone launch speech and Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech. In doing so, she found out that each presentation is made up of 4 parts:

  • What could be
  • A moment to remember
  • Promise of “New Bliss”

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About the author.

what are the 4 key elements of presentation

Helena Reitinger

Helena supports the SlideLizard team in marketing and design. She loves to express her creativity in texts and graphics.

what are the 4 key elements of presentation

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Eulogy speech.

A eulogy speech is given at a funeral. It is given by familiy members or friends of the deceased. The aim is to say goodbye and pay tribute to the person who has passed away.

.pps file extension

A .pps file is a slide show. They are similiar to .ppt files but they open as a slide show if you double-klick them. They later got replaced by .ppsx files.

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Diagonal communication means that the employees of a company communicate with each other regardless of their function and their level in the organisational hierarchy and regardless of their department within the company.

Student Response System (SRS)

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What Are the Elements of a Powerful Presentation?

what are the 4 key elements of presentation

You worked so hard designing your slide deck— or maybe not as hard if you used Beautiful.ai— and you most certainly want your audience to receive your message. How frustrating would it be if instead, people walked away from your presentation without following, understanding or remembering anything you had to say?

Want to ensure you design a stellar presentation that is effective, engaging and memorable? Sure, there are some elements common to all visual presentations… but we won’t bore you with instructions for designing another frankendeck . Check out the following 16 elements of powerful presentations:

1. Engaging icebreakers

Start on an engaging foot and break the ice with your audience through a brief activity. You could ask a fun icebreaker question such as, “What movie most closely resembles your life?” or, “What vegetable would you be?” and encourage conversation. Or, you could conduct a short quiz or poll related to your presentation topic. 

Another way to break the ice with your audience is by playing a short and simple icebreaker game like, “Have you ever?” or “Two truths and a lie,” playing with either your entire audience or smaller groups seated together.

2. Visual storytelling

Humans are social creatures, and our brains respond to stories more than facts alone. Mankind has used storytelling to pass its wisdom and lessons to future generations since the days of painting cave walls. At the same time, we also respond to visual information— the largest parts of our brains are dedicated to visual stimuli, after all. 

Combine the two concepts, and the resulting visual storytelling is one of the most effective ways to attract an engaged audience that remembers your message long after your presentation ends. Visual storytelling elements like photos, video and infographics more effectively tell your story leaps and bounds than the spoken word and text alone.

3. Eye-catching images

Just as visual storytelling makes for an engaging and memorable presentation , eye-catching images are ideal for attracting, retaining and refocusing audience attention. Look for images with bright and bold colors, interesting angles or exciting subjects, and your audience members’ eyes will stay glued to the screen.

4. Data visualizations

By including statistics, facts and other data in the elements of a good presentation, you provide your audience with the evidence it needs to trust your message— if you can give the data meaning. Designing slides with too much text and too many numbers is a good way to put your audience to sleep. 

Data visualizations , however, tell the data’s story. Present your data through elements like bar graphs, pie charts or pictograms. Beautiful.ai users can include all sorts of engaging infographics in their presentations with ease. Just input the data and watch as artificial intelligence designs the perfect infographic to illustrate it.

5. Animations

Eyes are attracted to movement. It’s why video is increasingly surpassing text in popularity for receiving information. You can add movement and draw your audience’s eyes back to your presentation by animating your slides. One of the simplest animations to add are the transitions between slides, but Beautiful.ai users can even animate their infographics and add motion to various elements of individual slides.

6. Simplicity

If you present slides that are overcrowded or cluttered, nobody is going to want to look at them for very long. Not only that, but your audience probably can’t digest that much information from a single view. Keep your slides simple and tidy. It’s better to add more slides than to add too many elements to each. 

Beautiful.ai users need not fear poorly designed slides. Every time new content is added, artificial intelligence adjusts the layout of the slide based on principles of great design recommended by the pros.

Music isn’t one of the more common elements of presentations, but it should be. After all, listening to music engages practically every neural subsystem. According to Johns Hopkins research , however, music embedded throughout a visual presentation “can sustain attention, while slipping the content into long-term memory.” 

Dr. Ronald Berk, now an author and keynote speaker, says even background music, “can increase attention levels, improve retention and memory, extend focused learning time and expand thinking skills.”

Video is another effective element of presentations that attracts your audience’s attention and interest. Video elements can capture expert feedback if they can’t appear in person, illustrate activities that a still photo just can’t capture, demonstrate how products are used and, of course, add eye-catching movement to a slide deck.

10. Audience immersion

What better way to capture an audience’s attention than by making them a part of the show? Audience interaction is an extremely effective element of a good presentation. 

Invite audience members to get involved with your presentation, whether by inviting a single viewer to participate or by designating smaller groups or teams to interact together. Audience immersion can be achieved through activities like games, challenges, demonstrations or even short skits.

One classic element of a good presentation is the addition of props. Whether you pull out humorous objects that help to illustrate your topic, or design visual aids in addition to your slide deck, the use of props almost always adds some extra pizzazz to an otherwise ordinary presentation.

12. Orderly and cohesive designs

A powerful presentation will include slides designed with order and unity. Every slide in the deck should look like it belongs with all of the others. At the same time, you can select color palettes and typography that support the mood, tone or topic of your presentation. 

Beautiful.ai users easily can ensure their slide decks feature orderly and cohesive designs by customizing a theme or brand style guide for every presentation so that elements like certain fonts, colors, margins and footers automatically are added to every slide. Just add your favorite design elements on a master slide.

13. Clear goals

What do you want your presentation to accomplish? If audiences are receiving your intended message, what does your presentation accomplish? 

Be sure to define goals for your presentation, and only add content to your slide deck that supports those goals. Do you simply want to inform? Or do you want to persuade your audience to share a viewpoint or change a behavior? Determining your objective is a key element of a powerful and effective presentation.

14. Calls to Action

Don’t take any chances that your audience will misinterpret your message or fail to understand the objective of your presentation. Cut straight to the core of your message with a clear call to action. 

To ensure your call-to-action is effective, be sure to start with a strong commanding verb, use words that insight emotion or enthusiasm and provide your audience with a reason they should take the suggested action.

15. Strong closing slides

All of your hard work designing a powerful slide deck might be for naught if your presentation doesn’t feature a memorable ending . One of the most effective ways to achieve a strong conclusion is by including an end-of-presentation slide. This slide could include a summary, a call-to-action, a joke or an interesting quotation that will leave audiences pondering long after you’ve finished presenting.

16. Hooks and earworms

Interjecting hooks in between key points of a presentation is an effective way to refocus an audience’s attention. Meanwhile, ending a presentation with an earworm can keep people thinking about your topic for hours or days. While they serve different purposes, hooks and earworms are very similar and each can be accomplished by examples such as a funny story, a joke, an insightful quotation, a fun fact or a rhetorical question.

Samantha Pratt Lile

Samantha Pratt Lile

Samantha is an independent journalist, editor, blogger and content manager. Examples of her published work can be found at sites including the Huffington Post, Thrive Global, and Buzzfeed.

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Four Elements of a Great Presentation

what are the 4 key elements of presentation

The longer I’m in the coaching business, the more I realize how helpful it can be to break a skill or behavior down into its component parts.  There’s something about knowing what the ingredients are—the recipe, if you will—that makes it easier to learn or improve a behavior.

Several years ago a colleague and I developed a model that breaks presentation skills down into 4 main areas.  Most people are naturally good in some areas, and need to develop in others.  Whether you are coaching someone on their presentation, or working on your own, I encourage you to think in terms of these four elements:

Content and slides.  The content of a presentation consists of the speaker’s words.  It’s the “script”.  This includes the key ideas, overall structure and flow of the presentation (introduction, middle and end), word choice, use of stories, analogies, metaphors, humor, and other rhetorical devices.  Content  is the foundation of a great presentation, because no matter how excellent the delivery people don’t really want to listen if you don’t have something important and engaging to talk about.

Some presentations also use slides or another form of media (audio, video), or props, to support the speaker’s message.  Media can help add power and impact to a presentation, but as I often say to speakers, remember that the slides are not the presentation, you are the presentation.   In some cases slides become a crutch, a distraction and a hinderance.  In recent years some organizations have banned or restricted the use of slides.

Body language.  Our bodies are one of the chief tools we use in presentations and for communication in general.  Human beings are hard wired to respond to each others’ body language.  So are other animals, in fact.  If you want to see how primal body language is, watch a dog.  We used to have a dog who, after stealing food from the table or engaging in other unapproved activities, would put her head down with ears flopped forward in a posture of unmistakable apology (that was our unscientific interpretation).  But it’s the same with people.  Posture, eye contact, movement–they all communicate a great deal about what we are thinking or feeling.

Standing tall, making connecting eye-contact and moving with purpose can go a long way towards conveying confidence.  Being more intentional about body language can do a lot to impact how you are perceived, but also has added benefit of impacting your thinking and feeling from the outside-in, as is famously pointed out in a TED talk by Amy Cuddy .

Voice.  Although our voices are produced by our bodies, usually I think of voice and body language as discrete, in part because just like body language, the human voice conveys a whole universe of information.  The speed, inflection, pitch, pacing, volume and use of pauses in a speaker’s voice can convey tremendous nuance.  Generally, speakers are more engaging when they include some variety in the inflection and timing of their voice, and when they avoid extremes of speed and volume.

To get a sense of the power of voice, watch a good movie or TV show and pay attention only to the actors’ voices.  Great actors—and great presenters—use the full range of subtleties in their voices to engage their audiences and convey feeling and information.

Authenticity.   Authenticity is about how self-aware a speaker is about what’s truly important to them, and how transparently they communicate those interior truths.  Authenticity is conveyed through content, body and voice but I have broken it out as a separate category because it is so foundationally important to building trust with an audience.  And trust is, of course, the foundation of any relationship.  I emphasize this because all presentations involve a relationship between a speaker and their audience.  One of the most frequent tips I give speakers is to stop thinking of their presentation as a performance, and instead think of it as a conversation, a relationship with the audience.

A key path to improving your presentation skills

One great exercise to help you develop your skills as a speaker is to assess other speakers you see in terms of these 4 elements.  Whether you are watching a TED talk, a colleague, or an actor, pay close attention to each of the elements.  What works or doesn’t work about their content, body language, and voice?  Pick one of the 4 elements and pay attention to it alone.  Do they seem authentic to you, and if so why?  Is it because they are talking about something that’s truly important to them?  Is it because they have taken a risk in disclosing something personal?

The better you understand each of these domains, the more fluent you are in observing them and talking about them, the more easily you can improve your own presentation skills, and help others.

.css-1qrtm5m{display:block;margin-bottom:8px;text-transform:uppercase;font-size:14px;line-height:1.5714285714285714;-webkit-letter-spacing:-0.35px;-moz-letter-spacing:-0.35px;-ms-letter-spacing:-0.35px;letter-spacing:-0.35px;font-weight:300;color:#606F7B;}@media (min-width:600px){.css-1qrtm5m{font-size:16px;line-height:1.625;-webkit-letter-spacing:-0.5px;-moz-letter-spacing:-0.5px;-ms-letter-spacing:-0.5px;letter-spacing:-0.5px;}} Best Practices 5 essential preparation steps for a successful presentation

by Tom Rielly • June 15, 2020

what are the 4 key elements of presentation

Keeping your presentation visuals minimalistic, simple, and clear is just one important step to remember when designing a hit presentation. Leaving nothing to chance, great presenters prove quite methodical as they prepare. Here’s a checklist for everything you need to keep in mind before your next presentation:

1. Choose the right software for your needs

visualpres blogpost 2 softwares

The easiest way to select the right presentation software for you is to simply find the one that is native to your device. For example, if you have a Mac, use Apple Keynote, if you work on Windows, use PowerPoint. Google Slides is recommended if you’re working with someone, as it makes collaboration very easy. Another software option is Prezi: a specialty tool called Prezi that creates a presentation using motion, zoom, and panning across one giant visual space.

2. Organize your files

As you develop your script and visuals, you will need to start assembling all the assets for your slides. Create a unique folder on your computer to hold these items. Keep the folder organized by media type (presentation drafts, photos, videos, scripts) and back them up frequently to the Cloud or external disk. Label each file with a specific descriptive name, e.g. “Susan Johnson singing magpie 2020”, as opposed to “IMG_4043.jpg”, which can make it confusing to find your assets. The more organized you are up front, the easier preparing for your presentation will be.

3. Prepare your presentation materials

Make sure your presentation materials (script, graphics, actual slides) are saved in at least two safe spots (for example, your computer and an external USB drive) and are backed-up frequently. If you are using an online presentation software, such as Google Slides, be sure to also download a copy of your presentation in case the internet connection is unreliable. Having all the individual assets on hand in addition to your presentation slides can be helpful if you experience tech issues before presenting, or if you need to make any last minute changes. Make sure to label your final presentation with the title and your name so it’s easy to find.

4. Practice, practice, practice!

Remember, practice makes perfect. People often run out of time making their presentations and have no time to practice. Most TED speakers practice at least ten times. Neuroscientist Jill-Bolte Taylor gave one of the most successful Talks in TED history with nearly 27 million views. How did she do it? She practiced her Talk over 40 times! By rehearsing multiple times you will naturally memorize your Talk, which means you won’t need note cards when you give your final presentation.

5. Do a final test run

Before presenting, make sure the equipment you need is working properly. It’s generally good practice to rehearse standing on the exact stage with the exact lighting using the exact computer that you will be using in your final presentation.

Here’s a quick checklist of what to look for when testing your equipment:

  • If you're not using your own computer, the one provided might be slower and have trouble playing media. If you have videos or other media, make sure they play correctly
  • Test the projector to make sure it’s HD
  • Make sure images are clear
  • Test the sound of any clips you use, as this is what goes wrong most frequently
  • If you’re using a mic, test the volume

Don’t let technical issues or other blunders overshadow your presentation. By following these guidelines, and with a little preparation, you can engineer out the problems BEFORE they happen.

Ready to learn more about how to make your presentation even better? Get TED Masterclass and develop your ideas into TED-style talks

© 2023 TED Conferences, LLC. All rights reserved. Please note that the TED Talks Usage policy does not apply to this content and is not subject to our creative commons license.

what are the 4 key elements of presentation

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The 4 Keys to Great Presentations For Business Or Other

what are the 4 key elements of presentation

What makes a GREAT presentation? We’ve all seen presentations and they run the gamut from good to bad to ugly. But what goes into making a presentation GREAT? Is it the design? The content? The structure? The speaker? Let’s find out the 4 keys to great presentations for businesses.

I’d like to suggest that it’s all of those things and go even further to say that a great presentation needs all 4 key elements to be great . Just having one or two or even three of these elements is nice, but for a presentation to be GREAT, you need all 4 key elements: Content, Design, Structure and Delivery.

We’ve been building and delivering presentations at CustomShow for over a decade and at Sales Graphics for 40 years before that, so we’ve seen our share of presentations. We’ve also seen and heard experts talk about the various elements that go into dynamic presentations and their relative merits, and we’ve learned a lot from the dynamic presentations and presenters we’ve worked with over the years. And what we’ve learned is building a GREAT presentation isn’t easy , but it can be broken down into 4 understandable elements. And once you understand the elements, the building becomes a lot easier.

So here we go:

The 4 Keys to GREAT Presentations:

Virtual Presentations

Content: Every presentation needs to start with the right content.

  • First, have a clear message. Make sure you know what you’re trying to say, whether it’s convincing a sales prospect of the value of your product or service, a trainee of the value of learning a process or skill, an audience of the importance of your cause or an investor in the value of your idea.
  • Second,  support your message with the best fonts , facts, and NPS tools . Facts can be data, NPS survey results, testimonials, photographs or personal experience. Supporting your message gives you credibility and engages the audience on a deeper level, silencing that little voice in their heads that questions bald statements.
  • Finally, curate your content. Make sure you only use what you need, what’s relevant, and what you can support. For that, you can hire any content marketing . Too much information is worse than too little. Better to engage your audience and leave them with questions than to bore or overload them so they tune out. If you have lots of data, pick the most compelling or most relevant. If you have a great personal story, whittle it down to its essentials so you can tell it concisely.

Design: Everything is designed for clarity and consistency.

  • With presentation design, there is often confusion between beautiful design and effective design. While beautiful design is nice to have, it’s not essential to a creative presentation . Effective design is essential. Effective design makes your content clear, leads viewers along the path of your argument or story and reinforces your brand . Effective design looks great, but you don’t need to be an artist to create it. You just need to have a clear idea of your message, your audience and your delivery.
  • Just as you need to curate your content, you need to curate your visuals. Too much visual information is just as bad as too much data or a story that goes on and on. Eliminate any visual elements that don’t reinforce your message.

Structure: Everything is in its place, both in the presentation and out.

  • Presentations are stories told in time, and as such they need to have a beginning, middle end. Just the fact that you start your presentation, talk for a while and then finish doesn’t count as structure, however. The work of curating and supporting your content and design elements will give you a  clearer idea of how best to structure your story, and there are lots of valuable resources out there to help with picking a narrative structure. Luckily, a presentation isn’t a post-modern novel, so complex narrative structures aren’t necessary. But introducing the premise, promise, or problem that is the core of your message and then describing, supporting and solving or delivering your solution is critical.
  • Presentation structure, unlike other documents or interactions, also needs to be structured with the audience in mind. A great presentation is targeted to its audience ,  both in terms of message and content. Does the narrative speak to the experience of this audience? Is the call-to-action targeted to this particular audience’s needs? Are the data, demos, products, competitive sets, or case studies targeted for the objectives of today’s meeting instead of yesterday’s or tomorrow’s?
  • The structure can also apply to your entire Library of presentation materials. If you’ve been giving presentations for a while, or your company has a shared drive full of presentations, there’s a lot of available content for you to work with. The question is whether you can find valuable and appropriate content for the presentation branding you’re working on. Applying the idea of structure and organization to not just your presentation but to your Library of previous presentations and presentation materials can be just as important as structuring your information within your presentation. Being able to efficiently find what you need and know that it’s accurate and up-to-date will make you a more effective presenter.

Delivery: It doesn’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing.

Engaging the audience

  • All your great work on content, design and structure doesn’t mean a thing if no one sees it. Presentations aren’t merely documents or files; they are an experience shared between a presenter and their audience. A great presentation is only as good as the delivery, both by the presenter and by the presentation technology. Whether presenting in a boardroom, off an iPad, over the Web or as a print-out, the right delivery is the difference between a great presentation and, at best, a missed opportunity and, at worst, a presentation disaster. All the other elements don’t matter if the delivery doesn’t work.
  • Delivery refers to how the Presenter delivers the presentation.
  • Presentation skills are necessary for anyone who plans on making a living from presentations or whose business depends on giving effective presentations. We’ve worked with a wide range of presentation coaches and read a lot on the subject, and taking the time to find out more about your presentation skills and how they can be improved will always return results.
  • But just as important as the Presenter’s skills is the platform and technology you use to deliver your presentation. The tool you use to deliver your presentation is one of the most overlooked elements of a presentation. Just as your content, design and structure need to match the situation and audience, how you deliver your presentation matters. Presenting to a boardroom full of senior executives requires a different tool than a one-on-one presentation over lunch and then a webinar or conference call . Oftentimes people pick the presentation tool that they’re most familiar with or just happens to be there (often PowerPoint), without thinking about what the presentation’s specific delivery needs are.
  • There used to just be PowerPoint, whether you were handing out print-outs, presenting on a projector or emailing someone a follow-up. Today there is an explosion of presentation tools targeted to specific audiences and platforms. Which one is right for you depends on your content, your design and your audience. For businesses that rely on presentations to close business, we think it’s important to find a platform that supports both a wide range of content and design options as well as a wide range of structure and delivery options. iPad-only presentation apps are great for that particular audience but can’t be repurposed or extended to other situations. The same goes for desktop software that requires a laptop and can’t be collaborative or shared over the Web. Understanding how you need to deliver your presentations across your organization and choosing a platform that supports those delivery options can be the difference between an assortment of documents, data and design and a library of GREAT presentations.

These are our 4 Keys to GREAT Presentations , and we’ve seen that only having a few of them doesn’t work. If you just have great content you have a great spreadsheet, but you don’t have a presentation. If you only have an excellent design, you have some nice art, but you don’t have a presentation. Putting it all together is what makes it a presentation.

In future posts we’ll go into each of these 4 Keys in more detail. We will give examples and ideas from our experience building and delivering presentations. With all the great information out there, and the great new presentation tools available. Everyone should be able to have a GREAT presentation. And this 4 Keys framework should help make that goal a little easier to understand and achieve.

With every good presentation is a good presentation builder that fit the intricacies and identity of your organization. At CustomShow, we believe our presentation software can do just that.

Create beautiful presentations faster with CustomShow

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Let us show you how customshow does so much more than powerpoint & google slides for your business presentations..

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8.4: Parts of a Good Presentation

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  • Page ID 46214

Learning Outcomes

  • Identify key features of a good presentation

Like reverse engineering a product, we can distill the key features of a good presentation by looking at presentation evaluation scorecards. Refer to Table 1 for a sample class presentation grading rubric.

At the macro level, the key elements of a good presentation are content, organization, and delivery. There are both substance and style aspects of content. Substance elements include the originality and significance of your idea, the quality of your research and analysis, clarity and potential impact of your recommendations. Style aspects of content include confidence and credibility, both of which have a significant impact on how you—and your message—are received.

Good organization starts with a strong opening and continues in a logical and well-supported manner throughout the presentation, leading to a close that serves as a resolution of the problem or a summary of the situation you’ve presented. The audience experiences good organization as a sense of flow—an inevitable forward movement to a satisfying close. This forward momentum also requires audiences to have a certain level of technical and information-management competency. To the latter point, good presentation requires a presenter to put thought into information design, from the structure and content of slides to the transitions between individual points, slides and topics.

Delivery entails a range of factors from body language and word choice to vocal variety. In this category, your audience is responding to your personality and professionalism. For perspective, one of the three evaluation categories on the official Toastmasters speaker evaluation form is “As I Saw You;” in parentheses: “approach, position, personal appearance, facial expression, gestures and detracting mannerisms.” A good presenter has a passion for the subject and an ability to convey and perhaps elicit that emotion in the audience. Audience engagement—through eye contact, facial expression, perhaps the use of gestures or movement—also contributes to an effective presentation. However, to the point in the Toastmasters evaluation, gestures, movement other mannerisms can be distracting (see Module 7: Public Speaking for more on this). What works: natural (not staged) movement that reinforces communication of your idea.

Text reading "What's in it for me?" Me is the largest word.

With those key features and presentation-evaluation criteria in mind, let’s add a disclaimer. The reality is that your features won’t matter if you don’t deliver one essential benefit: relevance.

Whether you think in Toastmasters terminology—”What’s in it for me? (WIIFM)” from the audience perspective—or put yourself in the audience’s position and ask “So what?,” it’s a question that you need to answer early. We’ll get into this more in the next section as we discuss presentation planning.

Practice Question

https://assessments.lumenlearning.co...sessments/8622

  • Parts of a Good Presentation. Authored by : Nina Burokas. Provided by : Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution
  • Modification of WIIFM. Authored by : Nathan Stephens. Located at : https://flic.kr/p/dEFKQS . License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike

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What makes an effective presentation + effective presentation strategies

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Anete Ezera August 15, 2022

Presenting is not everyone’s forte, but it’s an important skill that can help you get a job, get a promotion, influence a decision, persuade a large group, and make people understand your point of view. It’s a powerful way to gain control and make your voice heard. If you do it right, you’ll love presenting. However, if your presentation isn’t engaging or easy to follow, you’ll start seeing people’s attention drift away, and eventually, you’ll want it to be over as soon as possible. 

You’ve probably seen some fascinating presentations and some boring presentations. Could you spot the difference between them? What was it that made the engaging presentations effective? 

In this article, we’ll explore what makes an effective presentation, and what preparation you need to do to make sure that your presentation will be a success. We’ll also pinpoint 4 highly-useful tips on how to give an effective presentation. 

Keep reading to learn how to make an effective presentation. 

Effective presentation strategies

What makes a presentation effective

An effective presentation keeps you hooked the whole time, no matter whether you watch it online or in person.  There are multiple examples of effective presentations that people have enjoyed listening to. For example, the introduction of the iPhone by Steve Jobs remains one of the most influential speeches. Tony Robbins, an American author, inspired millions of people with his presentation on The Power of Beliefs. If you go through TED talks, you’ll discover several impressive presentations that have hooked thousands and millions of people. 

What do all these effective presentations have in common? Let’s dive into the effective presentation strategies they all share. 

In the list below, discover 5 key elements that make an effective presentation, and make sure to implement them in your next presentation.

#1 Simplicity

Despite what you might think, simplicity can actually be tied to many powerful and effective presentations. In the words of Leonardo da Vinci, “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” 

An effective presentation is simple and to the point. Just because you make a grand presentation with many facts and figures and thought-out details doesn’t make it more effective, nor sophisticated, for that matter. What’s important is that your presentation hits the right points and leaves the audience impressed and persuaded by your message.

You want your presentation to be easy to follow to ensure your audience is engaged from start to finish. To do that, remove anything that doesn’t support your narrative or add substantial value to your presentation. 

When speaking, always focus on your main points and avoid drifting away to other topics or irrelevant details. It’s best not to spend too much time explaining complex theories or terminologies. If you must, give concise, brief summaries of the concepts your audience might not be familiar with, but spend the majority of your presentation focused on the information your audience will have an easier time understanding. Another way to touch on a complex topic is to describe it from a new angle, one that might unlock new understanding for your audience.  

effective presentation strategies and how to deliver an effective presentation

When creating your presentation, use a minimal amount of text. Don’t overwhelm your audience with blocks of text. Your presentation content should act as a compliment to your speech and shouldn’t contain a lot of text or difficult-to-read elements. Simplify your presentation with clearly-legible fonts and a coordinating color scheme. Also, remember to choose a simple yet appealing background that isn’t too busy and highlights the visual elements of your presentation. 

In short, include strong text and visuals to drive your points home. Leave the unnecessary bits out. 

#2 Well-defined structure

Have you ever gotten lost when listening to a presentation? One of the reasons might be that it didn’t have a well-defined structure. 

A clear structure is crucial for a presentation to be effective. Giving a presentation is like telling a story. You need to have a compelling beginning that pulls in listeners. Once everyone is hooked, provide an interesting storyline with conflict, heroes, villains, and other enriching elements. In the end, you need to give an obvious conclusion, leaving the audience to discuss the main takeaways.

Create an outline of your presentation before creating the content of it. You’ll have a better overview of what you want to share. To organize your thoughts, create a mind map using Prezi Design . It’ll help you structure your points and decide when and how to share them.

what are the 4 key elements of presentation

Having a clearly-defined structure will help your audience to follow your story and get them on the same page as you. You’ll feel more confident when talking because you’ll know your talking points by heart, and your audience will feel more comfortable and engaged when listening to you.

Visuals enrich your presentation, help reinforce your words, highlight important points, and keep your audience engaged. Visuals are powerful tools. Used wisely, they can elevate your presentation to a whole new level.

Most people are visual learners – 65% to be exact. Therefore, visuals play an important role in understanding a topic. By incorporating visuals into your presentation, your audience will have an easier time digesting the information. 

Furthermore, visual aids make presentations more enjoyable and engaging. Just take a look at the examples below. One slide contains only text-based information, while the other also has visuals. Which one do you find more visually appealing?  

Images, video, data visualizations, GIFs, stickers, and animations make a presentation effective. Showcase images or videos to highlight an important point, or incorporate animations to add movement to your presentation. You can also add data visualizations like interactive charts and maps to illustrate essential statistics or valuable information. Plus, you can use infographics to diversify your presentation content and make it more attractive. 

You can find plenty of engaging visuals, like images, video covers, GIFs, stickers, and more in the Prezi library. Also, you can create impressive data visualizations by choosing a pre-designed template or starting from scratch using Prezi Design. You can even use this pre-designed template below. 

When adding visuals to your presentation, don’t forget the golden rule – simplicity. You can enrich your presentation with funny GIFs and interesting videos, but don’t overdo it. Add them where they’ll make the most impact and make sense to your audience. 

#4 Connection with the audience

When giving a presentation, you want your audience to connect with you, and you want to connect with them. Ultimately, you want to feel like you’re having a conversation with your friends. 

Creating a connection can be difficult, especially if you’re presenting online. However, you have to find a way to cultivate a bond to make your audience genuinely interested in what you’re presenting. 

One way to do that is by sharing a personal story at the beginning of your presentation to create a more intimate atmosphere in the room. Share something you’ve struggled with or a common problem your audience members can relate to, or tell a fascinating story that reveals your values and experiences. An anecdote your audience will find amusing would also work, just as long as it relates to your topic. 

Storytelling is a powerful way to connect with your audience from the get-go, so think about incorporating a story element into your presentation to generate this connection. 

Making eye contact with your audience members when presenting is key. If you’re presenting to a small group of people, it’s easy, but if you’re presenting to a wider audience, choose a couple of people to make eye contact with. 

When presenting online, make sure to always remain visible to your audience, so avoid sharing your screen and blocking yourself from viewing. Instead, try Prezi Video and display your content next to you on screen while you maintain a face-to-face connection with your audience. People will feel more connected to you and your presentation if they’ll be able to see you while you’re presenting. Discover what Prezi Video has to offer:

#5 Preparation

Being prepared is the key to presentation success . If you practice something long enough, you’ll be able to master it. Therefore, preparation is one of the most important aspects of an effective presentation. It’s what truly makes an effective presentation and empowers you to be the best speaker you can be. 

You might think that public speaking is not your strong suit, but with dedicated preparation and time invested in improving your public speaking skills, you can impress yourself. 

When practicing your presentation, create a mind map to help you memorize the key points, but don’t stop there. Plan out how you’re going to start and end your presentation . Think about which statement or statistic you want to share to start your presentation speech. Also, decide what’s going to be the last statement or question of your speech. The details matter. 

What’s more, consider the technical requirements and familiarize yourself with the equipment. Whether you’re presenting in a familiar setting or someplace new, become acquainted with the equipment and the surroundings. If you’re presenting online, test-run your slides and visuals, especially if you’re planning to share video or audio materials.

Close up of laptop participants on video conference, virtual team meeting, colleagues

How to give an effective presentation

Now that you know what makes an effective presentation, you might be wondering how to apply them. A stunning presentation will make a killer impression only if you deliver it right. Make sure to follow these effective presentation strategies to give a memorable presentation. 

Stay calm and focused

Sometimes, nerves can get the best of you. Your hands get sweaty, your breath shortens, and your heart starts pounding. If you’re not a fan of public speaking, this is how you might feel about presenting in front of an audience. 

Don’t panic. There’s a way to calm your nerves and appear collected in front of your audience. The last thing you want is for people in the audience to notice your nervousness and for you to mess up because of it. 

Try practicing in front of your friends to get acquainted with speaking in front of people. Also, focus on your topic and shut down intrusive thoughts. If you’re focused on the topic, you’ll have less time to think about other people’s thoughts. Lastly, try breathing exercises to calm down right before presenting, and remember that it’s normal to feel nervous – it means you care. Discover other ways to not be nervous for a presentation.  

Read the room

You have mapped out the whole presentation. However, you can never truly know how your audience will feel and react. They might surprise you. 

When presenting, try to notice how your audience responds to what you’re sharing. Before presenting, if you’re on stage or in a meeting room, you might already get a chance to scan the room or even say hi to some people. Read the room to familiarize yourself with the audience. 

Make your presentation a conversation instead of a monologue, if applicable. Ensure that your audience feels comfortable and understood. If you’re presenting online, use the chat function, and ask people to send in their questions. There’s a higher chance they’ll ask a question if they don’t have to be in the spotlight and ask on camera.

Smiling young businesswoman giving presentation to colleagues in office. Effective presentation strategy

Be aware of your body language

Body language can say a lot about how a person feels, and whether or not theyre confident and comfortable. Body language can influence other people’s connection with you. If you’re talking to a person with inviting body language (for instance, a friendly smile, open posture, or eye contact), you might feel closer to them. 

That’s why you need to work on your body language to appear confident and approachable when presenting. You’ll be able to develop a close connection with your audience and appear trustworthy and friendly. 

Make sure you greet your audience with a smile and keep eye contact. Have an open posture and use hand gestures to articulate your thoughts (without overdoing them). If you’re on stage, you can even walk around the stage to develop command of the room.

Choose easy-to-use tools

When delivering your presentation, you want to look and feel confident. Technical mishaps and confusing presentation tools can pose an issue. Make sure you use convenient, good-looking presentation tools that make your presentation look professional and engaging. 

If you’re presenting in a virtual setting, it can be challenging to hold your audience’s attention, and there’s a higher chance of technical issues. 

To engage your audience and create an easy-to-use presentation, check out Prezi Present . You can save time by choosing a pre-designed presentation template or creating a unique-looking presentation from scratch. With Prezi Video, share your content next to you on-screen, which will help you engage your audience throughout your presentation. 

Before presenting, you can go through your slides and even record yourself with Prezi Video to test-run your presentation. As a result, you’ll feel prepared and confident. 

woman talks on video conference outside with a jacket on

There’s a lot that goes into creating and delivering an impressive presentation. However, a few key elements make the greatest impact on your presentation. Follow these points and check out 14 effective presentation tips to further improve your presentations. Also, if you’re presenting online, familiarize yourself with the virtual presentation framework by Micheal Lee to impress your virtual audience. 

what are the 4 key elements of presentation

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11.13: Parts of a Good Presentation

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  • Page ID 59208

Learning Outcomes

  • Identify key features of a good presentation

Like reverse engineering a product, we can distill the key features of a good presentation by looking at presentation evaluation scorecards. Refer to Table 1 for a sample class presentation grading rubric.

At the macro level, the key elements of a good presentation are content, organization, and delivery. There are both substance and style aspects of content. Substance elements include the originality and significance of your idea, the quality of your research and analysis, clarity and potential impact of your recommendations. Style aspects of content include confidence and credibility, both of which have a significant impact on how you—and your message—are received.

Good organization starts with a strong opening and continues in a logical and well-supported manner throughout the presentation, leading to a close that serves as a resolution of the problem or a summary of the situation you’ve presented. The audience experiences good organization as a sense of flow—an inevitable forward movement to a satisfying close. This forward momentum also requires audiences to have a certain level of technical and information-management competency. To the latter point, good presentation requires a presenter to put thought into information design, from the structure and content of slides to the transitions between individual points, slides and topics.

Delivery entails a range of factors from body language and word choice to vocal variety. In this category, your audience is responding to your personality and professionalism. For perspective, one of the three evaluation categories on the official Toastmasters speaker evaluation form is “As I Saw You;” in parentheses: “approach, position, personal appearance, facial expression, gestures and detracting mannerisms.” A good presenter has a passion for the subject and an ability to convey and perhaps elicit that emotion in the audience. Audience engagement—through eye contact, facial expression, perhaps the use of gestures or movement—also contributes to an effective presentation. However, to the point in the Toastmasters evaluation, gestures, movement other mannerisms can be distracting (see Module 7: Public Speaking for more on this). What works: natural (not staged) movement that reinforces communication of your idea.

Text reading "What's in it for me?" Me is the largest word.

With those key features and presentation-evaluation criteria in mind, let’s add a disclaimer. The reality is that your features won’t matter if you don’t deliver one essential benefit: relevance.

Whether you think in Toastmasters terminology—”What’s in it for me? (WIIFM)” from the audience perspective—or put yourself in the audience’s position and ask “So what?,” it’s a question that you need to answer early. We’ll get into this more in the next section as we discuss presentation planning.

Practice Question

https://assessments.lumenlearning.co...sessments/8622

Contributors and Attributions

  • Parts of a Good Presentation. Authored by : Nina Burokas. Provided by : Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution
  • Modification of WIIFM. Authored by : Nathan Stephens. Located at : https://flic.kr/p/dEFKQS . License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
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33-year-old who brought in $2 million making PowerPoints shares her best tips: 'Reduce the content'

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PowerPoint presentations are a powerful tool for your work life. Whether you're giving a presentation to your team or a talk to the student body of your university, they help add visuals to illustrate your point and further engage your audience. In fact, their use is so popular "presentation design" is one of the most in-demand freelancer skills for 2023, according to work marketplace Upwork.

But while there's plenty of advice and even online courses about how to write a good report, PowerPoints can be a bit more abstract — and even require artistic flare.

Courtney Allen has been designing PowerPoints professionally since 2013. In fact, when she got her BFA in graphic design from Boise State University, her senior portfolio "was all PowerPoint," she says. She knew there was a future in designing them; now she's made more than 1,000 and brought in $2 million creating them on Upwork.

When it comes to tips on creating a compelling PowerPoints, Allen has three.

'Reduce the content'

Allen's first tip for anyone diving in is to cut down your words per slide.

"The PowerPoint should just be a visual guide to what you're saying," she says. "If you put too much text on the slides, one, it's not readable and, two, it's just distracting from actually listening to you and the message."

"Reduce the content," she says.

Focus on 'being an effective storyteller'

Allen works on various types of presentations, among them pitch decks. "Investors only look at a pitch deck for about two to three minutes," she says. Regardless of how long you'll have to win people over, "it's really all about being an effective storyteller," she says.

For her, this means knowing the audience and not adding any "superfluous design or images that don't relate to the story and don't resonate with who you're speaking to," she says. If you're designing a presentation for doctors in their 50s, she says as an example, pick images and design elements that speak to that group — people in that age group, activities relevant to them, etc.

It's less about "your personal design preferences and more designing to who you're talking to."

'Develop your presentation based on your delivery'

Finally, consider how you'll be delivering your presentation and build it accordingly.

For people building PowerPoints to present to an audience, Allen recommends using a dark background with light text. "It's easier for people who are farther back in the audience to be able to see the text," she says. "The contrast is a lot better." Make sure to use fonts big enough for them to see as well and to keep the text high on the page.

If you're emailing your presentation as a PDF, she says, "you're able to sneak in a little more text" because people are expected to read those, she says. PDFs don't support animation, so you'll want to avoid that, and make sure you're using fonts that everyone's tech supports.

Finally, for presentations over video calls, you'll have more freedom, she says. You can use animation, just remember not to make slides too complex because sometimes there's a lag or stuttering over calls and a simple message will be easier for people to see and comprehend. She suggests doing a test call to make sure everything runs smoothly.

Ultimately, "develop your presentation based on your delivery," she says.

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US Senate unveils $118 billion bill on border security, aid for Ukraine, Israel

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Former U.S. President Donald Trump attends a campaign event in Conway

Spanish police scuffle with farmers, truck drivers on fifth day of protests

Spanish police on Saturday clashed with a group of farmers and truck drivers in Madrid as they tried to access a main road in a bid to block it, one of several protests sweeping the European Union against the bloc's environmental rules and what workers see as excessive taxes and red tape.

Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian arrives in Beirut

Senators unveil bipartisan bill to impose tougher asylum and border laws

WASHINGTON — Senators released the long-awaited text of a bipartisan agreement to impose tougher immigration and asylum laws Sunday, as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer eyes votes on the package this week.

The $118 billion package includes a series of provisions aimed at reducing record high crossings at the southern border and tightening an asylum system that has been overwhelmed by migrants fleeing their homes to seek refuge. It also includes critical aid to Israel , Ukraine and Taiwan, which Republicans have said they’ll only support if it is paired with significant new U.S. immigration restrictions.

The agreement — reached by Sens. James Lankford, R-Okla., Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz. — would be the most aggressive border security and migration overhaul bill in decades if it passes Congress. It would raise the standard to get asylum, send away those who don't qualify and expedite cases for those who do.

“The Senate’s bipartisan agreement is a monumental step towards strengthening America’s national security abroad and along our borders,” Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a statement. “This is one of the most necessary and important pieces of legislation Congress has put forward in years to ensure America’s future prosperity and security.”

But the deal is mired in election-year politics , and it’s unclear whether it has the support to pass the Senate, where it will need at least 60 votes to defeat a guaranteed filibuster. Conservative senators have been mobilizing against the deal, egged on by former President Donald Trump, who has told Republicans to reject it if it isn’t “perfect.” He has also falsely suggested that the bill would allow 5,000 illegal border crossings per day as he seeks to wield border chaos as a political weapon in a likely 2024 rematch against President Joe Biden, who quickly endorsed the bill.

The deal was met with near-immediate rejection by House Republican leadership as well as several members of the House Freedom Caucus and other conservatives in Congress. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., tweeted Sunday night: “If this bill reaches the House, it will be dead on arrival.”

Changes to asylum and immigration laws

The bill includes a new emergency authority that would allow the Department of Homeland Security to, as Biden has put it, “shut down” the border if there are too many migrants trying to cross.

DHS could close the border if Border Patrol encountered 4,000 or more migrants on average over seven days. The border would have to be shut down if those encounters reached a seven-day average of 5,000 or if they exceeded 8,500 in a single day.

The border couldn’t be shut down under this authority for more than 270 days in the first year. And the bill would give the president the power to suspend a border closure “on an emergency basis for up to 45 days if it is in the national interest.”

During an emergency closure, Border Patrol would still need to process a minimum of 1,400 migrants who try to enter the U.S. legally through ports of entry. Only unaccompanied minors would be able to cross between ports of entry. And any migrant who tried to cross illegally two or more times during a border emergency would be barred from the U.S. for a year.

That "consequence," Sinema said, represents "one key difference between the use of Title 42 and our new border authority. It will create disincentives for individuals who seek to cross illegally into the country during border closure.”

The bill would also end the practice of “catch and release.” If passed into law, the bill would allow migrants who come to the border through lawful ports of entry and families to enter the U.S. under federal supervision for 90 days while they complete asylum interviews. Those who pass would receive work permits as they await adjudication of their claims. Those who fail would be removed from the U.S. and repatriated to their home countries or to Mexico.

The bill would mandate detaining migrants who try to enter the U.S. outside of official ports of entry, pending any asylum claims. Those who fail would also be removed.

The bill allocates funding for repatriation flights up to 77 per day.

Current and former DHS officials had told NBC News that the emergency shutdown provision in the bill would cause chaos and might not be effective unless Mexico agreed to take more migrants turned away from the U.S. The bill doesn’t include new cooperation from Mexico.

The bill also raises the “credible fear” standard during interviews for asylum claims, largely by front-loading consideration of whether migrants have disqualifying criminal histories, whether they lived safely in third countries before trying to cross into the U.S. and whether they could safely relocate within their own countries.

The bill doesn't address the children of undocumented people, known as "Dreamers," long a priority of Democrats. It would change immigration laws to allow the children of people with H-1B visas to get work authorizations and freeze their legal ages while waiting for green cards, rather than face deportation once they hit age 21. While they wait, those children would be able to have work authorizations. These changes would affect about 250,000 children in the U.S., Sinema’s staff told reporters on a call Sunday night.

The bill would also provide a pathway to conditional, lawful, permanent residency for vetted Afghan nationals who were admitted or paroled into the U.S. after July 2021. The Afghan allies, many of whom worked directly with American forces during the war , and their families would be exempt from immigration quota limits and could apply for naturalization.

And the bill would add new flexibility for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Patrol to make new hires, seeking to address staffing shortages. The changes in hiring authorities are all set to sunset in the next few years and would have to be renewed.

Billions in aid

Defense and foreign policy hawks on Capitol Hill hope the immigration deal will unlock billions of dollars in military and other foreign aid that has been languishing because of demands made by House Republicans.

A huge chunk of the security package — slightly more than $60 billion — would go toward supporting Ukraine as it defends itself against the Russian invasion. That includes funding for things like military training, intelligence sharing and replenishing military weapons and equipment. 

More than $14 billion would pay for security assistance for Israel following the deadly Oct. 7 attack by Hamas terrorists, while another $10 billion in humanitarian assistance would help provide things like food, water, shelter and medical care to civilians in Gaza and the West Bank who have been affected by the war there.

Two days after Biden launched airstrikes against Iranian-backed targets in the Middle East in retaliation for the deaths of three U.S. service members, congressional leaders also included $2.44 billion to support U.S. Central Command operations and pay for combat expenses linked to the conflict in the Red Sea.

The legislation also reflects the U.S.’ decision to pause funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East amid allegations by Israel that  at least 12 of its employees participated or aided in the Oct. 7 attack .

“This was a heavily litigated part of the bill. … Ultimately, we are where we are with the prohibition,” a Senate Democratic aide said. “But we are still moving forward with resources and trying to ensure that they get on the ground as soon as this thing is enacted.”

Selling the deal

“It will make our country safer, make our border more secure, treat people fairly and humanely while preserving legal immigration, consistent with our values as a nation," Biden said in a statement Sunday. "It would give me, as President, a new emergency authority to shut down the border when it becomes overwhelmed. I urge Congress to come together and swiftly pass this bipartisan agreement. Get it to my desk so I can sign it into law immediately.”

Lankford, the chief GOP negotiator, touted the asylum and immigration changes in the legislation.

“The border security bill will put a huge number of new enforcement tools in the hands of a future administration and push the current Administration to finally stop the illegal flow,” he said in a statement. “The bill provides funding to build the wall, increase technology at the border, and add more detention beds, more agents, and more deportation flights. The border security bill ends the abuse of parole on our southwest border that has waived in over a million people. It dramatically changes our ambiguous asylum laws by conducting fast screenings at a higher standard of evidence, limited appeals, and fast deportation.”

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., praised the bill for providing “direct and immediate solutions to the crisis at our southern border.” He added that America’s sovereignty “is being tested here at home” and that adversaries are watching.

“The challenges we face will not resolve themselves, nor will our adversaries wait for America to muster the resolve to meet them,” he added in a statement. “The Senate must carefully consider the opportunity in front of us and prepare to act.”

Schumer said he had not "worked more closely with Leader McConnell on any piece of legislation as we did on this."

“On many occasions, we thought the negotiations had fallen apart, but we knew it was too important to give up and we persisted and now have come to this agreement," he said.

Sinema made her case for the immigration changes Sunday.

“We’ll no longer have people just entering the country and maybe going to court in the next seven or 10 years,” she said Sunday on CBS’ "Face the Nation." “Instead, we’ll make swift justice. Folks who do qualify for asylum will be on a rapid path — six months or less — to start a new life in America. And those who do not qualify will quickly be returned to their home countries.”

The package also includes bipartisan sweeteners, including the FEND Off Fentanyl Act , which would target, sanction and block the financial assets of people involved in the fentanyl supply chain, from chemical suppliers in China to drug traffickers from Mexico. The anti-fentanyl bill is authored by the leaders of the Senate Banking Committee, Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Tim Scott, R-S.C., and it has support from 67 senators.

Right-leaning Senate Republicans have blasted the deal for not going far enough. The bill may also lose support from some progressives and Hispanic Caucus members, who worry that Democrats are conceding too much and complain that they’ve been shut out of negotiations .

“Every time it gets to this immigration stuff, regardless of who the president is, they always err on the side of being stricter,” said Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz., a member of the Hispanic Caucus and a former leader of the Progressive Caucus. “A lot of Democrats are going to be in a tough spot when that comes over, and if the Republicans here don’t support it, it’s never going to see the light of day.”

Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., said the deal "misses the mark," in part because it "fails to provide relief for Dreamers, farm workers, and the other undocumented long-term residents of our country who contribute billions to our economy, work in essential jobs, and make America stronger."

Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., said she was still reviewing the bill but saidd the emergency border shutdown provisions would "turn away asylum seekers without due process, a boon to cartels who prey on migrants. For migrants who are able to seek asylum, they would now be subject to unrealistic standards and timelines under which to present their asylum claims, forcing too many people back to certain death, discrimination, or other harm."

Prospects in the House

The package could face long odds in the House. In his maiden floor speech as speaker last week, entirely focused on border security, Johnson slammed the emerging Senate legislation for not going far enough to stop illegal immigration: This “so-called deal does not include these transformational policy changes that are needed to actually stop the border catastrophe,” he said.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., wrote on X that the bill "will NOT receive a vote in the House" and repeated an inaccurate GOP talking point that the bill would allow 5,000 people to cross illegally into the U.S. every day.

Johnson had announced Saturday that the House will vote in the week ahead on a stand-alone Israel aid bill , without any border provisions or Ukraine funding.

Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., who served in the House with Johnson and discussed the Senate border deal with him last week, conceded that it’s a politically tricky issue for Republicans to touch during an election year and that it most likely doesn’t have backing from a majority of the 219-member House GOP conference.

“Here’s the issue that the speaker has: He can’t bring a bill to the floor without the majority of the majority. At this point, it’s very tough to say that the House has a majority of the majority to bring it to the floor,” Mullin told reporters after meeting with Johnson. “You have a lot of people up for re-election, and the perception of the American people is that it’s bad. So it’s really hard to get ahead of that.”

There are other challenges in the House, as well. As Johnson faces pressure from his right flank, House Republicans are readying a floor vote to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas , one of several administration officials who met with senators as they crafted the new immigration deal. House Republicans are accusing him and Biden of failing to enforce immigration laws and secure the southern border.

“No president in the history of our county has ever done more to intentionally harm the United States than what the president has done with the border invasion,” said Rep. Bob Good, R-Va., the leader of the far-right Freedom Caucus, whose members have aggressively pushed for impeachment.

what are the 4 key elements of presentation

Sahil Kapur is a senior national political reporter for NBC News.

what are the 4 key elements of presentation

Scott Wong is a senior congressional reporter for NBC News.

what are the 4 key elements of presentation

Julie Tsirkin is a correspondent covering Capitol Hill.

what are the 4 key elements of presentation

Julia Ainsley is homeland security correspondent for NBC News and covers the Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department for the NBC News Investigative Unit.

More From Forbes

Strategic planning for business growth in 2024: key steps for entrepreneurs.

Forbes Communications Council

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Jessica is the founder and CEO of nationally recognized marketing and PR firms Valux Digital and uPro Digital.

Uncertainty has been one of the key markers of the business landscape in 2023. Two of the biggest contributors to this general sense of insecurity concerning economic performance have been the potential for inflation and how interest rates are being used to mitigate that risk.

The macroeconomic considerations may seem far removed from reality as a small-business owner, but they can have a significant influence on company performance. To prepare and protect themselves in 2024, here are eight steps that entrepreneurs can consider.

1. Understand the current business landscape.

It is simply impossible to create a meaningful business strategy without understanding your economic environment. Staying informed about market trends will help you take advantage of new developments and spot potential problems early.

Moreover, regularly reviewing the landscape you operate in can help you prepare for industry shifts. Cast your mind back just a few years to the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. Suddenly, businesses around the world needed to connect their workforces remotely. The companies providing relevant tools to support this change were able to both help and benefit.

WhatsApp About To Change Forever With Ground-Breaking New Feature

Dangerous update warning issued for google chrome users, yes, russia really is sending 65-year-old tanks to assault ukrainian positions, 2. set clear business goals in 2024..

When you set off on a road trip, you have a clear idea of where you are planning to go. Perhaps your goal is to drive straight from your current location to your destination, or maybe you are planning several stops. The point is that it is easy to compare where you are and where you need to be.

This position is what you are aiming for in business planning and goal setting for 2024. To be effective, business goals need to be “SMART” —specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. Here is an example of a smart goal to parallel to your own: By the end of 2024, we aim to grow the revenue generated online by core product A by 10%. To ensure we do so, we’ll take steps X, Y and Z. Avoid simplifying goals too much or setting goals that are too generic. Neither will make it easy to measure performance.

3. Perform a SWOT analysis for informed decision-making.

SWOT analyses examine the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats a company is facing. Strengths and weaknesses refer to internal factors, while external influences determine opportunities and threats.

The easiest way to get started when determining your company’s strengths and weaknesses is to simply list the points that come to mind. Then consider your main competitors and how your business compares to them to sharpen your analysis.

Externally, take a look at your wider economic environment and determine what may put your growth in jeopardy. Perhaps new competitors are entering the market, or perhaps your services can be completed by emerging technologies. On the other hand, where can you see opportunities that you are not yet taking advantage of? Clarifying these four components can make it easier to decide where to put your focus strategically in 2024.

4. Consider market expansion strategies.

During your SWOT analysis, market expansion may be one of the opportunities you find. Market expansion can mean entering new geographic areas or diversifying your products and services to reach new audiences. Another option to expand the reach of your business is to form strategic partnerships with companies in related fields.

Whichever market expansion strategy you choose to pursue, it is critical to do your due diligence and understand potential risks and advantages fully before committing.

5. Foster innovation and adaptation.

Business has never moved as fast as today. Allowing and fostering a culture of innovation and adaptation within your business is essential to stay flexible, take advantage of opportunities as they arise, and avoid potential problems.

Depending on the nature of the business, entrepreneurs can encourage creative thinking by holding regular brainstorming sessions. Encouraging experimentation not only supports learning but can also motivate employees to actively seek out fresh opportunities.

6. Plan for financial growth.

Growth is impossible without solid finances in place. At the most basic level, every entrepreneur needs to understand their company’s core financial information. In practice, this usually comes down to being able to read three essential documents:

• Profit and loss overviews.

• Balance sheets.

• Cash flow statements.

All three help with financial forecasting. Arguably, I've found cash flow statements are the most important for growth. They show what expenses the business needs to cover and what revenue is coming in over a period of time. As an entrepreneur, you can quickly see whether you can cover upcoming expenses. You will also be able to determine how much money there is to invest in growth initiatives and where additional funding is needed.

7. Embrace technology.

Over the past few decades, technology has changed business as we know it, almost beyond recognition. To be successful in 2024, entrepreneurs need to leverage technology to streamline time-consuming processes, enhance operational efficiency and increase productivity.

Incorporating technology into your business doesn't always require significant upfront investments. Entrepreneurs can start by harnessing the power of existing resources. For instance, implementing project management tools can enhance team collaboration and task organization. Leveraging customer relationship management (CRM) systems, even on a small scale, can provide valuable insights into customer preferences and behaviors.

Additionally, exploring automation tools for repetitive tasks, such as email marketing or social media posting, can significantly help reduce manual workload. By gradually integrating these technological solutions, entrepreneurs can optimize their operations and pave the way for more sophisticated advancements in the future. Without embracing technology, it may become harder to stay competitive in almost every industry. The goal is not to replace humans but to free up their time for tasks requiring creative and strategic thinking.

8. Secure and develop top talent.

Aside from “uncertainty,” “skills shortage” has been another oft-quoted challenge in 2023’s economy. Attracting, developing and retaining top talent remain challenging for businesses across every sector as the job market remains strong for employees.

A skilled, motivated and loyal workforce can make the difference between a company struggling, surviving or thriving. To ensure your business can take advantage of existing talent and attract sought-after candidates, consider a flexible approach to employment by offering remote working, child care support and other benefits where possible.

As the world economy continues to recover from the pandemic while facing the challenges brought by major conflicts, entrepreneurs need to plan strategically for a successful 2024. This guide details a few of the key factors that I believe will set businesses apart in the coming months.

Forbes Communications Council is an invitation-only community for executives in successful public relations, media strategy, creative and advertising agencies. Do I qualify?

Jessica Wong

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  1. 12 Important Elements of a Successful Presentation

    1. Thorough preparation One important element of a successful presentation is thorough preparation and ensuring that you tailor your presentation toward your audience and its needs. A presentation for a group of financial executives, for example, is likely to differ from one for a community environmental group.

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    There are three key elements of good presentations: Content, Organization, Delivery. Your audience needs interesting and appropriate content in order to pay attention, especially at the start of a presentation.

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    The formal presentation of information is divided into two broad categories: Presentation Skills and Personal Presentation. These two aspects are interwoven and can be described as the preparation, presentation and practice of verbal and non-verbal communication. This article describes what a presentation is and defines some of the key terms ...

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