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ZoomIt v8.01

• 9 contributors

By Mark Russinovich

Published: February 7, 2024

Created with ZoomIt

Introduction

ZoomIt is a screen zoom, annotation, and recording tool for technical presentations and demos. You can also use ZoomIt to snip screenshots to the clipboard or to a file. ZoomIt runs unobtrusively in the tray and activates with customizable hotkeys to zoom in on an area of the screen, move around while zoomed, and draw on the zoomed image. I wrote ZoomIt to fit my specific needs and use it in all my presentations.

ZoomIt works on all versions of Windows and you can use touch and pen input for ZoomIt drawing on tablets.

Using ZoomIt

The first time you run ZoomIt it presents a configuration dialog that describes ZoomIt's behavior, let's you specify alternate hotkeys for zooming and for entering drawing mode without zooming, and customize the drawing pen color and size. I use the draw-without-zoom option to annotate the screen at its native resolution, for example. ZoomIt also includes a break timer feature that remains active even when you tab away from the timer window and allows you to return to the timer window by clicking on the ZoomIt tray icon.

ZoomIt offers a number of shortcuts which can extend its usage greatly.

Additional resources

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15 Tips for Engaging Zoom Presentations + Examples

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

What presentation software should you use?

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

Will they find your presentation boring?

Relax and take a deep breath.

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

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

Table of contents :

The science behind your Zoom presentation anxiety

• Downloadable Zoom presentation checklist

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

Part 2: tips during your zoom presentation.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Prefer video learning instead? Watch the video below.

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

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

1. Decide on the scope of your Zoom presentation

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

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

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

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

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

2. Plan for the structure of your online presentation

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

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

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

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

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

3. Prepare your presentation visuals

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

4. Eliminate clutter in your surroundings

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

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

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

5. Do a tech prep

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

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

Before your presentation, double-check the following:

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

6. Rehearse your presentation

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

7. Dress the part

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

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

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

8. Ditch the chair

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

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

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

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

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

9. Have a memorable introduction

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

11. Think happy thoughts

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

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

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

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

12. Delegate the chatbox

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

13. Engage your audience

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

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

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

14. Talk like a human and avoid too much jargon

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

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

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

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

15. Slow down

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

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

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

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

5 presentation examples and templates

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

Quarterly finance update

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

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

Marketing strategy plan template

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

Group project

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

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

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

Buyer persona template

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

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

Team update in the all-hands meeting

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

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

How to share your Piktochart slide deck on Zoom 

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

By default, your presentation is not publicly visible.

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

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

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

Ready to deliver your presentation? 

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

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

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

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The Ultimate Guide to Giving Virtual Presentations on Zoom

An irreverent and shockingly-actionable companion for anyone who wants to communicate to invisible audiences through a laptop screen.

I read a lot of “ultimate guides to X.” Most are not ultimate. Most aren’t even very readable. This is different. Oli Gardner has put together an extraordinary resource for both newcomers and experienced speakers. If you apply the tactics in this guide, I promise you’ll be among the best presenters online (or off) at your next engagement.

— Rand Fishkin. Co-founder & CEO, SparkToro.

What’s in the guide?

17 Chapters

29,584 words

84 Screenshots

Roughly speaking—and by that I mean super specific—the Ultimate Guide to Giving Virtual Presentations on Zoom contains six thematic parts, seventeen chapters, 29,584 words, eighty four precision-crafted interface screenshots to show you how to do cool things, high-production instructional videos full of fun, insights, marvellous techniques to marvel at, and did I mention that it’s twenty nine thousand, five hundred and eighty four words long?

Wait. If I add this paragraph to the number it’s actually 29,656. So, roughly speaking, it’s awesome.

This guide is actually free . I’m not asking for an email address. Helping you be a better presenter is my goal.

My only ask is that you consider sharing it with others, if you like the guide.

A few highlights from the guide

18 Zoom Features

Cool Zoom Features You Should Know About

Learn how to use the lesser-known features of Zoom for a more dynamic presentation.

7 Bad Techniques

Things to Avoid Doing in a Virtual Presentation

Learn the most common mistake in a virtual presentation and how to avoid making them.

13 Good Techniques

Definitely Do These Things When Presenting

With a few simple techniques you can drastically improve your chances of pulling off a successful virtual presentation on Zoom. And no, I don’t expect you to build an actual stage like I did, but you can at least put a plant in the background.

Your Talk’s Purpose

Create Experience Moments

A key trait of successful speakers is that they understand their personal brand. They know what they represent, how they want to be perceived, and what success looks for them. This leads directly into how we should be designing our talk experiences.

Presentation Structure, Story, & Flow

Learn how to craft a story arc by reducing your big idea to it’s simplest form and chunking it into structured elements.

40 Slide Design Tips

Slide Design Tips for Virtual Presentations

Take a deep dive into the art of presentation design in this incredibly actionable chapter that will elevate your skills overnight. And yes, there are forty tips in this chapter alone.

Real People

Virtual Audience Engagement

They may be invisible, but they’re still there, and they’re still real people who want to have a good time. Learn techniques for audience participation and five simple tricks to help maintain eye contact while presenting virtually.

Audio & Video

Create Professional Recordings of Your Talks

Learn the six elements of a great presentation recording. Plus techniques, tools, and lists of equipment you need to record professional high-resolution videos of your talks. It also covers editing in post-production, and how to add closed captions for enhanced accessibility.

6 Whoopsies

What to Do When Things Go Wrong

There are many things that can go wrong in a virtual presentation, most of them technical in nature. This chapter covers six serious issues, and offers creative solutions to turn a catastrophic and embarrassing moment, into a calm, collected, professional delivery.

5 Advanced Tips

Advanced & Creative Virtual Presentation Tips

Proxy hosts, shortlinks, customized meeting rooms, landing pages, and clickers, oh my. Enhance your expertise with these technical tips, and the best virtual speaking strategy of all—standing up.

23 Settings

Zoom Settings to Turn On or Off for a Successful Presentation

Zoom has a grand total of 301 settings—I counted them with my finger and brain—which can make it really hard to find a critical feature when it’s crunch time. This chapter breaks down the essentials and is your game-day checklist for success.

Intro Introduction to Virtual Presentations on Zoom

Chapter 1 18 Cool Zoom Features You Should Know About

Chapter 2 12 Things You Should Do in Your Zoom Presentation

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

Chapter 4 Defining Your Presentation’s Purpose

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

Chapter 6 41 Slide Design Tips for Virtual Presentations

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

Chapter 8 How to do Audience Participation in a Virtual Presentation

Chapter 9 How to Share Content during a Zoom Presentation

Chapter 10 How to Create a Stunning Video and Audio Recording

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

Chapter 12 How to Use Your Phone as a Beautiful Webcam

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

Chapter 14 How to Ground Yourself and Get Ready to Present

Chapter 15 Advanced & Creative Zoom Presentation Techniques

Chapter 16 The Difference Between Zoom Meetings and Zoom Webinars

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

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How to Be Effective and Keep Participants Engaged When Presenting Remotely

Posted august 23, 2021 by eleanor hecks.

Whether you’re doing a more traditional presentation via Zoom , giving a live interview, or conducting a webinar, the experience is very different from doing so in person. There won’t be a physical audience in front of you, and sometimes timing is extremely challenging to sync up — people often try to talk over others during conference calls. What’s more, it can be just as difficult to convey the appropriate emotions and body language, especially when just the top half of you — or sometimes even just your head — is visible.

It makes one wonder: What are some things you can do to prepare for the presentation or conference? Are there any tips you should keep in mind during the live event? What else should you know?

How to prepare your Zoom presentation

The planning phase is one of the most critical, as it’s where you’ll decide your topics, your major discussion beats, and where you’ll elaborate. You may not be using a teleprompter, but you will be creating a loose script. In addition, you’ll need to create the media that will go along with your presentation, which should be error-free, captivating, and on point.

Here are some tips to improve planning and design:

1. Design for everyone

While creating your media — the slides — understand that you are creating for a wide audience who will likely be tuning in from multiple devices and platforms. The media is going to look very different on a large, HD-ready computer monitor than it will on a smartphone or tablet. Design the content, images, and layouts so that they are compatible and friendly for all. Someone browsing on their phone should be able to see precisely the same information as someone on a laptop or computer.

Be sure to test out your presentation on different devices and resolutions. Also, try to remember that too much screen time can cause focus and stimulation problems in both children and adults. Try to limit the total presentation time, so that it’s accommodating for everyone.

2. Tone down the visuals

Yes, every presentation needs captivating visual content to go along with the text and audio. But you don’t want it to take away from the meat of the experience. It’s okay to use maps, charts, graphs, videos, photos, including stock images, GIFs, memes, and more.

Just don’t overdo it on a single slide. Try to keep it relatively confined so your audience doesn’t go into a stimulation overload. If they’re trying to read a ton of text, listen to you speak, and process several images — especially animated ones — things can get really hectic.

3. Get your area ready

On a live stream, everything around you is as much the star of the show as you. Figurines, pictures on the wall, and even clutter will all feature prominently unless you alter the background — which Zoom allows you to do. Be sure to tidy up your space before the event and remove anything from the frame that you don’t want your audience to see.

4. Brighten up the room

Webcams, even UHD cams, tend to work much better in bright conditions. If you haven’t already, open your blinds to let in some natural light. Test out the camera conditions beforehand to see whether it’s too bright, or not enough. If you’re using a laptop, you can move around your home to find the best spot.

Audiences should have a clear view of your face. Most importantly, they should be able to see when you’re speaking and what gestures you’re making.

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5. Test your equipment

You can make a test call to a friend or family member, or just test out the equipment locally, but make sure everything is working. Check your audio and your microphone, be sure the video is clear and bright, check your internet signal and speeds, and ensure all equipment is plugged in and not running on battery power. You should be doing this as close to the conference or event as possible. It doesn’t help if you check out your equipment days in advance and then run into issues the day of.

People do not like to encounter technical errors. For instance, when a page’s load speed increases by just 1-3 seconds, the bounce rate also increases by 32% . A 5-second increase boosts that bounce rate to 90%. So, the longer it takes to set up your presentation and get things moving, the more likely it is that people will tune you out or leave altogether.

6. Rehearse

Practice in front of a mirror, or hop on a call with friends and family and allow them to provide feedback. Never go into a presentation unprepared, especially if you’ve never given one before via Zoom or anywhere.

7. Create a checklist

A checklist is always a good way to review what you need to get done before an event or activity. Professionals use them to avoid costly mistakes , and you should be taking inspiration from that.

Try to remember every small detail or requirement that you need to complete before the presentation. You can even create a multi-tier checklist that deals with before, during, and after the big event.

Hosting the Zoom presentation

So, you’re all ready for the big event? Now, it’s time to make sure everything goes smoothly during your presentation. Here are some helpful tips.

1. Speak plainly

It helps if you write the script or guidelines similar to how you will be presenting, however, you should speak plainly and enunciate as much as possible. Unless the subject matter explicitly calls for it, try to avoid industry or specialized jargon. That will also mitigate how much you need to explain or move off-topic. Furthermore, it ensures your entire audience can follow along, regardless of skill level or expertise.

2. Minimize potential interruptions

You can’t control what happens on the other end of that presentation, but you can certainly control things on your side. Try to mitigate potential distractions as much as possible. Put your phone on silent. Wear headphones so there’s no audio echo or distortion. Close your door or isolate yourself so no one comes in to interrupt. You might also consider turning on Do Not Disturb mode on your computer to pause notifications during the meeting.

3. Keep your materials handy

Two points. First, you want to keep your notes or script handy so that if you get stuck you can continue with little to no pause. Second, those materials should be in a place that has you facing the camera. If you have a document up on a monitor, for example, you don’t want to be glancing sideways all the time to read what’s next.

Situate the screen and camera so they’re at the same angle, so you’re constantly looking at the camera while you read. It’s a lot easier to do with a laptop because the camera is usually in the top bezel. With a desktop, you might have to move your display(s) around, or reposition your webcam. If you’re using a phone or tablet, you should have those propped up on a stand or tripod to keep them stable.

4. Dress to impress

Dress just as you would if you were paying a visit to the office or making a presentation in public. Put on the whole outfit too, and not just the shirt, because you never know what’s going to happen. If the camera falls, you don’t want it to expose that you’re just wearing underpants along with that collared shirt.

5. Have your media ready

It’s a simple tip, but a crucial one. Have your slides and other media ready to go and queued up for sharing. Don’t wait until the presentation to get things in order. You should be able to swap to the necessary screen, share the content, and go. Have all hyperlinks, videos, and interactive elements prepared beforehand, as well.

6. Pause for effect and questions

After each major beat, pause for a moment to allow your audience to ask questions, raise concerns, or ask for you to reiterate the message. This is much more difficult when you’re dealing with a large audience, but most Zoom meetings are relatively intimate with a local group.

7. Pay attention to chat

Alongside every Zoom event or meeting, there is a live chat window that can sometimes be forgotten if you’re busy focusing on your presentation. Don’t neglect it. Your audience may be asking more questions, providing valuable feedback, or even pointing out something wrong — like your mic cutting out.

8. Record your presentation

Make sure you’re recording the presentation to reference later, not just for everyone else but for yourself too. It allows you to rewatch the feed to review questions and commentary, and also to perceive your mannerisms and dynamic content. You can use that information to build a better presentation later.

9. Leverage the Zoom tools

There’s a host of tools you can use with Zoom , including screen sharing, annotations, live polling, and much more. Incorporate them into your presentation whenever possible, and don’t forget they exist! They can help make the experience more fun, engaging, and memorable.

10. Keep it interesting

It’s easy when you’re talking, especially about dull subjects, to lose your audience. One way to keep them invested and interested is to add the occasional “boom” moment. It’s an impactful instant, like a shocking statistic, joke, or alarming point, that ties together everything you’ve been talking about up until that moment.

The follow-up

After the presentation is completed, don’t make the mistake of thinking your work is all done. The first thing to do is make the media and the recording of the presentation available so that anyone who wants to can go back and review the experience.

Next, you need channels in place to collect feedback. People will have follow-up questions and concerns, and they may want you to clarify certain points. Also, you’ll want people to share their experiences. What did they enjoy? What did they dislike? How could you have improved as a presenter? Don’t be too scared to ask these questions, as they’ll help improve your Zoom presentation skills.

Finally, consider wrapping it all up with a nice bow by giving away free content or materials to those who attended the event, like a free e-book written by you or your colleagues, or a promo code to your storefront.

With these ideas in mind, you’ll be ready to knock your next Zoom presentation or remote meeting out of the park!

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Eleanor Hecks

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Screen sharing a PowerPoint presentation

There are three methods you can use to screen share a PowerPoint presentation in a Zoom meeting. If you have dual monitors, you can share a slide show while viewing the presenter's notes on another monitor. If you have a single monitor, you can also start the slide show in a window so you have access to other meeting features while sharing your presentation. 

If you have other participants presenting portions of the PowerPoint, you can give them slide control in Zoom, so that they can control the slideshow on their end, without needing to ask you to move the slides forward. Additionally, PowerPoint slides can be shared as a Virtual Background for a more immersive sharing experience. 

This article covers:

Dual monitors with slide show and presenter's views

Single-monitor setup with slide show view in a window, single-monitor setup with slide show in full screen.

Follow these steps if you are using multiple monitors and want to present your PowerPoint in one monitor, while viewing the presenter's notes in another monitor.

• Open the PowerPoint file you want to present.
• Start or join a Zoom meeting.

• Select your primary monitor then click Share . If you are not sure which monitor is your primary, select the one that PowerPoint opens in.

• Switch back to Powerpoint and click the Slide Show tab. 

Follow these steps if you have a single monitor and want to share your PowerPoint presentation in slide show view, but have it contained in a window rather than in full screen. This is useful if you need to access meeting features, such as in-meeting chat or managing participants, while sharing your PowerPoint presentation.

• Click the Slide Show tab and then select Set Up Slide Show .
• Under Show type , select Browsed by an individual (window) and then click OK .

• In Zoom, start or join a meeting .
• Select the PowerPoint window and then click Share .

Note : Be sure you select the PowerPoint window, not the entire screen. Sharing the PowerPoint window only will allow you to use other features without interrupting the view of the presentation. 

• Select your monitor then click Share . 

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

By: Author Shrot Katewa

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

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

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

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

Understanding the Zoom Application Interface

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

Logging into Zoom

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

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

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

Zoom Home Screen

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

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

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

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

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

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

Zoom Virtual Meeting Window Interface

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Step 1: Install Zoom

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

Step 2: Login to your Zoom Account

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

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

Step 3: Test Audio and Video Settings

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

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

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

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

Step 4: Join or Schedule a Meeting

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

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

Step 5: Open the Presentation

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

Step 6: Share Your Presentation

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

Step 7: Stop Sharing to end the Presentation

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

How to Share a PowerPoint with Presenter View on Zoom?

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

Step 1: Open the Zoom App and Login

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

Step 2: Join or Setup a Virtual Meeting on Zoom

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

Step 3: Open Your PowerPoint Presentation

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

Step 4: Put the Presentation in Presenter View

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

Step 5: Switch to the Zoom Application

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

Step 6: Share Screen on Zoom’s Meeting Window

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

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

How to Share PowerPoint on Zoom Without Showing Notes?

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

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

Method 1 – Dual Monitor Method

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

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

Step 2: Now join or start a Zoom meeting.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Method 2 – Sharing Portion of Your Screen

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

Step 1: Join or start a meeting on Zoom.

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

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

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

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

How to Show Yourself During a Zoom Presentation?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

How to Record a Presentation on Zoom?

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

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

Tips for Giving an Awesome Presentation on Zoom

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

1. Make a Professional Looking Presentation

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

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

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

Agio PowerPoint Presentation Template

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

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

2. Check Your Equipment Beforehand

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

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

More Related Topics

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

Credit to Cookie_Studio for the featured image of this article

How to Give Presentations and Demo Apps in Zoom

Presenting in Zoom—whether with presentation software, displaying an image slideshow, sharing a screen for a demonstration, or using a live video feed—can sometimes feel like juggling cats while reciting Shakespeare. As one of the most popular videoconferencing tools, Zoom is in use daily by hundreds of millions of people. But it’s a flexible and constantly changing tool, which can make it hard both to figure out and keep up with how to perform common tasks like screen sharing and presentation.

In researching and writing my book Take Control of Zoom , I developed some scenarios and strategies that should help you prepare presentations and screen-sharing sessions, and then deliver them. I’ll run you through the best ways to avoid frustration while getting the results you want.

What Are You Trying to Show?

Start by laying out what precisely you want to present and what options you want available:

• Slides alone vs. slides plus notes: If you’re using a slide deck within presentation software, as a PDF, or in another app, do you want to be able to see just the presentation, or do you need to view the presentation plus notes or other supplementary material? (I nearly always need notes for my presentations.) Do you need to see the next slide?
• Observe participants or monitor chat: While presenting, it can be beneficial to see people’s reactions, whether overt or subtle. This can let you spend more time on a topic that you can see has elicited confused expressions or call on people who have questions. You might also want a show of hands or other visual feedback in response to informal polls. You may even want to view questions or responses people type in Zoom’s in-meeting chat.
• Switch among apps: Do you need to bring in material from more than one app as you present?
• Additional video sources: If you want to show “real-world” objects, you may want to switch among video sources other than your presenter webcam and shared slides. The solution to that desire might be a document camera attached to the computer from which you’re presenting, or additional devices logged into Zoom.

Here’s the good news. If you need just your slides (no notes or ancillary items or other video), and you’re fine with how Zoom provides a floating window that shows a meeting’s participants, you have the greatest flexibility. You can use Zoom and another app without engaging workarounds or special modes, and with either one or two screens on your computer. It’s still worth reading on for suggestions for flow and simplicity when presenting or demonstrating, particularly in PowerPoint or Keynote.

However, if you need to consult notes, look at other slides, switch between apps, or pull in other video sources, read on! Each of the scenarios I present, particularly the deep dive into full-screen mode, will help reduce frustration so you can achieve your desired results.

In all cases with more than a few attendees, if you can get a helper in your meeting, do! Someone else can watch for attendee feedback, monitor chat, or give you backchannel feedback.

Let’s start by tackling full-screen mode. Because of how this mode remains somewhat tacked-on in both macOS and Windows, you may run into some workflow stumbling blocks. Here’s advice to help you avoid those obstacles when starting a presentation.

Work with Full-Screen Apps

Zoom and full-screen mode in macOS (and Windows) don’t always work well together, despite Zoom’s efforts to support it on single- and multi-monitor setups. There are three fundamental issues you should watch out for:

• Some apps don’t let you switch away from an app and keep it in full-screen mode when you switch back. If that’s the case for you, trying to switch to Zoom (instead of using floating options available from Zoom’s sharing toolbar) or other apps could stop Zoom’s screen sharing or show your app’s editing interface instead of its presentation format.
• Presentation software can be rigid in how it runs slideshows, whether slides are entirely static (text and images) or interactive, with builds, animation, audio, and video. By default, PowerPoint and Keynote display only their slideshow view on a single-monitor system. On a two-monitor setup, one screen displays the slideshow view and the other screen holds presentation tools.
• Some apps with a special full-screen presentation mode—notably Keynote—face one more difficulty. You must start your app in its regular view, switch to Zoom to share the app’s window, then return to the app to switch it to presentation mode. If you engage full-screen mode first, Zoom won’t offer the window as an available option for sharing. PowerPoint, interestingly, doesn’t have this limitation.

When using a full-screen app, if you can remain in that app, you’re good—you don’t need to worry that the app will drop out of full-screen mode. Zoom provides a strip overlay window of other participants’ video on both single- and multi-monitor systems, and I explain how that works next.

However, if you need to see your notes or access other presentation tools, or if you require more complicated video input arrangements, you may need to use multiple devices or enlist the help of another person.

Go Full-Screen with PowerPoint and Keynote on Two Screens

PowerPoint and Keynote both offer a two-display setup designed for a computer plus a projector: one screen handles the interactive slideshow, while the other provides presentation tools, like a timer and preview of the next slide, plus your notes on the slide.

To invoke your slideshow in PowerPoint, click Start from Beginning or any start option on PowerPoint’s toolbar; in Keynote, Click Play or choose Play > Play Slideshow. In both apps, you can move the mouse to reveal controls or use keyboard shortcuts for various actions.

In Zoom, you can start sharing a PowerPoint presentation immediately after starting the slideshow. Return to Zoom, select the full-screen slideshow window, and return to the presentation app. You can now present.

With Keynote… it’s a little harder. If you’ve started a Keynote slideshow and try to share it in Zoom, Zoom can’t “see” Keynote’s window because Apple made Keynote’s presentation mode neither a regular window or standard full-screen mode. Instead, follow these steps:

• Make sure Keynote is prepared to start and you’re on your desired slide.
• Switch to Zoom, but don’t hide the Keynote app—if you do, Zoom may not include it in its list of available app windows.
• In Zoom, click Share Screen and, on the Basic tab, select the Keynote slide screen and click Share. This shares the entire Keynote window but only for one unguarded moment.
• Zoom automatically switches to Keynote as the foreground app. In Keynote, click Play or choose Play > Play Slideshow. Keynote begins the normal dual-screen presentation mode.

If you want to return to Zoom or show off other apps during your presentation, press H. When you’re ready to resume advancing slides, use the app switcher in macOS (Command-Tab) to return to Keynote. It’s that “easy.”

Make Your Slideshow Appear in a Window in PowerPoint and Keynote

You might feel locked into a full-screen mode for presentations, whether you’re on a single- or multiple-monitor system. However, both PowerPoint and Keynote offer a way to get the advantage of a regular app window that doesn’t hijack the entire display and that you can share with Zoom.

In PowerPoint, choose Slide Show > Set Up Show. (You can also access additional options—such as the Set Up Slide Show button—in the toolbar when you switch to Slide Show view by clicking Slide Show at the top of the PowerPoint window.) Select “Browsed by an individual (window)” and click OK. Now, when you start the slideshow, the slides appear in a resizable, floating window.

In mid-2020, Apple released Keynote 10.1 with a new Play Slideshow in Window option. To invoke this view, choose Play > Play Slideshow in Window. (If you think you’ll use it regularly, Control-click the toolbar in Keynote, choose Customize Toolbar, drag Play in Window onto the toolbar, and click Done.)

In both apps, you can then use Zoom’s screen sharing to select the presentation window and share it. In this form, the window’s interface elements, such as the title bar, will show in Zoom.

Use a Portion of a Screen for Presentations

For apps that don’t have a dedicated presentation mode, Zoom’s option to select a portion of a screen helps you select just the portion of the app window you want everyone to see and lets you crop out the interface, title bar, and other elements.

With these sorts of apps, first carefully position the app’s window so that it won’t overlap with any other app you’re using—except Zoom, which automatically hides itself from itself. (You can override that if you want to share the Zoom app itself to a meeting: see Show a Zoom Window in Zoom Screen Sharing.)

Then, in Zoom, click the Share Screen button, click the Advanced tab, and select Portion of Screen. Click Share, after which you can position and resize a green rectangular outline that shares everything within it to feature just the portion of the app’s window you want to share.

This approach is a great way to leverage Preview, which can display PDFs and images. For showing a PDF, I carefully size and control Preview’s display, typically setting View > Single Page and then Option-clicking the green Zoom button in the upper-left corner of the window to size the page to the display. Then I drag the Zoom portion-sharing rectangle over just the visible page.

Present in Keynote with the Mobile Keynote Controller

Keynote’s addition of Play Slideshow in Window gives you an interesting—if slightly complicated—way to have both a full set of presenter’s tools and a standard macOS window. Just use Keynote for macOS and the Keynote iOS/iPadOS app’s remote control.

Here’s how to do this:

• Install Keynote on your iPhone or iPad and your Mac. Follow Apple’s instructions to pair the Keynote Remote option in the mobile app to your Mac.
• In Keynote for macOS, open the slide deck you want to present within Zoom, and choose Play > Play Slideshow in Window. Position the window as you like.
• In Zoom, click Share Screen and then select the Keynote window.
• Launch Keynote for iOS/iPadOS and tap the Keynote Remote icon. (If you have multiple computers paired, tap Devices, tap the correct Mac, and then tap Done.) You’ll see a large Play icon.
• In the Keynote Remote view, tap the side-by-side slides icon at the top right and tap Current and Notes, Next and Notes, or Notes Only to see your notes on the iPhone or iPad. (You can also control text size and invert colors for better legibility.)

You can now use the Keynote app on your mobile device to advance slides or go backward, as well as pick slides and other options. All the while, you can access Zoom and other apps in macOS without interfering with the Keynote for macOS presentation!

Present with Different Display and Device Combinations

Zoom offers many different ways to work simultaneously with multiple screens on a single computer or multiple devices connected to a single meeting. These can allow you to present from various apps and use video feeds for real-world demonstrations in any combination you need to. I’ve broken out the presentation styles by what you can do with different numbers of displays and devices.

Present with a Single Monitor

In the simplest example, you have joined the Zoom meeting from a single computer with a single screen. You manage what you’re sharing in its own window or portion of a window, while Zoom uses the floating window as with Active Speaker full-screen mode, as shown below.

With a single screen, the floating view of other participants sits on top of everything else, including full-screen presentations. Zoom’s sharing bar can give you access to Chat and other features, though some apps may render your pointer invisible, making it effectively impossible to click things!

For apps that don’t require full-screen mode, you can organize windows so that you can see digital notes in part of the screen while you present.

You can also help yourself out by using an iPad or other device to show your notes or even—I know, I know!—printing out your notes and using pieces of paper like an animal.

Present with Two Monitors

If one monitor is good, two are better—sort of. I recommend splitting up tasks among screens based on what you need to focus on:

• Position your slides, images, or app where you can see and easily get to them when you need to interact with them.
• Position digital notes where you can quickly glance back and forth from whatever you’re sharing.
• Unless watching participants’ reactions or hand motions is critical, put them in a secondary location that you can look at as needed but isn’t your main focus.

On a computer with two or more monitors, you can set Zoom to work entirely on a single monitor or distribute its windows across two monitors. In Settings > General, select or deselect “Use dual monitors.” (Your operating system, not Zoom, determines what your “main” screen is.)

In single-monitor mode, you can put the Zoom window wherever you like it on any display. If you have slides, notes, and other material on the main monitor, consider placing the Zoom window on your secondary monitor.

In dual-monitor mode, Zoom adds another resizable window that, during normal conversation, shows the latest active speaker on the secondary screen. When you’re sharing your screen, that second window switches to the full Active Speaker view and shows thumbnails of all speakers at the top.

That can be handy, or it can be distracting. If your webcam is on top of your primary display, and you’re looking at the secondary one when you speak, it will appear that you’re looking off to the side. (Consider rearranging the windows to make sure you’re looking straight into your camera.) While you’re sharing a screen for a presentation, however, no one will be looking at your video feed.

Present with Two People

As I mentioned earlier, having a helper can be extremely useful for managing slides, notes, and other apps or details, or so someone else can pay attention to attendees. In some cases, you might push the slide-presentation portion entirely to another person, so they control the slide while you talk.

That person can operate in full-screen mode and rely on your oral instructions to advance slides while you keep a watchful eye on meeting members. It’s a little old school, like a college lecturer pacing a stage as she delivers her talk, occasionally calling out, “Next!” You could also keep a direct chat session open with the person managing slides and type N or another signal to make your communication less audible.

Present with Multiple Devices

Presenting with multiple devices might seem ridiculous at first glance, but it’s an option I strongly recommend for people trying to balance some of the considerations I noted earlier:

• You want to see and interact with participants while presenting and still have access to your notes and potentially other apps.
• You are mixing digital and physical presentations, and you need to show things in different places or different kinds of items in your setup throughout the presentation, potentially switching back and forth.

Multiple devices let you have enough screen real estate and manage all the elements you need without dealing with operating-system or full-screen constraints. That’s particularly the case if you want to use the full Gallery view of participants, which isn’t available when you’re sharing a screen. I’ve used this setup on multiple occasions, and while it may be complicated, it’s actually quite easy to manage in practice.

One scenario would be to have a laptop and iPad next to a desktop system. Connect to Zoom from all three devices. Have the slides on the desktop, switch into slideshow mode, and share the slides in the Zoom session. On your laptop, use Zoom in Gallery mode. Use the conveniently placed iPad for your notes.

If you need to work across space and with physical items, using multiple devices is the ticket. A document camera or a phone or webcam set up in a similar position to capture flat or 3D objects beneath it can be a great addition to a presentation. Zoom lets you use screen sharing to select another video source, which lets you better control what participants see, and allows annotation to mark up the display.

Zoom can also share a USB-attached or AirPlay-streaming iPhone or iPad, but I think it’s usually better to have that device logged into the mobile Zoom app so that participants can switch to see it, or so you can spotlight it using host controls.

Secondary devices can be useful in any situation in which you need to move around and don’t want to set up a camera in each new location.

In a virtual workshop I attended on letterpress printing, the instructor had three Zoom apps running at once:

• A laptop for speaking to attendees and interacting, as well as reading from notes and showing slides
• An iPad mounted in an overhead position above a transparent plexiglass sheet, so she could work underneath it, demonstrating layout techniques
• An iPhone on a camera tripod mounted to point at her press, so we could watch her put the layout into the bed of the press and print

She carried the laptop around for mic input and to switch which video was spotlighted. She muted the audio in and out of the two mobile devices. (Zoom’s mobile apps have a separate tiny speaker icon at the top that mutes output: even if you have turned your iPhone volume down in Control Center, you still have to tap the speaker icon to mute it in the Zoom app!)

In my office setup, I installed a sub-$25 mobile swing-arm stand on the wall. I can clip an iPhone into it and use it to show overhead views of my 2D laser cutter when demonstrating projects on it and employ the laser cutter’s flat surface—with a piece of white foam core on top—as a document stand.

Glenn’s Take Control of Zoom was updated in November to cover all the most recent changes and improvements in Zoom. His free book Take Control of Zoom Essentials , which focuses on getting up and running in Zoom quickly and without frustration, was also updated in late 2020.

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Comments About How to Give Presentations and Demo Apps in Zoom

Notable replies.

I use an iPad doing an Airplay to AirServer on my Mac. This creates a window on my Mac of the presentation on my iPad. I can switch from PowerPoint to GoodNotes to any other iPad app and the window on my Mac is the same window shared in Zoom. I see my speaker notes on the iPad but only the presentation shows up via Airplay/AirServer on the window on the Mac. Same with app controls, only what I want presented shows up in the window, not the controls. I basically work off my iPad and Zoom shares a more polished product.

When I really want to push the envelop, I use OBS, the AirServer window, and my webcam to create a composite image and share that as my “camera” in Zoom.

I’d love for Keynote to have an option to open a second window with presenter view whenever I choose Play Slideshow in a Window. That way I could have Zoom share the slideshow window while I could focus on the presenter view window which I’d have in front covering most of my screen except for audience and chat.

One thing I really don’t like with Zoom is that I can’t configure it’s audience/chat windows until I actually share. But I’d like to be able to set up their exact location, size, and settings before I start sharing so that as soon as the audience is ready to go I can start rather than first having to fiddle around with extra windows. Kind of like Keynote lets me set up presenter view well ahead of the actual presentation.

I am looking for a way to play an iPad software instrument in a Zoom (or FaceTime) call and have the internal instrument be heard along with my voice. When I try, I can hear everything, but the instrument’s audio is not transmitted.

What about using Keynote’s Keynote Live feature under the Share menu? Presumably you’d have to share the link with your Zoom participants, but then you could keep track of their reactions in the main Zoom window while you present in Keynote across the web.

I’ve never used it beyond testing. Maybe? It’s kind of a weird technology, requires viewing through a browser (or a copy of Keynote), and I don’t think it solves the problem. If you’ve tested it for this purpose, please share how you’re using it with pictures! Glad to expand options here.

I use Play Slideshow in Window in Keynote, and my iPad shows the presenter view. Unfortunately, the iPad can’t show the current and next slides and my notes all at once like the Mac’s presenter view does.

Another configuration I tried was using the iPad as a second monitor for the Mac. If I were just using Keynote, that would work great, but I occasionally need to use the iPad as a whiteboard so I can work out physics problems for my students. I found the process of switching back and forth between modes quite inconvenient.

I have the same complaint about Zoom as Simon. Every time you open a window, Zoom seems to stick it right back at its default location, which is typically in the way.

Things have moved on but it used to be so convenient to use iChat and Keynote in Macs for virtual meetings. That was in the days when they just worked! (Maybe because Steve used them for his presentations). My experience is that things went downhill when FaceTime replaced iChat and Keynote was dragged down to an iOS app.

Thanks everyone for advice on various ways to get things to work with Zoom.

Is there a reason you use the portion-of-the-screen-sharing with PDFs instead of setting Preview to display full screen and then share that? Seems like it would be more reliable as there’s no chance of other things encroaching on the portion is the screen being shared.

Another option would be to use Skim to view the PDF as it has a presentation view option (and you could share that window specifically).

Thank you for the article. Some helpful tips! One issue often neglected using presentations is video and audio quality. Apple’s built in camera is not something to write home about. If you present often and participate in zoom calls for business often (as I do) it would make sense to buy a higher quality camera connected to your Mac via a USB port. Same goes to a decent microphone. Either a dash mike, or a super cardioid “shotgun”, will eliminate external noise. One does not need studio quality as long as it picks up your voice and not that of your kids playing in the other room or the lawnmower across the road. And last - lighting. Make sure your face is evenly lit from both sides and that it is brighter than the background. No need for studio lights. Sometime the light coming from your screen is enough, but maybe a reading light (or two) positioned so they reflect light from the wall on your face will do a great job.

I have an idea for a Mac app that puts a bright white rectangle around the edge of the screen - like some make-up mirrors. Wish I knew how to create Mac apps! I will test the idea by creating a suitable background image. …

Nope … not bright enough!

Indeed! We’ve covered those topics in the past with a couple of articles:

Yes, to see the thumbnails and have more control. Full-screen mode for Preview with Zoom (or any app in full-screen mode with Zoom) interacts poorly.

My wife used the family iMac to do a zoom call a while back - her relatives are unfortunately Android and Windows users so FaceTime was out of the question. Unfortunately she didn’t quit the app (as is her forte) and later that night I received a notification that the family iMac was attempting to hack my own.

I reimaged the family iMac from a backup taken prior to the zoom call because I had no idea what the intruder may have done to that machine.

Long and the short … be careful what you do with Zoom and make sure it’s no longer active when you stop using it.

Can you share details about what happened? Zoom does have remote control capabilities, but they require some setup and permission on the part of the person whose Mac is being controlled. Or did you mean something else by “hack”? And how were you notified?

https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362673-Requesting-or-giving-remote-control

How long ago?

About a month prior to Thanksgiving is the closest we can come.

I knew nothing of Zoom and we were using it in its default configuration. We needed to join a family videoconference and at the time I wasn’t even aware that an app had to be installed, so it was just get it installed and go. It was certainly not configured to allow remote control.

Since that time we use my MacBook Pro and I insure the application is immediately quit after the videoconference.

Notification was probably via BitDefender or Netgear Armor which we have on our Orbi RBK853 mesh. It was unreasonably late at night - I was the only one awake - and it was pure good fortune that I was at my computer to receive the alert.

Zoom is certainly not in my bag of trusted apps, and if I could get the half dozen or so members of my wife’s not-too-technically-adept family to use something I trusted more I would certainly do it.

Unfortunately the controling parameters seem to be not too hard to use , windows compatible , and free .

Seems quite unlikely that it was an attack via Zoom rather than Zoom doing something that the monitoring software didn’t like, as there are 100,000s of people pounding away on the app. If there had been an attack vector (particularly on Macs) I would think we would have heard about, since security researchers haven’t been shy about anything else.

Because of how meetings are configured, Zoom doesn’t maintain a connection after a session is completed. So in that scenario, there would have had to be a vulnerability in Zoom that allowed an arbitrary remote party to exploit it specifically for your wife’s machine in a way that didn’t alert a zillion other people, and then install malware that reached out over the network.

I do think it’s far more likely that Zoom engages in network activity for its LAN-based chat or other purposes that was identified as malicious because unknown. I’ll keep on it, though, as we’re about 90 days past November now, so if there were a serious exploit reported to the company around then that they silently fixed, now would be the time that a researcher would be allowed to disclose the flaw.

Didn’t say session was ended - does that require an explicit action or does it happen automatically? The conference exceeded an hour and I thought the free version wasn’t supposed to allow that long a session - there may be been changes made for the pandemic.

Only thing is is that was the one and only time it happened. That there was our first zoom conference that day would be an amazing coincidence if the two were unrelated.

Since that day, I no longer let my wife drive and I always quit the app immediately after the conference completes.

Not sure how many Mac users have anti-virus/anti-malware software installed, and really not sure how many run network intrusion software in their internet gateways. Netgear Armor runs both in the client (Mac) and in the router.

I use Camo with Zoom calls and I am usually the clearest looking person on the call these days. And I’m not even using the paid features which allows for 1080p and color adjustments. I do feel like buying some lighting since all of the lights in my room light up the walls, which are salmonberry, which in turn makes me look orange. On a sunny day the color is much better with light from the outside.

It’s great that Keynote Presentation in a Window now also opens a separate Presenter window. Another way to work with a presenter screen is also open Keynote on an iPad or iPhone and use the Keynote Remote option to display the Presenter window on the device. The only problems here is that while the computer version of the window shows the currents slide, next slide, and presenter notes, the Keynote Remote version only can show 2 of 3 (your choice).

I use my iPad as a remote so I can use the “laser pointer” feature to draw attention to what I’m talking about, and occasionally, I will write something on the slide as I talk. When you go into that mode, however, you lose the presenter display on the iPad, which is inconvenient if you want to see your notes.

This is tremendously good news! It solves a lingering problem (and puts Keynote a leg up on PowerPoint for Mac).

The one fly in the upgrade ointment: Keynote 11.0 is only available for macOS 10.15 and 11.x.

Nobody at Microsoft has! (Yet?)

Actually, you now have the best of both worlds. On your Mac, run the slide show in a window which will also open the Presenter window (with your notes). Use the Keynote Remote option on your phone with the same slide show in markup mode. Share the Slide Show window and adjust the Presenter Window to a reasonable size so that you can use your notes. Now you can see your notes but control the show (including pointing and marking up) from your phone.

That is a superb tip, Alan!

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The best presentation software in 2024

These powerpoint alternatives go beyond the basics..

The latest presentation apps have made it easier than ever to format slides and create professional-looking slideshows without giving off a "this is a template" vibe. Even standard PowerPoint alternatives have updated key features to make it easier than ever to collaborate and create presentations quickly, so you can spend more time prepping for your actual presentation.

If, like me, you've used Google Slides unquestioningly for years, it's a whole new world out there. The newest crop of online presentation tools go way beyond the classic slideshow experience, with new features to keep your audience's attention, streamline the creation process with AI, and turn slide decks into videos and interactive conversations.

I've been testing these apps for the past few years, and this time, I spent several days tinkering with 25 of the top presentation software solutions out there to bring you the best of the best.

The best presentation software

What makes the best presentation app, how we evaluate and test apps.

When looking for the best presentation apps, I wanted utility players. After all, slideshows are used for just about everything, from pitch decks and product launches to class lectures and church sermons. With that in mind, here's what I was looking for:

Pre-built templates. The best presentation tools should have attractive, professional-looking templates to build presentations in a hurry.

Sharing and collaboration options. Whether you plan to share your webinar slides later, or you just want to collaborate with a coworker on a presentation, it should be easy to share files and collaborate in real-time.

Flexibility and customization options. Templates are great, but top presentation apps should enable you to customize just about everything—giving you the flexibility to build exactly what you need.

Affordability. Creating compelling presentations is important, but you shouldn't have to bust your budget to make it happen. With capable free tools on the market, affordability is a top consideration.

Standalone functionality. There's no reason to use multiple tools when one can do it all, so I didn't test any apps that require and work on top of another presentation app like PowerPoint or Google Slides.

Familiar, deck-based interface. For our purposes here, I only tested software that uses slides, with the familiar deck-based editor you expect from a "presentation" tool (versus, for example, a video creation app).

Beyond that, I also looked for presentation apps that brought something unique to the table—features above and beyond what you can get for free from a legacy solution like PowerPoint or Google Slides.

Here's what my testing workflow looked like:

I went through any onboarding or guided tutorials.

I created a new deck, scanning through all available templates, noting how well-designed they were (and which were free versus paid).

I added new slides, deleted slides, edited text and images, and played around with other content types.

I changed presentation design settings, like color schemes and background images.

I reviewed and tested the sharing and collaboration options.

I tested out presenter view (when available).

After my first round of testing, I went back into the top performers to test any unique or niche features, like AI, brand settings, and interactive content. With that, these are the best presentation apps I found—each one really brings something different or radically easy to the table.

The best presentation software at a glance

The best free presentation software, .css-yjptlz-link{all:unset;box-sizing:border-box;-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;cursor:pointer;-webkit-transition:all 300ms ease-in-out;transition:all 300ms ease-in-out;outline-offset:1px;-webkit-text-fill-color:currentcolor;outline:1px solid transparent;}.css-yjptlz-link[data-color='ocean']{color:#3d4592;}.css-yjptlz-link[data-color='ocean']:hover{color:#2b2358;}.css-yjptlz-link[data-color='ocean']:focus{color:#3d4592;outline-color:#3d4592;}.css-yjptlz-link[data-color='white']{color:#fffdf9;}.css-yjptlz-link[data-color='white']:hover{color:#a8a5a0;}.css-yjptlz-link[data-color='white']:focus{color:#fffdf9;outline-color:#fffdf9;}.css-yjptlz-link[data-color='primary']{color:#3d4592;}.css-yjptlz-link[data-color='primary']:hover{color:#2b2358;}.css-yjptlz-link[data-color='primary']:focus{color:#3d4592;outline-color:#3d4592;}.css-yjptlz-link[data-color='secondary']{color:#fffdf9;}.css-yjptlz-link[data-color='secondary']:hover{color:#a8a5a0;}.css-yjptlz-link[data-color='secondary']:focus{color:#fffdf9;outline-color:#fffdf9;}.css-yjptlz-link[data-weight='inherit']{font-weight:inherit;}.css-yjptlz-link[data-weight='normal']{font-weight:400;}.css-yjptlz-link[data-weight='bold']{font-weight:700;} canva (web, windows, mac, android, ios).

Canva pros:

Excellent free plan

Tons of amazing templates for all use cases

Feature-rich

Canva cons:

The AI tools aren't groundbreakingly useful

Canva offers one of the most robust free plans of all the presentation apps I tested. The app delays account creation until after you've created your first design, so you can get started building your presentation in seconds. Choose from an almost overwhelming number of beautiful templates (nearly all available for free), including those designed specifically for education or business use cases.

Anyone who's accidentally scrolled too far and been bumped to the next slide will appreciate Canva's editor interface, which eliminates that problem altogether with a smooth scroll that doesn't jump around. Choose from a handful of preset animations to add life to your presentations, or browse the library of audio and video files available to add. And Canva also has a number of options for sharing your presentation, including adding collaborators to your team, sharing directly to social media, and even via QR code.

Present directly from Canva, and let audience members submit their questions via Canva Live. Once you share a link to invite audience members to your presentation, they can send questions for you to answer. As the presenter, you'll see them pop up in your presenter view window, so you can keep the audience engaged and your presentation clear. Alternatively, record a presentation with a talking head bubble—you can even use an AI presenter here—to share remotely.

Canva pricing: Free plan available; paid plans start at $120/year for 1 user and include additional features like Brand Kit, premium templates and stock assets, and additional AI-powered design tools.

The best presentation app for AI-powered design

.css-yjptlz-link{all:unset;box-sizing:border-box;-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;cursor:pointer;-webkit-transition:all 300ms ease-in-out;transition:all 300ms ease-in-out;outline-offset:1px;-webkit-text-fill-color:currentcolor;outline:1px solid transparent;}.css-yjptlz-link[data-color='ocean']{color:#3d4592;}.css-yjptlz-link[data-color='ocean']:hover{color:#2b2358;}.css-yjptlz-link[data-color='ocean']:focus{color:#3d4592;outline-color:#3d4592;}.css-yjptlz-link[data-color='white']{color:#fffdf9;}.css-yjptlz-link[data-color='white']:hover{color:#a8a5a0;}.css-yjptlz-link[data-color='white']:focus{color:#fffdf9;outline-color:#fffdf9;}.css-yjptlz-link[data-color='primary']{color:#3d4592;}.css-yjptlz-link[data-color='primary']:hover{color:#2b2358;}.css-yjptlz-link[data-color='primary']:focus{color:#3d4592;outline-color:#3d4592;}.css-yjptlz-link[data-color='secondary']{color:#fffdf9;}.css-yjptlz-link[data-color='secondary']:hover{color:#a8a5a0;}.css-yjptlz-link[data-color='secondary']:focus{color:#fffdf9;outline-color:#fffdf9;}.css-yjptlz-link[data-weight='inherit']{font-weight:inherit;}.css-yjptlz-link[data-weight='normal']{font-weight:400;}.css-yjptlz-link[data-weight='bold']{font-weight:700;} beautiful.ai (web, mac, windows).

Beautiful.ai pros:

True AI design

No fussing around with alignment

Still allows for customization

Beautiful.ai cons:

No free plan

If you're like me, editing granular spacing issues is the absolute worst part of building a presentation. Beautiful.ai uses artificial intelligence to take a lot of the hassle and granular design requirements out of the presentation process, so you can focus on the content of a presentation without sacrificing professional design. If I needed to make presentations on a regular basis, this is the app I'd use.

Many apps have recently added AI design features, but Beautiful.ai has been doing it for years—and they've perfected the experience of AI design, ensuring the tool's reign as the most streamlined and user-friendly option for AI design.

The editor is a little different from most presentation apps, but it's still intuitive—and you'll start off with a quick two-minute tutorial. When creating a new slide, scroll through "inspiration slides" to find a layout you like; once you choose, the app will pull the layout and automatically adapt it to match the design of the rest of your presentation.

With 10 themes, several templated slides, over 40 fully-designed templates, and more than 20 different color palettes to choose from, Beautiful.ai strikes a perfect balance between automation and customization.

While Beautiful.ai doesn't offer a free plan, paid plans are reasonably priced and offer sharing and collaboration options that rival collab-focused apps like Google Slides. And speaking of Google, you can connect Beautiful.ai with Google Drive to save all your presentations there.

Note: I re-tested the generative AI feature (called DesignerBot) this year. It's great for adding individual slides to an existing presentation—automatically choosing the best layout and matching the design to the rest of the deck—but as with most other apps, it struggled to pull in relevant images.

Beautiful.ai pricing: Plans start at $12/month for unlimited slides, AI content generation, viewer analytics, and more. Upgrade to a Team plan for $40/user/month to get extra collaboration and workspace features and custom brand controls.

The best presentation app for conversational presentations

.css-yjptlz-link{all:unset;box-sizing:border-box;-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;cursor:pointer;-webkit-transition:all 300ms ease-in-out;transition:all 300ms ease-in-out;outline-offset:1px;-webkit-text-fill-color:currentcolor;outline:1px solid transparent;}.css-yjptlz-link[data-color='ocean']{color:#3d4592;}.css-yjptlz-link[data-color='ocean']:hover{color:#2b2358;}.css-yjptlz-link[data-color='ocean']:focus{color:#3d4592;outline-color:#3d4592;}.css-yjptlz-link[data-color='white']{color:#fffdf9;}.css-yjptlz-link[data-color='white']:hover{color:#a8a5a0;}.css-yjptlz-link[data-color='white']:focus{color:#fffdf9;outline-color:#fffdf9;}.css-yjptlz-link[data-color='primary']{color:#3d4592;}.css-yjptlz-link[data-color='primary']:hover{color:#2b2358;}.css-yjptlz-link[data-color='primary']:focus{color:#3d4592;outline-color:#3d4592;}.css-yjptlz-link[data-color='secondary']{color:#fffdf9;}.css-yjptlz-link[data-color='secondary']:hover{color:#a8a5a0;}.css-yjptlz-link[data-color='secondary']:focus{color:#fffdf9;outline-color:#fffdf9;}.css-yjptlz-link[data-weight='inherit']{font-weight:inherit;}.css-yjptlz-link[data-weight='normal']{font-weight:400;}.css-yjptlz-link[data-weight='bold']{font-weight:700;} prezi (web, mac, windows, ios, android).

Prezi pros:

Doesn't restrict you to standard presentation structure

Lots of customization options

Prezi Video lets you display a presentation right over your webcam video

Prezi cons:

Steep learning curve

Struggling to squeeze information into a basic, linear presentation? Give Prezi a try. Unlike nearly all other presentation apps on the market, Prezi Present doesn't restrict the structure of your presentation to a straight line. The editor focuses on topics and subtopics and allows you to arrange them any way you want, so you can create a more conversational flow of information.

With the structural flexibility, you still get all the same customization features you expect from top presentation software, including fully-editable templates. There's a learning curve if you're unfamiliar with non-linear presentations, but templates offer a great jumping-off point, and Prezi's editor does a good job of making the process more approachable.

Plus, Prezi comes with two other apps: Prezi Design and Prezi Video. Prezi Video helps you take remote presentations to a new level. You can record a video where the presentation elements are displayed right over your webcam feed. Record and save the video to share later, or connect with your video conferencing tool of choice (including Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet) to present live.

Prezi's generative AI feature works ok, but it's more useful as a wireframe. When I asked it to create a presentation about the Stanley Cup Playoffs, for example, the resulting content read a lot like a student writing a term paper in the broadest strokes possible to avoid doing any actual research.

The best presentation app for video presentations

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Powtoon pros:

Timing automatically changes based on the content on the slide

Can toggle between slideshow and video

Can orient presentation as horizontal, vertical, or square

Powtoon cons:

Limited free plan

Powtoon makes it easy to create engaging videos by orienting the editor around a slide deck. Editing a Powtoon feels just like editing a presentation, but by the time you finish, you have a professional video. 

You can edit your slides at any time, and when you hit play, a video plays through your deck—the feel is almost like an animated explainer video. Each slide includes the animations you choose and takes up as much time as is needed based on the content on the slide. Powtoon figures the timing automatically, and you can see in the bottom-right of the editor how much time is used on your current slide versus the total presentation. If you ever want to present as a slide deck, just toggle between Slideshow and Movie.

You'll likely need to subscribe to a paid plan to get the most out of Powtoon—like creating videos longer than three minutes, downloading them as MP4 files, and white-labeling your presentations—but doing so won't break the bank. Plus, you'll unlock tons of templates complete with animations and soundtracks.

One of my favorite Powtoon features is the ability to orient your video: you can choose horizontal orientation (like a normal presentation) or opt for vertical (for mobile) or square (for social media). When your presentation is ready, you can publish straight to YouTube, Wistia, Facebook Ads, and any number of other locations.

The best presentation app for collaborating with your team

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Pitch pros:

Google levels of collaboration

Assign slides to specific team members

Excellent generative AI feature

Pitch cons:

User interface is a little different than you're used to

Need to collaborate on presentations with your team? Pitch is a Google Slides alternative that gets the job done. As far as decks go, Pitch includes all the beautifully-designed templates, customizability, and ease of use you expect from a top-notch presentation tool. But the app really shines when you add your team.

The right-hand sidebar is all about project management and collaboration: you can set and update the status of your deck, assign entire presentations or individual slides to team members, plus comment or add notes. Save custom templates to make future presentations even easier and faster.

You can also invite collaborators from outside your company to work with you on individual decks. And if you opt for a paid plan, Pitch introduces workspace roles, shared private folders, and version history.

Pitch also offers one of the most impressive generative AI features on this list. It still struggles to pull in relevant images, but I found the AI-generated written content and design to be top-notch.

The best presentation app for conversational AI

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Gamma pros:

Creates fully fleshed-out presentations from a prompt

Conversational chatbot-like experience

Can still manually edit the presentation

Gamma cons:

Not as much granular customization

I tested a lot of apps claiming to use AI to up your presentation game, and Gamma's conversational AI features were head and shoulders above the crowd.

Simply give the app a topic—or upload an outline, notes, or any other document or article—approve the outline, and pick a theme. The app will take it from there and create a fully fleshed-out presentation. It's far from perfect, but Gamma produces a very useful jumping-off point. (Last year, it was by far the best, but this year, other apps are catching up.)

Here's the key: Gamma is much more geared toward the iterative, chatbot experience familiar to ChatGPT users. Click on the Edit with AI button at the top of the right-hand menu to open the chat, and you'll see suggested prompts—or you can type in your own requests for how Gamma should alter the presentation.

Once you've done all you can with prompts, simply close the chat box to manually add the finishing touches. While you do sacrifice some granular customizability in exchange for the AI features, you can still choose your visual theme, change slide layouts, format text, and add any images, videos, or even app and web content.

The best presentation app for audience engagement

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Mentimeter pros:

Tons of audience engagement features

Simple for participants to interact

Mentimeter cons:

Less granular customizability

Bit of a learning curve

If you need to engage with an audience during your presentation, Mentimeter makes that easy. The app is designed around interactive elements like quizzes, surveys, Q&As, sliders, and more (even a Miro whiteboard!).

Each of these is included in a number of different, professional-looking templates, so you can build a fully interactive presentation super quickly.

When it's time to present, your audience members can scan the QR code with their phone cameras or type in the URL and access code to participate. There's one code per presentation (so they won't have to do this on every slide), which gives access to each slide as you move through the presentation.

There are two main drawbacks to this one, though. First, there's a bit of a learning curve and less familiar editing interface (but I found it pretty easy to learn with some practice). The other drawback is that you can't get as granular with the visual customization as you can with many other presentation tools.

The best presentation app for generative AI

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Top-tier generative AI features

Simple, customizable templates

Intuitive doc-style editor

There's definitely a learning curve

Tome is one of the new additions to this list that I'm most excited about. If you're looking for generative AI that just genuinely works , it's definitely worth a look. The editor is a bit more stripped down than most presentation apps but intuitive nonetheless—it's almost a cross between your standard deck editor and a Notion-style doc.

To generate an AI deck, click Generate with AI in the top right, and either write your own prompt or choose from the example prompts that cover a handful of common use cases, like sales enablement and company pitches. Edit or approve the suggested outline, then generate the full presentation.

From there, you can edit each slide as a doc via the right-hand menu—without limits on how much information you can include. During the presentation, you simply size down any slides that take up more than the standard amount of space. It's super simple but somehow feels revolutionary in a presentation app.

What about the old standbys?

You might notice a few major presentation players aren't on this list, including OGs Microsoft PowerPoint, Apple Keynote, and Google Slides. These apps are perfectly adequate for creating basic presentations, and they're free if you have a Windows or Mac device or a Google account.

I didn't include them on the list because the presentation space has really developed in the last several years, and after testing them out, I found these behemoths haven't kept pace. If they weren't made by Microsoft/Apple/Google, I might not even be mentioning them. They're pretty basic tools, they're behind the curve when it comes to templates (both quantity and design), and they don't offer any uniquely valuable features like robust team collaboration, branding controls, video, and so on.

In any case, if you're reading this, you're probably looking for an alternative that allows you to move away from one of the big 3, and as the presentation platforms featured above show, there's a ton to gain—in terms of features, usability, and more—when you do.

What about PowerPoint and Google Slides add-ons?

While I focused my testing on tools with full feature-sets—those that can serve as your sole presentation tool—there are a ton of add-on tools you can use atop big name tools like PowerPoint and Google Slides.

Related reading:

This post was originally published in October 2014 and has since been updated with contributions from Danny Schreiber, Matthew Guay, Andrew Kunesh, and Krystina Martinez. The most recent update was in April 2024.

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Kiera Abbamonte

Kiera’s a content writer who helps SaaS and eCommerce companies connect with customers and reach new audiences. Located in Boston, MA, she loves cinnamon coffee and a good baseball game. Catch up with her on Twitter @Kieraabbamonte.

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15 Best Presentation Software for 2021

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By Bilyana Nikolaeva

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3 years ago

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On average a presentation takes up to 20 minutes and experts say we make an impression within the first 30 seconds. That is why it’s important to “dress” our great product/idea with an equally exciting design. Most often, presentations are cooked up by non-designers, which creates a specific need – for powerful presentation software, which can help communicate a message beautifully, effectively, and to suit any user’s skill level. We hand-picked 15 of the best presentation software for 2021 , which will help you create presentations online, share them, while shining in your best light. In the meanwhile, check out some useful ideas tips to spice up your presentations .

A web-based presentation tool, which means you can access your presentations wherever you are, with an internet connection. It is known for its animations, cartoons, and infographics, which help the user to create more interactive presentations and explainer-style videos.

Example by Focusky

Best Features:  Very interactive; you can create a unique to your story by combining different “frames” (slides); create your own animations within the presentation Price:  Free, but heavily subscription-based Learning curve:  Very intuitive, nicely organized by categories, but it would require some time to learn the animation controls Available for:  Online Perfect for: Marketing and education

To summarize, this presentation tool is best for marketers and education, where the creator can get the most out of the cool animation and cartoons available. In the last years, there is an increased interest in Powtoon and RenderForest and we expect that more and more people will use them in 2021. No surprise – if you look at our article about Graphic Design Trends in 2022 , everything is moving towards animation, cool 3D-s, cartoons, and illustrations – and these are all things that this software can offer for your presentation.

Prezi is an online presentation software, which resembles a mind map. In comparison, PowerPoint offers a linear way of presenting, whereas Prezi allows you to better show relationships between different elements of your presentation, show details, zoom in and zoom out and show an overall view of your topic. Compared to PowerPoint is more interactive, but with fewer functionalities and a choice of templates.

Example by PreziBase

Best Features:  Interactive presentations and interesting transitions, zoom in/out details Price:  The very basic features are free, but most of the interesting ones are paid, starting from $3/month and reaching up to $59/month. They offer a free trial. Learning curve:  it requires learning and going through a lot of menus and functionalities, similar to PowerPoint Available for:  Online / Limited use for iOS and Android (only viewing, not creating and editing) Perfect for: teachers, businesses, more experienced designers, and specific presentations needs, but not recommended for newbies

Prezi is best in showing relationships between different parts of your presentations. There are some challenges in editing, and viewing across devices and its best features are paid for. We recommend it for quick, mind-map-like presentations without the need for ultra-special design.

3. RenderForest Presentation Maker

RenderForest is an online presentation tool, which is famous for its explainer style and whiteboard animations. The presentation templates often offer various motion/video backgrounds, which helps to grab your audience’s attention. Currently, the company is working on releasing its Graphic Design Software, which will allow users to create printables and beautiful designs for social media. This shows that RenderForest’s team knows the market well and does its best to cater to its needs!

Example by Renderforest

Best Features:  Video holders with text on shapes, cool transitions Price:  There is a free version, the paid ones start at $20.34 per user/month Learning curve:  Relatively easy to use, the simple interface helps the user Available for:  Online / iOS / Android Perfect for:  Education and business

Although not one of the cheapest solutions, it allows you to create engaging and interactive presentations with lots of cool animations. That makes RenderForest a great choice for more educational and marketing explainer-type videos/presentations.

4. Mentimeter

Mentimeter is a very interesting online presentation software. It allows your audience to engage with your presentation in real-time and you can create polls, ask questions, which are then displayed to your presentation. The answers from the audience remain anonymous so people are even more encouraged to participate.

Example by Mentimeter

Best Features:  Launch live, interactive polls, surveys, quizzes and create things like word clouds in real-time Price:  It has a free version, but the paid plans offer most of the attractive features – the basic plan costs $9.99 per user/month and the more advanced plan is $24.99 per user/month Learning curve:  Easy to use; might need to explain to a less tech-savvy audience how to connect to your presentation Available for:  Online / Android / iOS Perfect for:  Educators, speakers, business and competitions

An excellent choice for educators, speakers, and businesses who want to engage the audience in real-time and display the results immediately. Clean, simple designs, that help you focus on the content.

5. Libre Office Impress

Libre Office is free presentation software, an open-source alternative to PowerPoint. As you can expect from a free product, it offers only the main features of its “big brother”, but it’s a good solution for people used to Microsoft’s productivity suite. The interface is very similar to PowerPoint, which again makes it comfortable to use for a certain audience. Users who need collaboration on presentations, clean interface, and more creative design solutions should steer away from this free presentation software because it will simply not cover their needs.

Example by Theodoros Bousios

Best Features:  Free, compatible with older versions (Windows XP for example) Price:  Free Learning curve:  It will take some time to go through all the options and to get familiar with the interface; Available for:  Windows / macOS / Linux / Android / iOS. Perfect for:  people who want to use a free product and people with older operation systems

To summarize, Libre is free, compatible with older versions, it can cover your basic needs for a presentation, but the options are too many and available templates too little.

6. Zoho Show

Zoho Show is also an online presentation software, which has a very friendly user interface and great collaboration features. There are many functionalities, which help you create a beautiful design, but require some time and design knowledge to get it right. The premade templates are limited and this presentation software needs an internet connection to be able to edit and present.

Image by Zoho

Best Features:  Live broadcasting a presentation with live chat and commenting Price:  Zoho Show is free for personal use. For business users, Zoho Show is included in the Zoho Docs enterprise pricing packages – €5 or €8 per user/month Learning curve: Available for:  Online / Android / iOS Perfect for:  non-profits, start-ups, personal use, teachers

To summarize, Zoho offers great collaboration features, but you need a connection to edit and present. It is suitable for quick, non-pretentious presentations, where you need some kind of collaboration.

7. ClearSlide Presenter

ClearSlide is a sales engagement platform, including an online presentation tool. Another online tool – SlideRocket, was acquired by ClearSlide and one of the differences is that ClearSlide is more costly and targeted at larger businesses. It’s a great platform for very specific needs – collaborating between sales and marketing teams, to achieve the company’s goals. It’s clear even by the interface:

Image by ClearSlide

Best Features: Analytics for costumers’ engagement, video conferencing, screen sharing Price:  They offer a free trial and you can see more about the payment plans here. Learning curve:  Clear and simple interface, but it requires some time to get used to the tools Available for:  Online Perfect for: Sales/business, managers (for coaching); not suitable for newbies, teachers, students

To summarize, ClearSide is perfect for presenting sales pitch , graphics, collaborate in larger teams. It is somehow restrictive for a non-designer because the templates are specific.

8. Piktochart

Piktochart allows you to make infographics, presentations, and printables quickly. Primarily known for its easy customizable infographics, Piktochart also has simple presentation templates and the company is constantly trying to update its library.

Example by Piktochart Knowledge Base

Best Features:  Turning data-heavy content into simple visuals; nice transitions between slides Price:  There is a free version and a paid one, starting at $29 per user/month. They offer a free trial. Learning curve:  It requires time to get used to the options available and to navigate through Available for:  Online Perfect for:  Designers, teachers; it does not offer collaboration options, which might be needed by teams, students, etc.

Compared to other online presentation software is a bit costly and we could still ask a bit more from the presentation templates. We’d recommend it to someone who often uses infographics and wants to use a single platform to combine the infographics with a presentation. But why not check our free infographics as well?

Slides is online presentation software, initially aimed at developers and covering their presentation needs. Thus said, it does not offer offline editing, but you can present offline, after exporting your presentation.

Best Features:  It allows you to use your phone as a remote control; Live Present Mode allows you to control what your audience sees; drop in code, iframes, and SVGs with ease. Price:  Free, with paid plans starting at $7.00/month and $14-$18/month for pro and team packages. They offer a free trial. Learning curve:  friendly interface, but too many functions and options, which might overwhelm the average user and beginner Available for: Online Perfect for:  developers, designers, a little bit too specific for newbies

To summarize, it’s a very cool tool, giving you complete design freedom, but that is also why we do not recommend it to teachers, non-designers, or marketers. Developers and design gurus will love it.

Canva is a web-based solution that started with a mission – to make beautiful designed content available to everyone. The whole platform is organized so that a person without any prior design knowledge can easily create graphs, images, and presentations to impress. Although it is not the best tool for data visualization, it scores high in any other category. Needless to say, it has become a popular choice amongst non-designers.

Image by Iconfinder

Best Features:  Plenty of beautiful templates to choose from and Canva school has plenty of tutorials and tips for free. It offers more free functionalities compared to other competitors. Price:  Free, the offer different subscription plans, starting at $9.95 per user/month Learning curve:  Very easy to use, most of the actions can be performed by drag-and-drop Available for:  Online / iOS / Android Perfect for:  newbies, marketers (who need a unified look across all their social media), non-profits, and teachers

Canva is becoming one of the most popular tools amongst non-designers for creating beautiful unified content. You can create entire presentations, flyers, and other materials with a single drag and drop.

11. Slidebean

Slidebean is the go-to online presentation software for last-minute projects, that look original and professional. Slidebean offers clean and easy-to-use templates and keeps track of your audience’s engagement.

Source Slidebean

Best Features:  It allows you to arrange your content with the help of AI, which saves time creating a beautiful layout. You just pick a template, upload content, and let the AI offer you a nice layout. Premade animations, effects, and alignments are automatically applied to your content and create a cohesive look. Price:  Free, paid versions starting from $8/month Learning curve:  very easy to use since everything is made to fit the premade templates Available for:  Windows / Mac / Android / iOS Perfect for:  financial, academic, pitch, marketing, sales; everything quick with a clear structure

To summarize, if you are in a hurry, Slidebean will offer several layouts for your slides and speed up the process of creation. The platform targets primarily sales, marketing, and financial fields, and the available templates reflect that.

12. Google Slides

Google Slides is part of the G Suite business application. Its popularity has increased in the last years since it’s a web-based platform, allowing you to store, edit, and share your presentation, without the need of installing presentation software on your computer. All you need is a Google account and you are good to go.

Image by G Suite Updates blog

Best Features:  It’s free for personal use, and offers great paid features for business – for example, seamless collaboration and commenting on a presentation, converting other presentations to Google Slides. Some other great features are the wide variety of fonts available (GoogleFonts, not need installing), easy embedding, plus it’s super intuitive and easy to use! Price:   It’s free for individual use. For business use, the price starts at $5/user/month and plans of $10 and $25/user/month, for unlimited cloud storage and extra features Learning curve:  Simple interface, but it will require some time to pick up. Similar to PowerPoint, only a bit lighter. Available for:  Windows / Mac / Online Perfect for:  businesses, freelancers, who need a user-friendly app with elementary features; great for collaborating teams, not so perfect for complex designs and tools, required by big enterprises

Perfect for personal use, well synchronized across different devices, similar to PowerPoint. Maybe you are a teacher and you like GoogleSlides because it is free and easy to use? Well, we’ve gathered some awesome FREE GoogleSlides and PowerPoint templates , specially made for education needs.

If you need something along the lines of PowerPoint but need the option for collaboration – a paid plan for GoogleSlides is your go-to choice.

13. Keynote

Keynote is an Apple product, very similar to Google Slides. All you need to do is create an iCloud account (similar to a Google account) and start using Keynote from there. Running Keynote on Windows also requires an internet connection and a modern browser. The latest version can also import and export PowerPoint formats if needed. All this sends Keynote higher in the list regarding the accessibility and shareability of this presentation software.

Image by Envato tuts+

Best Features:  Simplicity of design, great drag and drop functions, polished transitions and animations, easy image editing/cropping; works great with multimedia; design templates with better aesthetic than an average slide deck; Price:  Free for macOS and iOS Learning curve:  Pretty easy to use for Mac users, a bit of learning curve for users, having experience with other software. Available for:  Mac / Windows / Online Perfect for:  businesses, marketers, people with not much of a design experience

Bottom line, if you are a Mac user, you love the sleek design and you are looking for cool aesthetics – Keynote is simple to use and free, why not use it?

14. Adobe Spark

Adobe Spark is a web and mobile-based media creation application, which helps you create social graphics, short videos, and web pages. What is immediately noticeable is the clean, crisp, simple, and modern designs, which focus you on the content. If you are looking for a funky, ornate design – Adobe Spark is not the right pick for you.

Example by Cikeys

Best Features:  Beautiful templates, user-friendly interface, step-by-step creation, you can add audio to your slides (narrating) Price:  There is a free version, the paid on starts at $9.79. The best templates, as with the competitors, are paid. They do not offer a free trial. Learning curve:  Easy to use Available for:  Online / iOS / Android Perfect for:  quick presentations, teachers, basic presentations without jamming them with too much cool stuff.

Adobe Spark eliminates the cluster of design options and leads you step-by-step in creating elegant, simple presentations. Ideal for basic presentations, not the best for sales and marketing.

15. PowerPoint

PowerPoint certainly is a “classic” – it’s has been the most popular tool for creating presentations so far. What first started as a component of the Microsoft Office suite, now has improved shareability and accessibility. It can be used on the web (as part of Office on the web), works with Android, and iOS, and there is a Mobile app, as well as presentation software for mac.

Example by Abris DC

Best Features:  Many people are familiar with the software, a wide variety of templates; improved accessibility across platforms; extensive tools and options Price: If you want to enjoy the full features of PowerPoint, you’ll need to subscribe to Microsoft 365 – they have payment plans for personal or business use. The price for personal use starts at $5.99/month or $59.99/year, and business plans start at $12.50 per user/month with an annual commitment. You can find more information here . The mobile applications are completely free to use, of course with some limitations. You can compare the available features across different platforms  here. Learning curve: Due to the variety of options and the complexity of the menus, it might take some time to master all of its features. Something that could take a lot of time is editing the text, arranging the visuals, and picking the right transitions – overall, is time-consuming. Still, the interface remained easy to navigate over time and if you trust your design sense, you can achieve satisfying results. Available for: Windows / Mac / Online Perfect for: business, medical, accounting and students; creating concise presentations; but not so suitable for teachers, educators, start-ups and marketers who want to create more interactive and story-based presentations.

To this date, PowerPoint is keeping the lead as the most popular tool for creating presentations. Some of the downsides are that sometimes it can be time-consuming to come up with a good design and PP doesn’t offer collaboration tools and compared to other platforms. But we have a solution for at least one of your problems – we’ve selected 31 Modern PowerPoint templates to set the right tone for your presentation. 

We made a quick summary for you…

Ok, not that we’ve looked at the 15 best presentation software for 2021, we decided to go one step further and compare them by price and popularity. Let’s have a look first at the new-comers:

As you can see, the leaders from the uprising platforms are Canva and Mentimeter, with relatively low prices and with huge success amongst users . Powtoon, Piktochart, and Renderforest are a bit costly , but they are popular since they offer a lot of animation and interactive elements. Hey, but maybe some of the other tools are right for you? We encourage you to go on their websites, contact their support team, and see what they have to offer.

Then, let’s see how the veterans are ranking:

It’s no surprise that PowerPoint and Google Slides are at the top – people are used to their products, have familiar interfaces, and offer a lot of functionalities at a good price. Although, for quick, unpretentious results, their competitors are a very attractive solution.

Final words

We can conclude that there are many useful tools to help you create beautiful presentations. Some of them are well-known and have been here for a while, while others are uprising… No matter the case, we notice a trend for presentation tools catering not only to the designers’ needs but also to the newbies, marketers, and teachers. That way, enabling everyone to create stunning presentations in no time and share them easily.

We hope this presentation software list shed some light on different options out there and that we helped you evaluate quickly what would work for your situation best.

You may also be interested in these related articles:

• 12 PowerPoint Presentation Tips To Dramatically Boost Your Efficiency
• 35 Free Google Slides Infographic Templates to Grab Now
• 23 Online Collaboration Tools for Your Remote Team

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Best presentation software of 2024

Make perfect slides for speeches and talks

Best overall

Best for branding, best for marketing, best for themes, best for media, best unique.

• How we test

The best presentation software makes it simple and easy to create, manage, and share slideshow presentations.

1. Best overall 2. Best for branding 3. Best for marketing 4. Best for themes 5. Best for media 6. Best unique 7. FAQs 8. How we test

Presentation software runs at the heart of business sales, management, and development, so it's important to ensure you have the best presentation software for your needs. This is especially when looking to share ideas, concepts, and workflows, and the ability to present these in a simple and understandable way is essential.

However, while presentation software has been traditionally limited to text and images, it has widened its ability to work with different media such as video and audio. 

Therefore it's important for the best presentation software to not simply be easy and simple to use, but also be able to support additional media so that presentations can be more engaging, lively, and ultimately serve their purpose in educating and updating their intended audience.

Below we've listed the best presentation software currently on the market.

We've also listed the best free presentation software .

The best office software in the world is: Microsoft 365 There are many different office software suites out there, but Microsoft Office remains the original and best, offering an unsurpassed range of features and functionality that rivals just can't match.

Even better, Microsoft 365 - previously branded as Office 365 - is a cloud-based solution which means you can use it on any computer, mobile device, or smartphone, without having to worry about compatibility. All your files are saved in the cloud and synced between devices, so you can begin work on a document at home or in the office, then continue working on it on the go.

You can sign up to Microsoft 365 here .

The best presentation software of 2024 in full:

Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

1. PowerPoint

Our expert review:

Reasons to buy

For most people, Microsoft 's PowerPoint remains the original and best of all the presentation software platforms out there. While other companies have managed to catch up and offer rival products worthy of consideration, the fact is that PowerPoint's familiar interface and ubiquitous availability means it remains a favorite for the majority of people.

On the one hand, it's long been a staple of the hugely popular Microsoft Office suite, meaning that for most users this is going to be the first - and last - presentation software they are going to need to use.

Additionally, Microsoft has made PowerPoint, along with their other office products, available as free apps (with limited functionality) on both iOS and Android for mobile use, meaning it's even harder to avoid them. And this is before we even consider the inclusion of PowerPoint in Microsoft's cloud-based Microsoft 365.

It does everything necessary that you'd expect of presentation software, allowing you to add text and media to a series of slides, to accompany a talk and other presentations. There are easy-to-use templates included to help spice things up a little, but even a general user with little experience of it is likely to find themselves able to use PowerPoint without much trouble at all.

Overall, it's hard to go wrong with PowerPoint, and although Microsoft 365 has a nominal cost, the apps are free to use even if they do have more limited functionality.

Read our full Microsoft PowerPoint review .

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2. CustomShow

Reasons to avoid.

Branding says a lot about a business, and it’s something firms need to get right from day one – from a good logo to a suitable font. CustomShow is business presentation software that puts all these elements of branding first.

Using the system, you can design and present customized, branded presentations that reflect your company and the products you offer, featuring the aforementioned logo and custom fonts. As well as this, you get a slide library and analytics to ensure your presentations are a success.

What’s more, you can import presentations into the software, and use it to tweak them further. There’s also integration with SalesForce , and because the platform is cloud-based, you can access your presentations on computers, tablets, and smartphones. 

Considering the focus on branding, this offering could be good for marketing and sales teams, and it's used by major companies such as HBO and CBS Interactive.

3. ClearSlide

Just like CustomShow, ClearSlide has a niche focus for companies. The platform is targeted at firms looking to generate successful marketing campaigns, pushing sales via presentations (and more), not least through a range of analytics and metrics to work for sales and marketing.

With the product, you can upload a range of files, including PowerPoint, Keynote, PDF, and Excel. ClearSlide is integrated with other platforms, including Google Drive, Dropbox, and Salesforce.

This system is pretty complex and may offer too many irrelevant features for some businesses, but you can create customized content that reflects your company and the message you’re trying to get out to customers. There are also some good metrics and analysis features, and you can sign up for a free trial before making any decisions.

The real strength of ClearSlide comes from its focus on sales and marketing data, not least being able to track user engagement alongside other metrics.

4. Haiku Deck

Any presentation app will allow you to personalize your slides to at least some extent, but Haiku Deck goes one step further than the competition. It comes with a wide range of themes suited to different needs, and you also get access to 40 million free images from the Creative Commons collection.

When it comes to creating a presentation, you have the option to do so on the web, which means your presentation is accessible across a range of mobile devices as well as desktops. Regardless of the device used, you’re able to select from a variety of different fonts, layouts, and filters to make the perfect presentation.

The great thing about these various customization options is that they’re categorized into different industries and use cases. For instance, you’ll find themes for teaching, cooking, real estate, and startups. Most of the features require you to be online, but hopefully, you’ll have a sturdy net connection wherever you go.

5. SlideDog

It’s all too easy to end up creating a presentation that’s unappealing, and the last thing you want to do is make the audience fall asleep. SlideDog lets you combine almost any type of media to create a rich presentation that’s sure to keep the viewers’ peepers open, avoiding the ‘cookie cutter’ look that makes presentations seem dull.

Marketed as a web-based multimedia presentation tool, it gives you the ability to combine PowerPoint presentations, graphics, PDF files, Prezi presentations, web pages, pictures, videos, and movie clips. You can drag these into custom playlists and display them to your audience with ease.

You’re able to remotely control your presentations and playlists from your smartphone, the web, or a secondary computer, and there’s also the option to share slides in real-time. Audience members can even view your slide from their own devices by clicking a link. That’s a handy feature if you’re looking to create an immersive presentation experience.

SlideDog is probably the cheapest of the presentation software featured, with a free account that will cover the essential features. However, for live sharing and premium support, you need to upgrade.

Read our full SlideDog review .

Prezi is one of the more unique presentation tools. Instead of presenting your graphics and text in a slide-to-slide format, you can create highly visual and interactive presentation canvases with the goal of “emphasizing the relationship between the ideas”.

Presentations can also be tailored to the specific audience, as this is a flexible platform that’s capable of skipping ahead, or veering off into a side topic, without having to flip through all the slides to get to a particular bit.

For business users, there are a variety of handy tools available. By downloading Prezi , you can build and edit presentations with your colleagues in real-time, which is perfect for companies with teams based around the globe.

When you have created a presentation you’re happy with, you can present it live (in HD) and send a direct link to viewers. There are some analysis tools here, too – you can see who’s accessed your presentation, which parts of it, and for how long. The app is available for Mac and Windows devices.

Read our full Prezi review .

Other presentation software to consider

Google Slides  is part of the Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) office platform intended as an online alternative to Microsoft Office. It may seem a little limited by comparison to PowerPoint, but as it's browser-based that means cross-platform compatibility. Additionally, it allows for collaborative work, and Google Slides really works well here. On top of the fact that it integrates with the rest of the Google Workspace apps, not least Google Drive, and you have a contender. 

Zoho Show  is another of the many, many tools and apps that Zoho has made available for business use. It also operates in the cloud so it's accessible to any device with a browser, and it also allows for collaborative work. You can also easily share the link for users to download, or provide a live presentation online. The updated version has a simpler and easier to use interface and comes with a free version and a paid-for one with expanded features.

Evernote  is normally thought of as just note-taking software, but it does provide the option to create a presentation you can share online or with an audience. In that regard, it's a little more limited than the other options in not being dedicated presentation software. However, as an easy and handy way to pull together a presentation quickly, it could serve as a backup or last-minute option, especially if Evernote is already being commonly used by you.

LibreOffice Impress  is part of the open-source suite offered as a free alternative to Microsoft Office, and comes with a powerful array of tools and editing options for your presentation, not least working with 3D images. It's supported by a large community, so it's easy to find an array of additional templates. If there is a limitation it's that it's software you download and install rather than web-based, but any presentations created should be easily portable to the web if needed.

Adobe Spark  does things a bit differently, as rather than just use images it's geared toward video as well. This makes for potentially more powerful multimedia presentations, especially as Adobe also has a big selection of photos and images available for its users. There is a free tier for core features but requires a subscription for custom branding, personalized themes, and support.

Slides  comes with a lot of features in an easy-to-use interface, and involves setting up presentations using drag and drop into an existing grid. It's also internet-based so there's no software to download, and it only requires a browser to use and access. 

Presentation software FAQs

Which presentation software is best for you.

When deciding which presentation software to download and use, first consider what your actual needs are, as sometimes free platforms may only provide basic options, so if you need to use advanced tools you may find a paid platform is much more worthwhile. Additionally, free and budget software options can sometimes prove limited when it comes to the variety of tools available, while higher-end software can really cater for every need, so do ensure you have a good idea of which features you think you may require for your presentation needs.

How we tested the best presentation software

To test for the best presentation software we first set up an account with the relevant software platform, whether as a download or as an online service. We then tested the service to see how the software could be used for different purposes and in different situations. The aim was to push each software platform to see how useful its basic tools were and also how easy it was to get to grips with any more advanced tools.

Read how we test, rate, and review products on TechRadar .

We've also featured the best alternatives to Microsoft Office .

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Nicholas Fearn is a freelance technology journalist and copywriter from the Welsh valleys. His work has appeared in publications such as the FT, the Independent, the Daily Telegraph, The Next Web, T3, Android Central, Computer Weekly, and many others. He also happens to be a diehard Mariah Carey fan!

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Zoom In On Screen and Annotate with This Free Presentation Software

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In technical presentations, you often need to highlight to the audience something on a computer screen. Sometimes you may want to zoom in on screen other times you may want to annotate. Without tools like this, it can be difficult for them to see what you're pointing out and doing with your mouse cursor. A computer developer named Mark Russinovich created a free solution and has made it available for all of us!

Let's take a look at a tool I recently discovered that can help you have better presentations and a more efficient team while on virtual team meetings.

With ZoomIt, you can zoom in on specific parts of the screen and annotate them so that others watching via screen share can see what you're doing. And it's lightweight, free, and you can download it directly from the Microsoft website.

Here are the main features of ZoomIt

• Zoom in on specific parts of the screen
• Screen annotation with text, draw square, circle, line, or free draw on screen
• Full screen countdown timer
• Keyboard shortcuts make it using it look professional
• This is free software, available directly from Microsoft's website.
• It is lightweight and requires no installation

How to Zoom In on Screen

Because ZoomIt is mostly run by keyboard commands, I find it to be much better than Windows built-in zoom feature "Magnify". All you need to do is click the system tray icon and select Zoom OR use keyboard shortcut CTRL+1 to toggle zoom. You can also set your own keyboard shortcut for toggle. The escape key will exit as well.

You can also Specify the initial level of magnification when zooming in on screen.

They also have a zoom feature called LiveZoom, which lets you annotate too, but I find it to be a bit clunky and sometimes the cursor will disappear, so I just keep it off.

How to use the screen annotation tool works

Similar to the Zoom feature, you can toggle the "Draw" annotation feature to free draw (default) or create lines, arrows, squares/rectangles, circles/ellipses, or text. You simply click on the annotation tool or hit the hotkey CTRL+2 and then draw it onto your screen.

Keyboard shortcuts when the Draw annotation tool is toggled:

• Straight Line - Shift key
• Rectangle - Control key
• Ellipse - Tab key
• Arrow - Shift+Control key combo
• Text - "T" key

Change color of text

You can also change the color by pressing "g" for green or "r" for red or "b" for blue, etc.

Set defaults for text

Here is a GIF I created that shows these at work. Mind you, these can all be done in real-time while in a live video screen share for a demo, webinar, or recording your screen.

Use the full screen countdown timer feature for breaks

The Break feature is especially useful for technical demos because you can toggle it on when taking a quick break. It's a pretty handy feature for breaks or activities. You can also set the background image for it when you display it. It's a toggle too. Simply press the hotkey CTRL+3 to start and ESC to exit. You could also keep it running and click the system tray to bring it back.

If you want to try ZoomIt yourself find it here:

Visit the Windows website here for ZoomIt . 

In conclusion - ZoomIt is a free software that helps make technical presentations easier to understand by providing annotation and zooming in on the screen. In conjunction with other presentation software, it can be used to make your presentations (live video broadcasts, tech demos, or webinars) better. Shout out to Josh Vorves at LearnIt for teaching us about this tool during a Microsoft Office productivity training. Thank you!

If you use Microsoft Office 365 and want to stay sharp, you can check out the replay for the training where we first saw this feature or you can sign up for our 365 Tip of the Week Newsletter .

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