virtualspeech-logo

Improve your practice.

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

18 Ways to Make Your Presentation More Interactive

November 10, 2017 - Dom Barnard

It can be difficult to hold your audience’s attention for the entire presentation. According to a  Prezi study , half of the respondents said they did something other than listen during a co-worker’s presentation, including:

  • Sending a text message (28%)
  • Checking emails (27%)
  • Falling asleep (17%)

An interactive presentation is much more likely to keep your audience’s attention and build rapport with them, and there are a few simple ways to achieve this, from live polling to asking questions throughout.

This article explores several different effective strategies for making the audience feel fully involved in your presentation and keeping your audience’s eyes away from their smartphones.

Why involve your audience?

Listening to a presentation for any length of time can be a difficult process. If you don’t involve the audience, they’ll start to play with their phones, talk to colleagues and generally lose track of what you are saying. Once this happens and you start seeing that the audience would rather be somewhere else, you’ll start feeling anxious and might try to speed up the presentation.

Engage your audience with your presentation

To engage a  large audience  fully, the presentation needs to be energetic, purposeful and staged, as if it is a direct conversation between both you and your audience. That way, they’ll absorb your ideas and insights and they’ll have learnt something in an enjoyable way.

1. Plan from the audience’s perspective

Before you start  writing your presentation , think about these points:

  • What are the most interesting parts in my topic?
  • How much will the audience know about my topic? What level do I target it at?
  • Which members of the audience will most likely be disinterested?
  • How can I help them learn and understand my topic?
  • What is the size of the audience?

You can do this by researching the event or conference, investigating other speakers at the event and even contacting the organisers to find out more about the demographic.

By asking these questions about your audience and identifying answers, you are starting to think about your audience’s interests and needs. Remember, the aim is to give the impression that your presentation has been planned according to your audience’s specific interests.

2. Use an easy-to-follow structure

When building your presentation, focus on giving it a structure which people can easily follow. Start by introducing the core concepts and goals, then elaborate on the various points in a bit more detail, draw logical conclusions and leave your audience with a clear takeaway message. You want to flow naturally from one part to the next like you are telling a big story chapter by chapter.

3. Get the audience immediately involved

You audience will come to your presentation in a range of different moods. Try using a simple ice-breaker to re-energise them and get them focussed on your presentation.

For example, ask people to stand up and introduce themselves to their neighbours, or have them identify two or three questions they would like to hear addressed during your presentation. By starting with an ice-breaker, you show your audience that your talk will be interactive and require their participation.

Ask the audience questions at the beginning of your speech

4. Ask the audience questions during your presentation

The audience’s attention drops to zero after just 10-15 minutes of your presentation. To get their attention back, take a break from your presentation from time to time and interact with your audience. Ask for their questions and answer them during your presentation. This will help clear up any confusion the audience might have.

When planning your presentation, identify opportunities in your material for your audience to ask questions. If you’re not comfortable breaking the flow of your presentation, mention that you’ll be taking  questions at the end  so the audience can prepare some questions.

Asking rhetorical questions as you move through your presentation involves your audience by stimulating their own thought processes. This technique also helps move between sections of your presentation as it establishes a clear transition from one point to another.

If you’re comfortable with taking questions throughout your presentation, use a tools such as  Slido , which allows your audience to ask questions anonymously at any time, so even shy people can participate in the discussion.

Example of what can go wrong with audience interaction

Audience interaction:

Watch how the presenter tries but initially fails to get the audience to interact with the presentation. Notice how he encourages them to get involved and eventually they do join in.

5. Use storytelling to make it more memorable

Since our early ancestors, stories have always been a huge part of human culture and civilisation. Storytelling is the most universal way to captivate your audience’s attention, no matter where they are from or what they do for a living.

Stories are much more engaging and memorable than lists of facts and figures, but you wouldn’t think so looking at the majority of presentations (particularly academic ones).

People automatically tune in when you  start telling your story  because they want to know what happens next. A popular storytelling technique is when you present the status quo and then reveal an improved path to that end goal.

Think of your presentation as one arching narrative. As we mentioned earlier, give it the proper structure with a clear beginning, middle and end. Introduce conflict and provide a powerful resolution that reinforces your key messages.

6. Use non-linear presentation software

Instead of flipping through slide after slide, you can show the relationships between your ideas and give your audience the “big picture” view of your topic. Try letting your audience drive the presentation by laying out all of your main points, and then let them choose which topics they want to go to. Your audience will get a truly custom presentation based on their interests, which they will appreciate and more easily remember.

Prezi example of non-linear presentations

Prezi, shown above, is a popular non-linear presentation tool.

7. Add in a short video

Billions of hours of YouTube are consumed each month and advertisers have identified videos as having a high  retention rate  for users. However very few presentations ever use videos to engage with their audience.

Find a short video clip that reinforces your story or explains a concept better than words can. You can either embed the video directly into your presentation software or include a link to an external website. Just make sure you test your method on the day of the presentation and have a backup on a USB just in case you need it.

8. Invite people onto the stage

If you’re preparing a particularly long presentation, consider having other people to come on stage and talk for a bit. This will help you narrate the story and make the whole presentation more interactive.

Steve Jobs never pulled off the entire presentation by himself; he always invited several speakers, including designers, partners, and other executives, to help him introduce their latest product. Of course, this technique should always be arranged with your colleagues in advance.

9. Poll the audience

Polls are similar to quizzes in that they engage the audience during the presentation. Polls encourage participants to think not only about your questions but also about their answers. Moreover, live polls help create mental breaks, so your audience can regain attention and stay focused throughout your presentation.

By including everyone in answering the question, you also create a group experience that leaves the audience feeling like they all have been part your presentation.

Slido example of a live poll during a presentation

10. Use (appropriate) humour

Some of the best speeches and presentations in the world feature plenty of humour. No matter the subject, a great speaker will use natural charisma, humour and language to convey their points and get the crowd excited about what they are saying.

A great example of building rapport with the audience through the use of humour is Barrack Obama talking about the government building Iron Man.

Another example is when  Morgan Spurlock  offers individuals the opportunity to buy the rights to name his TED talk—which he refers to again at the end, where he reveals the title. He peppers the entire presentation with humorous commentary that nonetheless supports his point.

Create relevant jokes or find a way to bring out the humour in your subject, and your audience will be much more engaged and more likely to remember your words.

11. Practice your delivery, again and again

Practicing is the most important part of delivering an interactive presentation. You’ll need to practice where to use live quizzes, when to accept questions, which points to emphasise with body language and many more. There are several options for practicing:

Practice Presentation Skills

Improve your public speaking and presentation skills by practicing them in realistic environments, with automated feedback on performance. Learn More

  • In front of a mirror  – great for seeing and improving your body language, however it can be distracting to what you are saying.
  • To friends or colleagues  – a useful way to get feedback on your presentation, try and action the feedback straight away to improve on it. You can also give the person some key areas to focus their feedback on if you believe you are weaker in those areas.
  • Virtual reality  – practice in realistic  public speaking environments , whether it be in a virtual conference room or boardroom. Receive feedback on your speech with voice analysis technology.

Practice presentation with VR

With all three of these, you’ll want to work on your tone of voice, accent, pauses between sentences and facial expressions. The most important thing is to talk slowly and loudly enough to be heard and understood clearly.

A list of the best presentation skills courses you can practice with:

  • Presentation Skills Training Courses

12. Try and relate to the audience

Make comparisons to events from everyday life that most people are more than familiar with. By making things look simple, not only will you help your audience get a better understanding of the subject by enabling them to visualize the information more clearly, you will also draw a connection between you.

After all, you are all just regular people with similar experience, you just happen to be performing different roles at the moment.

13. Strong body language (position, posture and gesture)

Non-verbal communication plays a large part in how we construct meaning, so it makes sense to consider how to use it in your presentation. You can make things more interesting for your audience by using  your body language  to enhance what you’re saying.

Body language goes beyond reinforcing your messaging – it’s useful from a biological standpoint. As discussed in her  body language TED talk , Amy Cuddy’s research found that using ‘assertive’ body language released testosterone and reduced cortisol in both men and women, thereby increasing confidence and decreasing stress.

An effective presenter pays close attention to the physical relationship with her/his audience. If you stand hidden behind an overhead projector or stand too far away from your audience, they will not develop a bond with you and this will limit the effectiveness of your presentation.

Confident presentation given by woman

Your posture will also dictate levels of audience involvement. If you’re too relaxed and sit slumped in a chair to deliver your talk, the audience might drift away. Find a comfortable but purposeful position in relation to your audience and adopt an upright sitting or standing posture that allows for movement and gesture.

Audiences respond well to the physical energy and enthusiasm being conveyed by a presenter, and thus the use of clear and controlled gestures will greatly enhance your presentation. Gestures that are open and reach out to your audience serve to extend your presentation to them and thus help them feel more involved.

Examples of good body language:

  • Use hand gestures when delivering key points
  • Use calm, deliberate movements when highlighting certain information
  • Keep arms and legs uncrossed

14. Maintain eye contact with all sections of the audience

Making eye contact is one of the most  powerful techniques  for involving your audience. If used well, eye contact can serve to make your address much more personal and thus more effective. If eye contact is avoided, the presenter can appear to be nervous and unconvincing.

It is important to share eye contact with all members of a small audience or all sections of a large audience. Avoid making eye contact with just the people you know, taking particular care not to deliver your entire presentation to the person who’s assessing your work. Remember that you will need to involve the whole audience if you are to make an effective presentation.

If you are nervous, eye contact can be very difficult to establish and maintain. Remember that some eye contact is better than none and that you should try to build your confidence over time.

15. Use live quizzes to better understand your audience

Live quizzes are a great way to understanding your audience better get them engaging with the material.

For example, if you’re giving a presentation on autonomous vehicles, you could ask questions such as:

  • When do you think autonomous vehicles will become mainstream?
  • Are you concerned by safety issues?
  • If someone is injured or killed by the car, who is to blame?

These will surely create some interesting results which you, as the presenter, can talk about and discuss.

16. Use physical props if possible

You don’t need to be giving a product demo to use props during your presentation. Props are a great way to help the audience visually picture what you are talking about. While talking through your presentation, you can refer to the prop at certain points to highlight your point or make it clear to the audience.

Kenny Nguyen  does this will in his TEDx talk on ‘The Art of Saying No’. He refers to the “sword of yes” and “shield of no.” Naturally he picks up a sword and shield from the table to help demonstrate his points.

Another great example is when  Jill Bolte Taylor  brings a real human brain on stage during her TED talk to explain to what happened to her when she had a stroke. She touched the audience with this demonstration and left the audience in complete awe.

Using a brain as a physical prop during a presentation

17. Extend your usual vocal range

Your tone of voice, your volume, and other vocal aspects affect how people listen and hear your message.

Julian Treasure’s  TED talk on ‘How to speak so that people want to listen’ is all about this, and at the end offers several tips ‘in our toolbox’ for how to master the use of voice, from changing your speaking pace to speaking in a different pitch.

Get feedback from a friend or colleague to see what works best for you.

18. Use language and literary techniques

Your use of language has a huge influence on the way you engage your audience. It’s important to use language your audience understands and is familiar with.

Avoid using language that is too formal or informal, too technical or too simplistic depending upon the nature of your talk and the knowledge base of your audience. Pitching your presentation at the right level can be a challenge but it is very effective for making the audience feel involved.

There are various  literary techniques  you can use, such as the Power or Three, to give greater impact to your message.

Involving your audience is essential to making an impact. Your presentation should pull them in, get their attention and stimulate their thoughts and understanding. This can be done in a number of ways.

The way that you plan your presentation will be critical in terms of using language and ideas that your audience will understand. You must also ensure that there is sufficient time for questions and discussion. The way that you deliver your presentation should create a bond with your audience.

Your use of eye contact, body language, spoken words and energy should  communicate effectively  and enthusiastically with all areas of the room, thus ensuring that the audience receives positive messages about you and your material.

Home Blog Presentation Ideas Video Presentations: A Guide for Engaging Content

Video Presentations: A Guide for Engaging Content

Video Presentations: A Guide for Engaging Content

In a time when the Millennials’ attention span can be measured as little as 12 seconds, how can we create genuinely engaging presentations? Is continuously changing slides the answer these days?

A skilled presenter has to master different techniques; therefore, we will examine the potential for video presentations. Join us to discover what video presentations are, the reasons why you should use them amongst your presentation tools, and exciting tips on how to drive engagement from them. 

Table of Contents

What video presentations are

Video presentation stats to consider, different types of video presentations, why should you use video presentations, what are the components of a winning video presentation, the role of accessibility: advanced research on video presentations, 5 tips on how to make your video presentations engaging.

  • How to create a video presentation

Do you need special software to create video presentations?

Closing thoughts.

Presentations are a crucial part of business and academic environments. Thousands of presentations are delivered each day in different environments; still, many are doomed to fail. Although we can blame this on a lack of proper presentation skills , reality tells us there’s a change in how people prefer to see the content.

As a general rule, consider 10 minutes the Goldilocks Zone for traditional presentations in what comes to audience engagement . Inspirational presentations like the ones we see on TEDx don’t follow this rule, as the objective here is to share a compelling story as detailed as possible so the audience can relate. In some cases, academic presentations of the thesis defense style remain loyal to a specific format. Still, trends are also changing, and video presentations have much to offer in terms of exposing complex concepts more plainly.

A video presentation can be represented in multiple formats: as a compendium of animated slides in video format, video files and audio sources packed on a single video file, a video recording made in interview format, a video documentary, etc. Although this definition may sound redundant, the concept behind a video presentation is that they don’t require a presenter to change between slides or windows to browse different assets . Hence, the importance to create a story behind the video presentation, so the various elements don’t feel segregated without logic.

We can say people use the video format to convey information in courses, job training, edutainment, conferences, and any kind of message-sharing purpose that requires connecting with the audience for engagement.

Before dwelling on the specifics of building a video presentation, here we share some video presentation stats that speak about the importance of video presentations these days from a marketing perspective.

  • Online search continues to be the most common way (45%) for users to find instructional and informational video content. ( source )
  • The most commonly-created types of videos are explainer videos (72%) , presentation videos (49%), testimonial videos (48%), sales videos (42%), and video ads (42%). ( source )
  • 57% of consumers said that product videos make them more confident in a purchase and less likely to return an item ( source )
  • Millennials’ attention span can be measured as little as 12 seconds ( source )
  • A minute of video is worth 1.8 million words in terms of information retention ( source )

As you can see, the effort of building a video presentation is well-paid in terms of consumption and content information retention from the audience.

Depending on the requirements of the presentation itself, we can classify video presentations as follows:

In-Company Video Presentations

These video presentations belong to the business and corporate world, but their purpose is to distribute information among coworkers or to coach the personnel for a specific requirement. In-company video presentations are used in workspace training, as part of internal recruitment processes, or other kinds of internal presentations.

In-company video presentations usually carry the company branding; they have restricted access for people outside the organization, so their distribution methods happen in meeting rooms dedicated to these purposes. 

Business Video Presentations

Business video presentations are used for a variety of business purposes: business pitches, workspace training, advertisement, product releases, recruitment, and more. Business video presentations also include the ones dedicated to  B2B or B2C relationships. 

Like In-Company Video Presentations, they carry branding to identify the video presentation’s author quickly. They are shared through official mediums for the company (like a brand’s social media channels and website), during corporate meetings with investors or potential business partners, and through 3rd. party channels.

Example of Product Launch Video Presentation by Xiaomi

Examples of these kinds of videos are product launch sessions, much like what tech giants like Xiaomi do.

Another kind of business video presentation is the explainer video. Explainer videos can be defined as short online marketing videos that are used to explain the company’s product or service. Explainer videos are commonly used for sales, marketing, and training purposes. Here is a real example of a 1-minute video presentation introducing SlideModel.com.

Another application of business video presentations is when sponsorship deals are involved, as brands can present their value to influencers through short reels.

Resume Video Presentations

This is a relatively recent but incredible turn of resume presentations. In resume video presentations , the candidate offers a detailed introduction of their capabilities, skills, interests, and potential value to the employer in a visually engaging format.

Unlike traditional CV presentations, the video format gives little room for anxiety, answering most of the interviewer’s questions or even driving admiration for the effort and dedication to this job-hunting adventure. 

We recommend the usage of resume presentation templates for this purpose, as they save tons of time in crafting a high-quality resume video presentation. 

Educational Video Presentations

This category can be divided into three different sub-categories:

Academic Video Presentations

Intended for University-level presentations or post-Doctorate work, these presentations follow strict format guidelines. They are mainly designed to distribute data comprehensively, with proper documentation backup. Animations usually don’t take part in these video presentations.

Despite being commonly associated with business events, conferences also belong to the academic video presentations category, as the live sessions are recorded to spread the message about important research discoveries. 

Teaching & Training Video Presentations

Teachers introduce the presentations to their students on various topics to understand abstract issues better. Chemistry, Physics, and Geography are typical examples of subjects that use video presentations. However, subjects like History and Philosophy can save countless hours of whiteboard sessions by using educational video presentations. 

Webinars fall under this category, either being released to the public or in-company webinars, as they share common aspects in their structure. Do keep in mind that educational content recorded as video presentations is not the same as a webinar, as the latter requires the presence of a live audience, a moderator, and usually a Q&A session at the end of it. If we talk about educational content being recorded and released as a course platform, then we can say it is a workshop.

According to recent studies, visualizations through video presentations and video-based learning can enhance understanding. It is demonstrated that students who watched learning videos on Statistics, influenced engagement and motivation positively .

Student Video Presentations

Finally, students also make video presentations as requested by their teachers to present a lesson or project exhibition. These presentations vary as the students grow older, becoming less dependent on animated effects, setting the bases for future work or academic presentation formats.

Informal Video Presentations

If you remember seeing videos in situations like 50th birthday parties, baptisms, wedding anniversaries, etc., then you have already experienced informal video presentations. 

These informal presentations are free from any format restriction. As the term implies, they are used for any kind of meetup, making it simpler to share a story rather than to tell a lengthy story.

Inspirational & Motivational Video Presentations

The final category belongs to the video presentations with a strong emotional component. They are built to connect, to empathize with the audience in specific situations or problems. Examples of this are TEDx , Evan Carmichael, or similar influencing platforms.

In general lines, motivational video presentations are recordings of live events shared with the purpose of getting the message to the biggest audience possible (internet consumers). Another possible format for these presentations is recorded interviews or testimonials intended to speak about a person’s contributions to society. An example of this, from an organization’s point of view, are the videos produced by the UK’s NHS to highlight and thank their medical personnel for their efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Inspirational video presentations share common aspects with motivational speeches. A list of requirements for these video presentations would be:

  • Have a clear purpose
  • Make it personal
  • Get the message tailored for the target audience
  • A strong conclusion

Compared with traditional presentation methods, such as presentation slides or speaking in front of an audience, video presentations can offer a series of advantages. 

For starters, as you write the “ story ,” you are also rehearsing the points to be covered. In that way, anxiety or shyness won’t trigger you to forget about essential points or lose track of time. The length of the presentation can be predetermined, depending on the external requirements of the organization party, or how comprehensive or concise you need it to be. 

In the case of people struggling with camera shyness , an animated video presentation with voiceover is the answer to deliver quality work. Since psychologists and doctors agree the common point on fear of public speaking is the delivery of the presentation itself, video presentations shall reduce work-induced anxiety to a great degree. Since psychologists and doctors agree the common point on fear of public speaking is the delivery of the presentation itself, video presentations shall reduce work-induced anxiety to a great degree. You can also convert images to video online using video editor platforms to easily create video from images and voiceover on video.

Video presentations can be persuasive thanks to the usage of graphics and audio. It is far easier to convey emotions through video presentations than to put them in the presentation design. Also, research by Dr. James McQuivey proved that a minute of video is worth 1.8 million words in terms of information retention.

Regarding engagement, the popularity that both TikTok and YouTube gained among the younger generations reflects the behavioral changes in content consumption . It has come to the point that even professionals use TikTok to demystify health hoaxes and help users worldwide. Therefore, using video format for presentations can help to boost your presentation performance, making it attractive for your audience and less effort-demanding. 

The most significant factor in delivering a successful video presentation is keeping the audience engaged. To ensure this, make sure the presentation doesn’t feel robotic-like but that it conveys a personal message. Don’t get this point wrong if we talk strictly about business or academic scenarios; making video presentations to deliver your personal touch can become as simple as selecting the proper color combination to enforce your message . Other solutions come from watching your voice tone not to make it too monotonous. 

Structure your presentation accordingly. In business or academic video presentations is a good idea to introduce a slide in the fashion of a table of contents . It is an extra touch that brings the audience closer to the topics due to be discussed. 

Consider the audience’s perspective as a vital element in video presentations. Check relevant examples of the topic discussed on platforms such as YouTube or DailyMotion. Compare their approach to yours and assert if you would watch your presentation as a spectator or not. This simple test gives insights into which aspects you should work on.

Winning video presentations never miss the usage of CTAs. It’s a good method to direct the audience’s interest to a specific goal.

Video presentations can become an incredible tool for driving engagement, yet there is a problem that not so many presenters address: accessibility. Think about how many times a presenter ends a phrase like “over here,” assuming the audience is watching the item being shown. But what if members of the target audience have visual impairments?

Much like we consider the importance of adding Closed Captioning (CC) to our videos, accessibility in terms of the narrative is a must. On this behalf, we want to introduce an interesting research that led to the production of a tool named Slidecho . Using state-of-the-art technology like video scene detection, AI, and OCR, Slideshow follows these very steps:

  • Step 1: Extract slide frames
  • Step 2: Selecting slide elements
  • Step 3: Detecting described elements from the slide elements
  • Step 4: Aligning slides with the speech

Therefore, Slidecho uses an algorithmic methodology to extract the visual elements from the slides, converting them to an audio reading format whilst aligning it with the original speaker’s narration. Moreover, its interface instantiates new interactions that augment the plain video interface with synchronized slide information and audio notifications to alert users to undescribed elements.

This technological advance helps the audience better understand what is being presented, regardless of the context of the presentation. Imagine an award ceremony where many references apply to visual cues. People with visual impairments get half of the message, with luck, when presenters fall into colloquial language usage, not understanding the context or having to ask for clarification. If instead, the synced narration is available, we then talk about making presentations available for everyone. This is an accurate definition of enriching an event experience.

If we talk about attending to the needs of people with hearing impairments, we have to consider the social factor as a motivator in presentations. It is a common mistake to leave slides filled with text and voiceover narration in the background providing detailed information. A study made by Stanford University speaks about the value of having the presenter’s face available through these slides, as it delivers both social cues plus helps users through lip reading. The human factor also reduces distractions since the audience must check the presenter’s input on written slides.

Example of video instruction with lecture slides in the back - Effects on information retention, visual attention and affect.

Tip #1 – Be mindful of the presentation topic

It’s not the same to create a presentation for a business audience as an inspirational presentation. The category of the presentation shall determine items like

  • Background music
  • Color theme
  • Visual hierarchy
  • Videos to include

Tip #2 – Limit the number of words to include

The whole idea behind the video presentation is to make a dynamic presentation, not having to pause every 5 seconds to allow the spectator to read.

Instead, use words to transmit powerful messages, such as quotes relevant to the presented topic, key information, or CTAs. Use the 7×7 rule: no slide should have more than 7 lines of text, and no sentence should have more than 7 words. 

Tip #3 – Voiceovers can become your best friends

The whole point behind a video presentation is not to create a boring one-person video speaking in front of the camera. Use voiceovers effectively to introduce charts, data feedback, etc., with your voice connecting the points of the entire presentation.

Be mindful of the tone. A monotonous or flat tone can divert attention and induce people to ignore your work. Your voice skills should articulate the importance of the point being discussed as well as your interest in it.

Tip #4 – The power of transitions

Adding suitable transitions and animations makes the presentation more engaging . However, this isn’t equal to adding countless effects. Less is more.

Ask a professional for guidance if you don’t have experience with animation effects. The transition can be part of the conversation, being subtle if the presentation is flowing between data sets or similar topics, or contrasting and powerful to deliver a persuasive message. You may also want to insert a transition when you’ve used a video cutter to remove an unwanted part to smooth out the video flow. Don’t abuse any of the two extremes, or the audience may find it uncomfortable.

Tip #5 – Make video presentations accessible

As we mentioned before, quite often presenters assume the audience can understand every part of a video presentation. Reality tells us to attend to the needs of people with visual and auditory impairments by making audio and video media accessible .

Subtitles or translator screen-over using sign language is a perfect opportunity to help people with auditory impairments feel part of the presentation, making the message available to them as well. 

For people with visual impairments, be mindful about how you create the narrative for your presentation, in particular, avoiding visual cues like: “over here,” “this,” and “there” and gesticulating over an object or person, assuming everyone can get the same reference information. Instead, opt to be descriptive in your speech; software solutions can help a great deal, but you can also use native PowerPoint or Google Slides tools such as voiceovers .

How to create a video presentation & recommended video presentation templates

You can create your own video presentations as easily as using Microsoft PowerPoint, Apple Keynotes, or Google Slides.

Check these links for relevant information on how to create a video presentation:

  • How to Convert a Google Slides Presentation to a Video
  • How to Convert a PowerPoint Presentation to a Video
  • How to Embed a YouTube Video in PowerPoint

In case you feel stuck about which content to input or how to make your video presentation outstanding, a brainstorming technique can do wonders for interactive presentations and creative thinking. It is known as the SCAMPER technique .

Since video presentation templates make our life easier, we also recommend you check the following product categories to access extremely visually appealing designs created by professionals to help you deliver your message in style:

  • Animated PowerPoint Templates
  • Animated Text Banner Templates
  • Academic PowerPoint Templates
  • Business PowerPoint Templates
  • Marketing PowerPoint Templates

Additionally, here you can preview some of our presentation templates that you can use to create a video presentation in PowerPoint.

1. Animated PowerPoint Charts Collection Template

Business Charts Template Slide

Present data in a visually appealing format by using this collection of animated charts in PowerPoint. Fully customizable, this template brings ease to speak about data-driven presentations; hence becoming a vital asset for any presenter in the corporate world.

Use This Template

2. Animated Network Diagram PowerPoint Template

how to make video presentations more engaging

Simplify the different streams that take part in your project or product release with the help of this animated template design. This Animated Network Diagram template can help you expose the processes that, with integrated effort, evolve into a successful outcome. It has animations applied to the objects, plus transitions to make the presentation more fluid.

Fully editable with any version of PowerPoint.

3. Free Animated Editable Professional Infographics PowerPoint Template

how to make video presentations more engaging

Infographics are a powerful tool that every presenter must consider for their work. This Free Animated Infographics template allows presenters to communicate complex data pieces, build marketing strategies, or prepare professional-looking reports. 

You can find a broad variety of charts and graphs. These are fully editable by using the chart filter option to edit on a spreadsheet.

4. Free Animated Editable Infographic PowerPoint Slides

3D Circular Stack Diagram PPT

If you intend to present financial data or KPIs for your marketing projects, look no further: this Free Animated Editable Infographic Template for PowerPoint has it all. 

Arranged in an 8-slide deck, we find a compendium of graphic elements to represent complex data in a visually compelling manner. Fully editable in all versions of PowerPoint

5. Free Animated Business PowerPoint Template

how to make video presentations more engaging

This versatile free presentation template for PowerPoint makes the perfect tool for more than business presentations: it works perfectly for educational video presentations and even inspirational video presentations.

With 9 fully editable slides, you can build your video presentation by using a unique combination of graphic elements, animations, and transitions. The graphics elements on this template are oriented to highlight leadership concepts.

6. Free Animated Business Infographics PowerPoint Template

how to make video presentations more engaging

Use this free template to create powerful statements backed by data in your video presentations. With a broad selection of graphs, diagrams, and charts, this fully editable template can help presenters to discuss topics ranging from demographics, economy, marketing indicators, or other relevant research results in an easy-to-understand format.

Compatible with all versions of PowerPoint, Google Slides, and Keynote.

You also need to consider the output format of your video presentations. For maximum compatibility, you can use  MP4 or MOV. Other alternatives include:

  • MKV : The native format of most 4K videos due to being able to store multiple audio tracks. Ideal for presentations with different voiceover languages that presenters can pick from.
  • WMV : It’s a quality format for rendering videos to be shared via e-mail, although not compatible with some devices. Installing codecs is advised. 
  • WebM : This format is one of the preferred choices for online video libraries or live streaming services, but it can present compatibility issues. 

The answer to this question entirely depends on your aim for creating video presentations. For most presenters, PowerPoint and Google Slides will do a good job, allowing them to use features such as voiceovers, transitions, animations, and high-quality graphics.

If instead, you desire to make advanced effects, screen recordings, or toon-like animations with voiceovers, then you should check the following list of solutions:

  • Camtasia (Techsmith) : It is a professional video editing software, much lighter and easier to use than Adobe Premiere or Sony Vegas. You can create professional transition or animation effects, work with layers to add multiple sounds or video sources and create screen recordings.
  • Adobe Premiere Pro : The industry-leading software in video editing. This often intimidating software by Adobe has all the requirements for professional video editing, plus full integration with third-party plugins or other software from the Adobe suite to enhance the video result.
  • Sony Vegas Pro : It is considered a direct competitor to Adobe Premiere Pro, less demanding in hardware requirements, and somewhat more user-friendly.
  • Final Cut Pro : For Mac users, this is the option to consider if we talk about video editing. Powerful and tailored for the hardware the Mac device has.

As we have seen in this article, video presentations are far from obsolete. It is a truly engaging method to divulge our ideas, especially if we target a younger audience. 

Take your time to write a compelling story to tell rather than spilling animations and transitions along the way. Professional-made video presentations always care about details and the takeaway message for the spectator. 

how to make video presentations more engaging

Like this article? Please share

Presentation Videos, Video Filed under Presentation Ideas

Related Articles

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

Filed under Business • April 24th, 2023

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

Master the art of delivering Zoom presentations by checking this quick guide. We list suggestions, how to share a PPT presentation and more.

How To Convert a PowerPoint Presentation to a HD Video in 3 Steps

Filed under PowerPoint Tutorials • October 22nd, 2022

How To Convert a PowerPoint Presentation to a HD Video in 3 Steps

Learn how to convert a PowerPoint presentation to video and prepare video presentations in minutes.

How to Embed a Youtube Video in PowerPoint

Filed under PowerPoint Tutorials • September 6th, 2022

How to Embed a Youtube Video in PowerPoint

Give your presentations a dynamic performance thanks to embedding YouTube videos to them. In this article, we will explain 5 different methods to perform this task.

Leave a Reply

how to make video presentations more engaging

  • Meetings Host beautiful video meetings with no login or downloads
  • Embedded Easily add custom video calls to your website or app
  • For Meetings
  • For Embedded
  • Try for free
  • Customer Stories
  • Anywhere Works

Here’s How to Give the Best Video Presentation of Your Life

Your video presentation doesn’t need to bore your attendees to tears. Here are seven strategies to keep participants engaged and awake.

You’ve been asked to give a video presentation at a virtual conference. You’re excited about the opportunity to share your expertise, but you’re also worried about how you’ll manage to hold interest. 

Let’s face it: It’s notoriously tough to keep people focused during virtual presentations. 

In fact, 67% of workers say they find it easier to be distracted during virtual meetings compared to in-person ones. Even worse? 55% of respondents admit that they’ve checked their emails during those virtual sessions. 

how to make video presentations more engaging

7 tips for video presentations that don’t make eyes glaze over

So, are you doomed to spend an hour talking to a bunch of people who’d rather be elsewhere? Will all of your time spent preparing be wasted as you watch attendees turn off their cameras and do who knows what as you ramble on?

Not quite. Rest assured, there are some tips you can put into play to deliver a compelling video presentation that keeps your virtual event participants on the hook. 

1. Curate the right environment

If you want other people to be totally tuned into the topic you’re presenting, you need to start by creating a non-distracting environment – both for your benefit and your participants’. 

There are a number of different ways to ensure you have the right setting for your virtual presentation, including:

Finding a quiet space where you’ll be free from interruptions (like barking dogs or kids who choose the most inopportune time to come in and ask for fruit snacks).

Cleaning up your background so that you’re the main focus. Taking a few minutes to tidy up is better than turning on a virtual background, as the majority of people prefer to see the actual room behind the speaker. 

Ensuring you have appropriate lighting so that attendees can see your face without shadows and glares. 

Think about it this way: Would you want to deliver an in-person presentation in a dimly-lit room with laundry baskets in the background? We didn’t think so. 

While getting your space ready for a virtual or hybrid event will take a little more work than simply showing up to a well-prepped conference center, it’s well worth the effort to curate an environment that shows you’re ready to get down to business. 

2. Check your technology 

Can you see my screen? Hold on a second, I just need to click over to my slides. Is my audio echoing for anybody else? 

Nothing derails your presentation faster than frustrating technology glitches. They’re annoying for both you and your participants, and unfortunately those delays can mean that you lose the attention and trust of your attendees before you even get to the content of your presentation.

Plus, they immediately slow you down and shake your confidence. They’re tough to bounce back from, especially when you feel frazzled and like you need to rush through certain aspects of your talk in order to make up for that lost time.

For that reason, it’s crucial that you triple-check all of your technology during your presentation rehearsals. And, it’s smart to use a video meeting platform that’s simple and intuitive. Whereby Embedded makes it easy to embed your video meeting directly within the website or app for your virtual conference, so everybody can navigate right to your session without annoying passcodes, waiting rooms, or technology hiccups. 

3. Switch up your format

While there’s a lot of debate over what our actual attention span is (you’ll hear the range of five to 10 minutes cited a lot), there’s no denying that whatever it is, it’s short.

You could present a surefire method to win the lottery, and people are probably still going to start to zone out after a few minutes of you droning on and on. And we don’t blame them – it’s tough to stay focused, particularly in a virtual environment. 

That’s why it’s so helpful to keep switching up the format of your presentation by mixing in various elements like:

Breakout sessions (more on these a little later)

Exercises and games

Questions and open discussions

Videos or demonstrations

This array of formats keeps your content fresh and your attendees on their toes. And it’s far preferable to spending an hour reading from your slides.

4. Leverage storytelling 

Imagine that you’re attending a presentation about the importance of accurate record keeping. 

Do you want to hear a bunch of statistics about why it matters? Or do you want to hear about the time a single spreadsheet error led to a synchronized swimming event being oversold by 10,000 tickets at the 2012 London Olympics?

The latter is far more compelling, isn’t it? And it speaks to the power of incorporating storytelling into your presentations. In fact, researchers have found that stories can cause oxytocin synthesis in our brains. That not only gets us more engaged, but also inspires us to take action. 

So, look for places where you can incorporate anecdotes or real-world examples. Those will hit home with your attendees far more than endless facts and figures. 

5. Remember that your visual aids should be visual

We’ve all sat through presentations where the presenter’s slides were filled with walls of text or bullet points of what they wanted to cover.

Of course, you can (and should) have your own notes to guide you through all of the important points of your presentation – but that doesn’t mean your audience needs to read along with you. Not only is it boring, but one study found that showing audiences the exact same words that were being spoken reduces audience comprehension. 

Your visual aids should be, well, visual . Rather than filling your PowerPoint, Keynote, Prezi, or Google Slides with meaningless text, keep your slide deck interesting with:

Bite-sized statistics or facts

Graphs and charts

Relevant images

Even the occasional funny GIF or meme can keep your audience more engaged with your presentation (not to mention lighten the mood and inspire a little chuckle). 

6. Use breakout sessions to boost engagement 

If you have a particularly large group of attendees or a longer time slot for your virtual presentation, you’ll likely notice more participation and engagement if you break people into small groups – at least for a portion of your session.

There are a number of reasons for that, but much of it is owed to the fact that tighter groups reduce the potential for social loafing – a psychological concept that states that people put in less effort when they’re in groups than they do when they’re on their own, because they assume that other group members will help shoulder the burden.

Whereby makes it easy to start breakout sessions and groups , so you can give people the chance to connect more personally without interrupting the flow of your presentation.  

7. Invite active participation

Breakout groups certainly help people feel like they’re part of the discussion – rather than being preached to for an hour or so. But, there are a few other things you can do to fuel the feeling that virtual attendees are active participants: 

Encourage emoji reactions: Even if your attendees don’t have their own cameras on, emoji reactions give them the opportunity to share how they feel. Believe it or not, the same part of our brain that processes facial expressions also processes emojis. Whereby has live emoji reactions, by the way. 

Periodically stop for questions: While you don’t want tangents to throw your presentation off track, skipping any questions until the end of your talk can make attendees feel unheard and disconnected. Plus, stopping regularly to give people a chance to ask questions as they come up almost always leads to more productive, engaging, and insightful conversations.

Involve attendees in examples and demonstrations: This is tougher to do during a virtual event than an in-person one, but find ways to involve your audience members whenever you can. Have them act out an example scenario or ask them to share something with the group. The more you can work them into your presentation, the more alert they’ll be. 

Is everybody still awake out there?

When one in three people admit they’ve felt drowsy or even dozed off during a work meeting, the last thing you want is for the presentation you worked so hard on to quite literally lull people to sleep. 

While virtual conferences have their benefits, it can admittedly feel more challenging to keep the energy up. 

Fortunately, you can do more than accept the fact that some people will catch a much-needed snooze during your session. Use these strategies, and you’ll create a video presentation that keeps your participants engaged (and, you know, awake). 

Ready to give the best video presentation of your life? Learn how Whereby can help make it happen . 

Other articles you might like.

how to make video presentations more engaging

8 mins read | 19 July 2021

5 Science-Backed Tips to Maintain Your Productivity When Working Remotely

how to make video presentations more engaging

5 mins read | 26 May 2021

Follow These Rules for Effective Virtual Meetings Every Time

how to make video presentations more engaging

2 mins read | 16 July 2021

How I Host Better, More Productive Meetings with Picture in Picture

How to Give an Interactive PowerPoint Presentation in 2023

Profile picture Juraj Holub

Presenting online is tough, yes. You can’t really connect with your audience. You often don’t even know whether those mute faces listen to you at all.

That’s why it’s important to go the extra mile and make your presentation interactive. 

But that’s easier said than done, right?

Being for 7 years in the game of interactive presenting, I’d like to share some of my tips on how to activate your audience , create meaningful interaction, and facilitate it during your talk.

Get inspired by these (or some of these) tips for delivering a  truly interactive PowerPoint presentation.

  • Play music or do some chit-chat while waiting
  • Welcome people and properly introduce the topic
  • Explain how people can interact with you
  • Involve the audience from the very start
  • Re-engage your audience every 5-7 minutes
  • Use polls to trigger a discussion
  • Take advantage of Zoom’s interactive features
  • Simplify your slides: One idea/visual per slide
  • Play around with virtual backgrounds
  • Use breakout sessions for peer-to-peer learning
  • Turn tedious numbers into a quiz
  • Invite a sidekick
  • Run mid-way Q&A sessions
  • Give your audience something tangible to leave with
  • Run a short feedback survey at the end

1. Play music or do some chit-chat while waiting

Often it takes a couple of minutes before everybody jumps on a call. While you’re waiting for the rest of the crew to join, you can play some music in the background to set the mood and talk to the people who have already tuned in. “Has anyone discovered a good recipe lately?” or, “Did you do anything cool this weekend?”

You can share music during your Zoom call easily by clicking the ‘ Share computer sound ‘ checkbox.

As people are joining, you can also prompt them to turn on their cameras and unmute themselves for the time being, so that you can all see and talk to each other.

💡 Use icebreaker polls to strike up conversations while you’re waiting for others.

2. Welcome people and properly introduce the topic

Once everybody’s aboard, welcome your participants warmly, thank them for joining you, and tell everyone what you will be talking about today. You can even add an agenda slide to your presentation so you map out the whole session to your audience in advance. In the virtual environment, it’s even more important to navigate people through the talk.

slido all hands agenda in a presentation

3. Explain how people can interact with you

Always check that everyone understands the technical side of things – otherwise, people may not know how to interact with you. Tell them what tools you’re going to use during the presentation and explain how they can use them.

It’s all about setting the right expectations: Do you want your participants to share comments via Zoom or Webex chat? Sure, tell them that. Explain how Webex or Zoom reactions work in case not everyone is familiar with them. If you expect verbal input from your participants, ask them to use the ‘Raise hand’ feature, so you can call on them if they want to contribute.

slido meeting with zoom reactions

Are you going to use live polls throughout your presentation? Explain how people can vote in a poll or contribute with their ideas.

4. Involve the audience from the very start

Now that you’ve made it clear to your audience that you want and expect them to actively participate in the upcoming session, it’s time to give it a trial run.

Start a conversation with them right off the bat. For instance, I was recently a guest at an online fireside chat series called ‘Living Online’, run by our former Head of Education and a great moderator, Zuzana.

Before she dived into the topic, she collected insights from the audience. She ran a series of polls, asking people, “How much has the online world changed your life?” or, “What helps you find a balance between the real and the online world?”

slido interactive live poll during presentation

This way, she made the talk more about the audience, as opposed to just streaming information one way (while making sure people are familiar with the tech).

5. Re-engage your audience every 5-7 minutes

Keep the momentum and motivate your audience to “talk” to you throughout your presentation. Even if it is just in a non-verbal way.

We recommend using live polls or other forms of interaction every 5-7 minutes to pull people back in and involve them in a conversation.

Prepare several poll questions for your audience beforehand, and spread them out throughout your talk.

Is there a content-heavy part of your presentation that might be tough for your audience to process? At the end of it, use a rating poll to ask your audience how well they understood.

slido interactive live poll during an online meeting

Are you about to propose an argument? Before you do, ask your audience what their viewpoint on the topic is first. (You can use live polls here too.)

Take inspiration from our Head of Internal Comms, Silvia, who – before giving a word to our CEO Peter who’d walk us through September highlights – began by using a word cloud to source highlights from the team.

interactive slido poll during a presentation

6. Use polls to trigger a discussion

Live polls are invaluable for collecting real-time input from your audience. You can use that input effectively for starting a discussion.

For example, during our latest strategy meeting with our Brand team, I really needed to know whether the strategy points I presented to my team made sense, and I wanted to build up a discussion around them.

After each of the three presented areas, I ran a rating poll: “On a scale of 1-6, how important is this area in order to achieve our goals?”

slido interactive live poll during an online meeting

When votes came in, I commented on the results and whenever there were votes lower than 6, I asked: “Okay, who put 5/4? Can you please share your thoughts with us?”

This really changed the game for me, because I collected some invaluable insights from my colleagues that would otherwise have remained uncovered. Very often, people don’t share until you nudge them a little.

Read also: 7 Interactive Poll Ideas for Your PowerPoint Presentation

7. Take advantage of interactive features

Encourage your participants to ‘Raise hand’, use emoji reactions, or chat. Your meeting participants are probably not going to use them heavily unless you encourage them to do so.

I often use emoji reactions for fast feedback: I ask people to press thumbs up as an indication that they understand or agree, or to express that they like something with a clapping emoji or the heart symbol.

virtual icebreakers emoji reactions check in

8. Simplify your slides: One idea/visual per slide

Make sure your slides are visually appealing. When listening to someone speak online, the last thing you want is to read huge bodies of text on slides. So don’t copy-paste the whole script of your speech. Use just one idea, one sentence, one topic, or one number per slide.

make powerpoint more interactive simplify slides

Where appropriate, support what you’re saying with an image, a graph, a gif, or even a meme. Do you want to show a video during your presentation? Make sure it’s really short because a video, no matter how entertaining, is yet another piece of content your audience consumes passively.

9. Play around with virtual backgrounds

Using a virtual background when presenting online can save the day if you need to quickly hide a messy kitchen or any trespassing relatives.

But, there’s more to it. You can tie it to the topic of your presentation and thus strengthen the message you’re trying to convey. For example, ever since our CEO Peter used climbing El Capitan as a metaphor for our company strategy, he uses an El Cap photo as his virtual background as a reminder for all of us that we still have a mountain to climb.

interactive background on zoom during a presentation

Need another great use of a virtual background? Pick a funny picture and use it as an icebreaker. For example, in several meetings, I put up a picture of a naked man chasing a wild boar, and believe me, there’s no better icebreaker !

funny virtual background during online meeting

People usually laugh and ask me why I picked this very image – it’s priceless to start a meeting with a smile on people’s faces!

Read also: 18 Best Virtual Icebreakers For Your Zoom Meetings

10. Use breakout sessions for peer-to-peer learning

This tactic is magic, especially with longer presentation types such as during all-company meetings, workshops, or training.

Propose a discussion topic or a challenge. Give your audience 1-2 minutes to think about it, before splitting them into smaller groups so that they can share their thoughts together and brainstorm solutions.

zoom breakout rooms during online presentation

This is a great interactive exercise that helps you break the monotonous flow of one-way content broadcast and allow for some peer-to-peer learning.

You can also collect the learnings of your audience to include them in the presentation. For example, you can run an open text poll where you collect everybody’s key learnings and then display them on the screen. Let’s say you have asked your audience to discuss your company priorities. Try a word cloud such as: “Submit which priorities you discussed in your group.”

11. Turn tedious numbers into a quiz

Presenting company updates or business results can get quite tedious and your audience may easily start zoning out.

Turn it around and present your numbers in a form of a quiz .

For instance, before you reveal the number, say something like: “Before we look at the numbers, why don’t you guys have a guess at how well we did?” Then run a poll with multiple options and wait for your participants to cast their votes.

You can use this technique on multiple occasions. Our CEO, Peter, usually does this at our end-of-year all-hands meetings when he presents our business results such as revenue, sales, or a number of Slido events.

slido interactive quiz

12. Invite a sidekick

Virtual presenters are superheroes that need to juggle multiple tools. And every Batman needs Robin. Consider inviting another speaker to deliver the presentation with you.

It will freshen up your talk and break the stereotype of only one speaker talking. On top of that, she/he can also help you with technicalities such as keeping an eye on the chat or troubleshooting any technical issues.

You can take turns in presenting the content or even give your presentation in the form of a conversation between the two of you. This way, it’ll be even easier for you to involve your audience in the talk, as they’ll be joining what already feels like an ongoing discussion.

invite a sidekick to help you deliver your presentation

Having a sidekick is invaluable if you’re running a Q&A round at the end of your presentation – they can help you manage questions from the audience.

13. Run mid-way Q&A sessions

Always make sure to leave space for Q&A – answering questions from the audience is one of the most important engagement points. Your participants will have a chance to dive deeper into the topic of your talk, and eventually, learn much more from your presentation.

Don’t wait until the end, but review the questions as they come in and take the most relevant ones continuously throughout your presentation (e.g. after each content block). If there are any outstanding questions, address them in the Q&A round at the end.

For example, during our recent product event , our Project Managers, Juraj Pal, Martin Srna, and Mario Ceselka, ran several Q&A rounds after each product announcement that they made. (Almost 350 questions came in! This is why it’s priceless to have a sidekick.)

live q and a session during a powerpoint presentation

They also encouraged people to use upvotes, so the most popular questions can jump to the top and be answered with priority.

14. Give your audience something tangible to leave with

As you move towards the end of your talk, it’s good practice to reiterate the main message of your presentation to give your participants one concrete takeaway to remember.

You can make the ending interactive as well: Ask your audience to think about what they’ve just heard, then run a poll asking your audience: “What are you taking away from this presentation?” or, “What one thing resonated with you the most during this presentation?”

15. Run a short feedback survey at the end

Don’t forget to ask your audience for feedback. We’re always ready to rate our Uber drives or meal deliveries in order to help improve the experience. Why should presentations be any different?

Feedback is the best way for you to learn and find out what you can do better next time. Combine classic star rating with an open text poll so your participants can write more elaborate comments as well.

Two to three questions will suffice – you don’t want to wear your audience down with too long a survey (plus, you’ll boost the response rate!). Here’s an example that you can use:

  • How would you rate today’s presentation? (Rating)
  • What did you like most about this presentation? (Open text)
  • Is there anything that could be improved? (Open text)

Over to you

Actively involving your audience in your content is key if you want to make your online presentation more interactive and engaging.

Using polls, quizzes, and collecting questions from your audience is one of the easiest ways to create more interaction during your talk.

With Slido for PowerPoint , you can add polls to your presentation and present seamlessly – all from one place. Watch this video to see how Slido for PowerPoint works. Click below to try it.

Add live polls directly to your PowerPoint presentation.

Get just a single email per month with our best articles..

how to make video presentations more engaging

Presentations

5 ways to use slido in google slides.

In this article, you’ll find examples of poll questions and quizzes that you can create with Slido and use in...

how to make video presentations more engaging

7 Interactive Poll Ideas for Your Next PowerPoint Presentation

Looking for new ways to make your PowerPoint presentation more interactive? Try live polls. With polls, you can collect non-verbal...

a young man doing a training online depicted on a header image for Slido blog

How to Run More Interactive Training Sessions with Live Polls (+25 Examples)

As a trainer, your ultimate goal is to help your participants develop skills and adopt new practices. But holding their...

ai-banner

How to Make an Eye-catching Video Presentation in Minutes | InVideo

  • video presentation

how to make video presentations more engaging

Video is now the undisputed king of mediums in business communication. HubSpot reports that 85% of companies use videos in their marketing efforts. From webinars to demos, from sales presentations to investor pitches, and from welcome videos to online tutorials, videos are the go-to channel. Clearly, video marketing  is on the surge.

And video presentations are among the most widely used formats for video marketing. But how exactly can you create winning video presentations, to begin with?

Simply by signing up to InVideo for business where you get tailor-made template and video editing services on demand so you can spend your time running your business. Sign up for a free demo here. 

Video Presentations Q&A

Before we get into the meat of our guide, let’s quickly answer a few commonly asked questions.

1. What is a Video Presentation?

A video presentation is a form of communicating with an audience with the aid of a video or completely using a video. The video could be made of PowerPoint slides , still images, animation, or actual video footage.

2. Why Should I use Video Presentations?

Common reasons for using videos as presentation aids include:

- Overcoming space/time limitations - Using video as a visual aide to drive your point home - Video enables you to compress a lot of information into a digestible size

3. How do I make a Video Presentation?

Thanks to the advancements in technology, making video presentations has become very easy. It has also become more affordable than it was a couple of years ago. While different video makers have different steps to take when making a video , here are the basic steps to follow:

- Come up with a concept for your presentation. - Craft an engaging script . - Decide on the visual assets (and format) you’ll use. - Use a professional video editing app to bring it all together. - Promote the video.

Pro tip: To make things even easier, you could sign up to InVideo for business and get presentations made for your brand using the editing-on-demand services.  Sign up for a free demo here . 

4. How do you begin a Presentation?

You can open your presentation in 7 ways:

1. Share an anecdote or short personal story. 2. Kick-off with a provocative statement. 3. Present a startling statistic or data. 4. Tell a good clean joke that suits the audience. 5. Ask a loaded rhetorical question. 6. Show the audience a compelling visual. 7. Hook people with a fascinating quotation.

5. How do you Make a Video Presentation with PowerPoint?

Turning a PowerPoint presentation into a video is easy. Just follow these steps:

Step 1: On the File  menu, select Save  to make sure you have saved all your recent work in PowerPoint presentation format (.pptx).

Step 2: On the File  menu, select Save As .

Step 3: Select the folder location where you want to store your PowerPoint Show file.

Step 4: In the Save as type  box, choose PowerPoint Show (*.ppsx) .

PowerPoint Show Save as Options

Step 5: Select Save . That’s it.

Now that we’ve answered a few basic questions, let’s dig deeper into why videos are so powerful.

What Makes Video Presentations so Effective?

Why do they increase the impact of your message?

Well, it’s simple, really – people are visual creatures. This means we take in more information by watching than by reading. Remember the saying, “a picture is worth a thousand words”? Besides that, here are 4 other reasons video is so effective:

1. Conveys emotions better

No other communication channel conveys emotions better than video. That’s because video caters to the brain’s visual and auditory systems, helping the viewer pick up on cues like body language, facial expressions, imagery, and music.

2. Cements information better

According to research , people remember 10% of what they hear and 20% of what they read. However, they remember a staggering 80% of what they experienced. In short, visuals are easier to remember than text or audio because they help your audience “experience” your message. It makes video an essential part of creating presentations your audience will remember for a long time.

3. Makes it easier to digest information

Especially when explaining complicated concepts, video is a great way to present information in an easy-to-understand way. Not only is the format easy to take in, but it also makes breaking down concepts easier.

4. Builds relationships fast

I’m sure you know the marketing mantra: people buy from people they know, like, and trust. Nothing beats video in making prospects or your audience know, like, and trust you…   fast. Video is an instant relationship builder. It’s the next best thing to live face-to-face communication.

A video is a great tool that has made it easier to communicate thoughts and ideas with people – not just in a room, but even across the globe.

6 Types of Video Presentations You Need to Know

Video presentations come in different flavors, depending on their purpose.

types of video presentations

1. Educational Presentations

These are mainly used in teaching and learning sets online or in a classroom setting. These make it easier for the teacher to convey information and the students to grasp the concepts.

Use this template

2. Sales Presentations

The field of sales has evolved tremendously in the past decade. With customers being savvier, sales reps must play the game well if they’re to bag sales. One way they can do that is by creating story-based sales video presentations.

Sell more with pro video presentations

Use 5000+ InVideo templates to get started

Sell more with pro video presentations

3. Investor Pitches

Need to woo an investor? One of the best ways to do that is by using a video pitch. This will help you present your business plan in a visually appealing way so they can easily grasp your business concept.

4. Promotional Videos

Whether you’re promoting an existing product or a new one, video is your best bet for getting eyeballs on your product (or cause). People relate better to what they can see, making video the best medium for presenting your promotions (like product reviews, for example).

5. Employee Training and Onboarding

Video presentations are great for conducting employee training and onboarding. One of the main reasons for this is that video helps reduce the resources spent on these 2 important aspects of employee relationship management.

6. Informational Videos

As the name suggests, the informational/how-to type of presentation serves to pass on important information. Why video in this case? Because it’s more engaging and can pack a lot of information in a short clip.

Pro tip: You can get tailor-made templates to create any kind of presentation for your brand or business using InVideo for business . Sign up for a free demo here . 

How to create killer Video Presentations – 4 Tips

Now you know why video presentations are important and which scenarios to use them in. Now to the fun part – tips on creating killer video presentations. Let’s get to it, shall we?

Tip #1 - Know your Audience

how to create a killer video presentations - know your audience

The most important aspect of creating a stellar presentation is to know and understand your audience. Even if you use the best video presentation maker , if you don’t target a specific, clearly defined audience, your presentation will flop. Understanding your audience will help you:

A. Communicate effectively

Effective communication involves knowing the language and examples that resonate with your audience.

B. Choose the right visuals

Certain visuals are more impactful when used on a particular audience. Study those that your audience will easily understand and relate to.

C. Connect on an emotional level

No matter the type of presentation, it’s crucial to connect with your audience on an emotional level. And to do that, you need to understand the emotional triggers to push in your video presentation.

Invest in adequate audience research. While it may be time-consuming (and a bit costly), it will pay off in the end.

Idea #2 - Brainstorm video content ideas

Create Killer Video Presentations - Brainstorm Video Content Ideas

Now that you have gathered enough audience data, it’s time to brainstorm some content ideas. Whether you’re creating your talk solo or as a team, 3 crucial questions will lay the foundation of your brainstorming session:

1. What do you want the video to achieve? 2. Which emotions do you want the video to evoke? 3. What will visual elements help your video achieve its goal?

The answers to these questions will help guide your ideas. They are key to creating a killer video that your audience will love.

Tip #3 - Craft engaging scripts

Craft Engaging Scripts

Audience research? Check.

Great idea? Check.

Now we get to another interesting stage of creating great video presentations  – crafting an engaging script. Whether it’s a live presentation, a webinar, or even a product review, you’ll need a great script to ensure you keep your audience engaged.

Even if you love creating impromptu videos, having a script for your video presentations is important. And no, you need not be Quentin Tarantino to produce a great video script (although it won’t hurt to learn how to become a good copywriter). Here are 3 reasons a good video script is a must:

1) Helps structure your video

To ensure your video has a smooth and progressive flow, you’ll need a good script.

2) Eliminates “dead spots”

Dead spots, or moments of inactivity, are a great turn-off in a video. They reek of unprofessionalism and can lead to your audience disengaging. The best way to eliminate dead spots is to craft a solid video script .

3) Keeps you on track

It’s very easy to get sidetracked when creating a video . However, with a script, you minimize the instances of going off-topic.

Creating scripts for your videos is a best practice that shouldn’t be overlooked. If anything, invest more in your script than the visuals as a good script can save a video with poor visuals.

Pro-tip: Once you’re confident about your script, it is time to make things even more clear. A  storyboard will allow you to break down your video visually, scene by scene, describing what is happening in it.

Tip #4 - Invest in the Right Tools

video presentations right tools - InVideo

With video, one thing you should never skimp on is the tools you use, particularly your video editing software. While there is a gazillion free video editing software on the market, it’s highly recommended that you use a professional video editor . And that means going the paid route.

Why should you spend on a video editor when there are countless free options available? Here’s why:

A. Get more (professional) features

Creating professional-looking videos requires a lot of resources and features. Most free video editors lack the features that will enable you to create professional videos.

B. Avoid branding and ads

With video editing software, free is never free. That’s because you pay through being forced to include the video editors brand in your work. In other words, you pay by advertising for them. Besides branding, some free video editors may subject you to irritating in-app ads.

If there’s one thing that’s inevitable when it comes to software, it’s that one time or another you’ll encounter glitches. This is where paid video editors have a great advantage over their free counterparts – you’ll have access to customer support.

From hardware (like cameras) to software (like video editing software), the tools you use will determine the quality of your videos. Invest in professional tools, and your presentations will sweep your audience off their feet because they’ll be more polished.

Pro tip: If you don't have the time or bandwidth to find your way around an editing tool, simply sign up to InVideo for business and get presentations created using tailor-made templates and on-demand editing services. Sign up for a free demo here . 

Tip #5 - Adopt Video Presentation Best Practices

There’s no need to reinvent the wheel when creating presentations . Most winning video presentations are based on common fundamental principles that work. Here are some you need to know:

1) Create impactful intros (and outros)

Your intro is the most important part of your presentation as it sets the tone for the rest of the talk. If you can’t engage your audience with your intro, you probably won’t get another chance to engage them.

2) Keep it short, sharp, and sweet

No matter how engaging your video is, always remember it’s not a movie. The point is to keep your audience engaged enough to pass on your information, no more no less.

3) Be professional

Don’t throw out your professional etiquette just because you’re on (or using) video. Maintain professionalism in your video presentations by, for example, using clean language and maintaining a good posture.

4) Use quality sound

Sound plays an integral part in presentations. Whether it’s music or speech, make sure it’s crisp, clear, and audible.

By following these (and other) video presentation best practices, success is inevitable. Remember, the presentation is not about you; it’s about your audience. So, ensure that your presentations provide a good user experience for your audience.

Make video presentations in minutes

With customizable InVideo templates

Make video presentations in minutes

Looking for a great Video Presentation Template? Here’s what you should consider

video presentation templates in InVideo

Templates are lifesavers. They help you create a decent presentation in a snap, even if you are a newbie.

Here are 3 simple questions to help you determine if a template is good:

1) Is it editable? – Are you able to change things like playback speed, effects, or text, so you produce something you like? Stay away from rigid templates that don’t give you the freedom to create with ease.

2) Is it customizable? – Can you design brand-specific clips using your company’s colors, fonts, and styling? Good templates give you wiggle room to include your brand’s specific needs.

3) Is it campaign-specific? – Different videos fit different scenarios. Ideally, you want templates tailored to your current campaign.  That way, you have less tweaking to do because the templates are close to what you want.

Pro Tip: Get more tailor-made templates for your video presentations by signing up to InVideo for business . Sign up for a free demo here . 

5 Awesome Video Presentation ideas to bring The House Down

Presentation is both an art and science. Get the balance right, and you have the audience eating out of the palm of your hand. Here are some ideas to help you do just that.

Idea #1 - Tickle them with humor

Humor is a powerful learning tool.

According to studies by Physiology Org humor leads to learning because of it:

- Attracts and sustains attention. - Relieves tension and produces a relaxed atmosphere. - Enhances participation. - Increases retention and motivation. - Bonds the student and the teacher.

However, to reap all these benefits, the humor must be appropriate and on-topic. So spice up your presentation with a joke or two. The result? Your audience will laugh and learn.

Idea #2 - Use Relevant Examples

Effective presenters use timely, powerful illustrations.

The word illustration comes from the Latin term ‘illustration,’ which means illumination. So practical examples are like windows of your presentation. They let light in. They help people see or understand the material better.

Here are 5 questions to ask about your illustrations:

1. Are they relevant to the topic? 2. Are they suited to the audience? 3. Are they suited to the time limit? 4. Are they enlightening? 5. Are they well told?

Grab compelling examples from books, movies, TV shows, history, children, current events, and captivating real-life incidents. Use good illustrations ram your points home.

Idea #3 - Wield Questions like a Ninja

Questions are an integral part of learning.

Sharp questions aid learning. Plus, they keep listeners highly engaged.

Ask questions:

- At the beginning of your presentation to draw your audience in. - In the middle of the presentation to revive waning audience interest. - At the end of the talk, so the audience reflects on the material.

Also, allow the audience to ask questions. When your audience asks questions, they switch from passive spectators to active participants.

Idea #4 - Be Minimal

Have you ever sat through a presentation and felt:

- Dazed? - Confused? - Strained?

More than likely, the reason is the presenter drowned you in a blaze of inessential stuff. There was too much going on you couldn’t cope with.

Minimalism is removing all unnecessary material, leaving only the bare minimum needed to put your points across. It means using just enough text, visuals, scenes, or slides to make the point and no more. A minimal presentation is clean and uncluttered.

Simple yet intriguing. Plain but profound. Basic but punchy.

Most importantly, it makes learning easy and enjoyable.

Idea #5 - Connect emotionally with a story

Stories are speakers’ most powerful weapons. That’s because stories play a dual purpose –

- Engage intellectually - Connect Emotionally

And an emotional connection is key to bringing the house down with your presentation. Why?

An emotional connection:

- Endears you to your audience - Makes your presentation memorable - Inspires your audience to take action

By using a relevant story in your video presentation, you’ll ensure that your audience walks the entire journey with you from intro to outro.

6 PowerPoint Presentation tips to wow your audience

powerpoint presentation tips

No business video guide is complete without PowerPoint, the staple software for business presentations.

Here are 6 golden rules to help you nail your next PowerPoint presentation and leave your audience crying for more:

1. Keep Things Simple

Legendary artist Leonardo da Vinci once said something profound:

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication".

With the plethora of apps and templates at your disposal, you will be tempted to complicate things. Don’t. Keep things simple.

Simple design. Simple colors. Simple story.

People get swamped and confused by complicated stuff but easily absorb and appreciate straightforward material.

2. Good visual contrast

What use is your blockbuster presentation if the audience can’t see it?

You want people to enjoy your presentation, not endure it. If you use dark fonts on dark backgrounds or light fonts on light backgrounds, you’ll strain your audience’s eyes. They’ll struggle to see your lovely slides.

Classic black-on-white color contrast does just fine. You can use colors like red, blue, or yellow for headings and images. If you don’t like black and white, you can use other colors you prefer as long as the contrast of your combination is bold and strong.

3. Use a few words and animations

It’s easy to go overboard with fancy animations and a gushing stream of words. Only use as many words as it takes to get your point across and no more.

Too many words cause the audience to read rather than listen. Remember, your slides are there to compliment your talk, not substitute it. Also, a lot of words will fill up many slides that wear your audience down.

Ruthlessly cut out senseless animations that don’t add value to your talk.

4. Use excellent images

Images are to a presentation, what water is to fish. Without them, your presentation becomes bland. It lacks the needed fizz to keep your audience hooked. But only include relevant images.

Not only that. Above all, make sure all pictures are of high quality. Amateur-looking clip art causes the audience not to take you seriously.

Pro-tip: Get access to millions of stock assets and tailor-made templates with InVideo for business . Sign up for a free demo here . 

5. Smooth and fast transitions

While PowerPoint transitions can make your presentation engaging, don’t overdo them, especially the advanced ones. Not only do they quickly drain power on weaker machines, but they also distract the audience. Stick to simpler and faster transitions like wipe or slide.

6. Avoid overloading your slides

In presentations, less is more.

Having a lot going on your screen confuses and overwhelms listeners.

Cramming too much info into your slides is a big no-no. Clutter is your enemy. Strip your slides down to essential words and images. Your audience will love you for it and leave you with many takeaways.

Pro looking Video Presentations – No longer an option

With Industry 4.0 fast coming into its own, going digital is no longer an option for businesses and speakers.

And one of the most important communication mediums in the digital age is video. That’s why you can’t afford to ignore video any more. Whether you’re speaking before a live audience or seeking to disseminate information to a global audience, video presentations are the way to go.

Need a great tool to create stunning video presentations? Then make sure to schedule a demo and see just how much you can do with InVideo for business. 

Let’s create superb videos

We use essential cookies to make Venngage work. By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.

Manage Cookies

Cookies and similar technologies collect certain information about how you’re using our website. Some of them are essential, and without them you wouldn’t be able to use Venngage. But others are optional, and you get to choose whether we use them or not.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

These cookies are always on, as they’re essential for making Venngage work, and making it safe. Without these cookies, services you’ve asked for can’t be provided.

Show cookie providers

  • Google Login

Functionality Cookies

These cookies help us provide enhanced functionality and personalisation, and remember your settings. They may be set by us or by third party providers.

Performance Cookies

These cookies help us analyze how many people are using Venngage, where they come from and how they're using it. If you opt out of these cookies, we can’t get feedback to make Venngage better for you and all our users.

  • Google Analytics

Targeting Cookies

These cookies are set by our advertising partners to track your activity and show you relevant Venngage ads on other sites as you browse the internet.

  • Google Tag Manager
  • Infographics
  • Daily Infographics
  • Graphic Design
  • Graphs and Charts
  • Data Visualization
  • Human Resources
  • Training and Development
  • Beginner Guides

Blog Graphic Design

15 Effective Visual Presentation Tips To Wow Your Audience

By Krystle Wong , Sep 28, 2023

Visual Presentation Tips

So, you’re gearing up for that big presentation and you want it to be more than just another snooze-fest with slides. You want it to be engaging, memorable and downright impressive. 

Well, you’ve come to the right place — I’ve got some slick tips on how to create a visual presentation that’ll take your presentation game up a notch. 

Packed with presentation templates that are easily customizable, keep reading this blog post to learn the secret sauce behind crafting presentations that captivate, inform and remain etched in the memory of your audience.

Click to jump ahead:

What is a visual presentation & why is it important?

15 effective tips to make your visual presentations more engaging, 6 major types of visual presentation you should know , what are some common mistakes to avoid in visual presentations, visual presentation faqs, 5 steps to create a visual presentation with venngage.

A visual presentation is a communication method that utilizes visual elements such as images, graphics, charts, slides and other visual aids to convey information, ideas or messages to an audience. 

Visual presentations aim to enhance comprehension engagement and the overall impact of the message through the strategic use of visuals. People remember what they see, making your point last longer in their heads. 

Without further ado, let’s jump right into some great visual presentation examples that would do a great job in keeping your audience interested and getting your point across.

In today’s fast-paced world, where information is constantly bombarding our senses, creating engaging visual presentations has never been more crucial. To help you design a presentation that’ll leave a lasting impression, I’ve compiled these examples of visual presentations that will elevate your game.

1. Use the rule of thirds for layout

Ever heard of the rule of thirds? It’s a presentation layout trick that can instantly up your slide game. Imagine dividing your slide into a 3×3 grid and then placing your text and visuals at the intersection points or along the lines. This simple tweak creates a balanced and seriously pleasing layout that’ll draw everyone’s eyes.

2. Get creative with visual metaphors

Got a complex idea to explain? Skip the jargon and use visual metaphors. Throw in images that symbolize your point – for example, using a road map to show your journey towards a goal or using metaphors to represent answer choices or progress indicators in an interactive quiz or poll.

3. Visualize your data with charts and graphs

The right data visualization tools not only make content more appealing but also aid comprehension and retention. Choosing the right visual presentation for your data is all about finding a good match. 

For ordinal data, where things have a clear order, consider using ordered bar charts or dot plots. When it comes to nominal data, where categories are on an equal footing, stick with the classics like bar charts, pie charts or simple frequency tables. And for interval-ratio data, where there’s a meaningful order, go for histograms, line graphs, scatterplots or box plots to help your data shine.

In an increasingly visual world, effective visual communication is a valuable skill for conveying messages. Here’s a guide on how to use visual communication to engage your audience while avoiding information overload.

how to make video presentations more engaging

4. Employ the power of contrast

Want your important stuff to pop? That’s where contrast comes in. Mix things up with contrasting colors, fonts or shapes. It’s like highlighting your key points with a neon marker – an instant attention grabber.

5. Tell a visual story

Structure your slides like a storybook and create a visual narrative by arranging your slides in a way that tells a story. Each slide should flow into the next, creating a visual narrative that keeps your audience hooked till the very end.

Icons and images are essential for adding visual appeal and clarity to your presentation. Venngage provides a vast library of icons and images, allowing you to choose visuals that resonate with your audience and complement your message. 

how to make video presentations more engaging

6. Show the “before and after” magic

Want to drive home the impact of your message or solution? Whip out the “before and after” technique. Show the current state (before) and the desired state (after) in a visual way. It’s like showing a makeover transformation, but for your ideas.

7. Add fun with visual quizzes and polls

To break the monotony and see if your audience is still with you, throw in some quick quizzes or polls. It’s like a mini-game break in your presentation — your audience gets involved and it makes your presentation way more dynamic and memorable.

8. End with a powerful visual punch

Your presentation closing should be a showstopper. Think a stunning clip art that wraps up your message with a visual bow, a killer quote that lingers in minds or a call to action that gets hearts racing.

how to make video presentations more engaging

9. Engage with storytelling through data

Use storytelling magic to bring your data to life. Don’t just throw numbers at your audience—explain what they mean, why they matter and add a bit of human touch. Turn those stats into relatable tales and watch your audience’s eyes light up with understanding.

how to make video presentations more engaging

10. Use visuals wisely

Your visuals are the secret sauce of a great presentation. Cherry-pick high-quality images, graphics, charts and videos that not only look good but also align with your message’s vibe. Each visual should have a purpose – they’re not just there for decoration. 

11. Utilize visual hierarchy

Employ design principles like contrast, alignment and proximity to make your key info stand out. Play around with fonts, colors and placement to make sure your audience can’t miss the important stuff.

12. Engage with multimedia

Static slides are so last year. Give your presentation some sizzle by tossing in multimedia elements. Think short video clips, animations, or a touch of sound when it makes sense, including an animated logo . But remember, these are sidekicks, not the main act, so use them smartly.

13. Interact with your audience

Turn your presentation into a two-way street. Start your presentation by encouraging your audience to join in with thought-provoking questions, quick polls or using interactive tools. Get them chatting and watch your presentation come alive.

how to make video presentations more engaging

When it comes to delivering a group presentation, it’s important to have everyone on the team on the same page. Venngage’s real-time collaboration tools enable you and your team to work together seamlessly, regardless of geographical locations. Collaborators can provide input, make edits and offer suggestions in real time. 

14. Incorporate stories and examples

Weave in relatable stories, personal anecdotes or real-life examples to illustrate your points. It’s like adding a dash of spice to your content – it becomes more memorable and relatable.

15. Nail that delivery

Don’t just stand there and recite facts like a robot — be a confident and engaging presenter. Lock eyes with your audience, mix up your tone and pace and use some gestures to drive your points home. Practice and brush up your presentation skills until you’ve got it down pat for a persuasive presentation that flows like a pro.

Venngage offers a wide selection of professionally designed presentation templates, each tailored for different purposes and styles. By choosing a template that aligns with your content and goals, you can create a visually cohesive and polished presentation that captivates your audience.

Looking for more presentation ideas ? Why not try using a presentation software that will take your presentations to the next level with a combination of user-friendly interfaces, stunning visuals, collaboration features and innovative functionalities that will take your presentations to the next level. 

Visual presentations come in various formats, each uniquely suited to convey information and engage audiences effectively. Here are six major types of visual presentations that you should be familiar with:

1. Slideshows or PowerPoint presentations

Slideshows are one of the most common forms of visual presentations. They typically consist of a series of slides containing text, images, charts, graphs and other visual elements. Slideshows are used for various purposes, including business presentations, educational lectures and conference talks.

how to make video presentations more engaging

2. Infographics

Infographics are visual representations of information, data or knowledge. They combine text, images and graphics to convey complex concepts or data in a concise and visually appealing manner. Infographics are often used in marketing, reporting and educational materials.

Don’t worry, they are also super easy to create thanks to Venngage’s fully customizable infographics templates that are professionally designed to bring your information to life. Be sure to try it out for your next visual presentation!

how to make video presentations more engaging

3. Video presentation

Videos are your dynamic storytellers. Whether it’s pre-recorded or happening in real-time, videos are the showstoppers. You can have interviews, demos, animations or even your own mini-documentary. Video presentations are highly engaging and can be shared in both in-person and virtual presentations .

4. Charts and graphs

Charts and graphs are visual representations of data that make it easier to understand and analyze numerical information. Common types include bar charts, line graphs, pie charts and scatterplots. They are commonly used in scientific research, business reports and academic presentations.

Effective data visualizations are crucial for simplifying complex information and Venngage has got you covered. Venngage’s tools enable you to create engaging charts, graphs,and infographics that enhance audience understanding and retention, leaving a lasting impression in your presentation.

how to make video presentations more engaging

5. Interactive presentations

Interactive presentations involve audience participation and engagement. These can include interactive polls, quizzes, games and multimedia elements that allow the audience to actively participate in the presentation. Interactive presentations are often used in workshops, training sessions and webinars.

Venngage’s interactive presentation tools enable you to create immersive experiences that leave a lasting impact and enhance audience retention. By incorporating features like clickable elements, quizzes and embedded multimedia, you can captivate your audience’s attention and encourage active participation.

6. Poster presentations

Poster presentations are the stars of the academic and research scene. They consist of a large poster that includes text, images and graphics to communicate research findings or project details and are usually used at conferences and exhibitions. For more poster ideas, browse through Venngage’s gallery of poster templates to inspire your next presentation.

how to make video presentations more engaging

Different visual presentations aside, different presentation methods also serve a unique purpose, tailored to specific objectives and audiences. Find out which type of presentation works best for the message you are sending across to better capture attention, maintain interest and leave a lasting impression. 

To make a good presentation , it’s crucial to be aware of common mistakes and how to avoid them. Without further ado, let’s explore some of these pitfalls along with valuable insights on how to sidestep them.

Overloading slides with text

Text heavy slides can be like trying to swallow a whole sandwich in one bite – overwhelming and unappetizing. Instead, opt for concise sentences and bullet points to keep your slides simple. Visuals can help convey your message in a more engaging way.

Using low-quality visuals

Grainy images and pixelated charts are the equivalent of a scratchy vinyl record at a DJ party. High-resolution visuals are your ticket to professionalism. Ensure that the images, charts and graphics you use are clear, relevant and sharp.

Choosing the right visuals for presentations is important. To find great visuals for your visual presentation, Browse Venngage’s extensive library of high-quality stock photos. These images can help you convey your message effectively, evoke emotions and create a visually pleasing narrative. 

Ignoring design consistency

Imagine a book with every chapter in a different font and color – it’s a visual mess. Consistency in fonts, colors and formatting throughout your presentation is key to a polished and professional look.

Reading directly from slides

Reading your slides word-for-word is like inviting your audience to a one-person audiobook session. Slides should complement your speech, not replace it. Use them as visual aids, offering key points and visuals to support your narrative.

Lack of visual hierarchy

Neglecting visual hierarchy is like trying to find Waldo in a crowd of clones. Use size, color and positioning to emphasize what’s most important. Guide your audience’s attention to key points so they don’t miss the forest for the trees.

Ignoring accessibility

Accessibility isn’t an option these days; it’s a must. Forgetting alt text for images, color contrast and closed captions for videos can exclude individuals with disabilities from understanding your presentation. 

Relying too heavily on animation

While animations can add pizzazz and draw attention, overdoing it can overshadow your message. Use animations sparingly and with purpose to enhance, not detract from your content.

Using jargon and complex language

Keep it simple. Use plain language and explain terms when needed. You want your message to resonate, not leave people scratching their heads.

Not testing interactive elements

Interactive elements can be the life of your whole presentation, but not testing them beforehand is like jumping into a pool without checking if there’s water. Ensure that all interactive features, from live polls to multimedia content, work seamlessly. A smooth experience keeps your audience engaged and avoids those awkward technical hiccups.

Presenting complex data and information in a clear and visually appealing way has never been easier with Venngage. Build professional-looking designs with our free visual chart slide templates for your next presentation.

What software or tools can I use to create visual presentations?

You can use various software and tools to create visual presentations, including Microsoft PowerPoint, Google Slides, Adobe Illustrator, Canva, Prezi and Venngage, among others.

What is the difference between a visual presentation and a written report?

The main difference between a visual presentation and a written report is the medium of communication. Visual presentations rely on visuals, such as slides, charts and images to convey information quickly, while written reports use text to provide detailed information in a linear format.

How do I effectively communicate data through visual presentations?

To effectively communicate data through visual presentations, simplify complex data into easily digestible charts and graphs, use clear labels and titles and ensure that your visuals support the key messages you want to convey.

Are there any accessibility considerations for visual presentations?

Accessibility considerations for visual presentations include providing alt text for images, ensuring good color contrast, using readable fonts and providing transcripts or captions for multimedia content to make the presentation inclusive.

Most design tools today make accessibility hard but Venngage’s Accessibility Design Tool comes with accessibility features baked in, including accessible-friendly and inclusive icons.

How do I choose the right visuals for my presentation?

Choose visuals that align with your content and message. Use charts for data, images for illustrating concepts, icons for emphasis and color to evoke emotions or convey themes.

What is the role of storytelling in visual presentations?

Storytelling plays a crucial role in visual presentations by providing a narrative structure that engages the audience, helps them relate to the content and makes the information more memorable.

How can I adapt my visual presentations for online or virtual audiences?

To adapt visual presentations for online or virtual audiences, focus on concise content, use engaging visuals, ensure clear audio, encourage audience interaction through chat or polls and rehearse for a smooth online delivery.

What is the role of data visualization in visual presentations?

Data visualization in visual presentations simplifies complex data by using charts, graphs and diagrams, making it easier for the audience to understand and interpret information.

How do I choose the right color scheme and fonts for my visual presentation?

Choose a color scheme that aligns with your content and brand and select fonts that are readable and appropriate for the message you want to convey.

How can I measure the effectiveness of my visual presentation?

Measure the effectiveness of your visual presentation by collecting feedback from the audience, tracking engagement metrics (e.g., click-through rates for online presentations) and evaluating whether the presentation achieved its intended objectives.

Ultimately, creating a memorable visual presentation isn’t just about throwing together pretty slides. It’s about mastering the art of making your message stick, captivating your audience and leaving a mark.

Lucky for you, Venngage simplifies the process of creating great presentations, empowering you to concentrate on delivering a compelling message. Follow the 5 simple steps below to make your entire presentation visually appealing and impactful:

1. Sign up and log In: Log in to your Venngage account or sign up for free and gain access to Venngage’s templates and design tools.

2. Choose a template: Browse through Venngage’s presentation template library and select one that best suits your presentation’s purpose and style. Venngage offers a variety of pre-designed templates for different types of visual presentations, including infographics, reports, posters and more.

3. Edit and customize your template: Replace the placeholder text, image and graphics with your own content and customize the colors, fonts and visual elements to align with your presentation’s theme or your organization’s branding.

4. Add visual elements: Venngage offers a wide range of visual elements, such as icons, illustrations, charts, graphs and images, that you can easily add to your presentation with the user-friendly drag-and-drop editor.

5. Save and export your presentation: Export your presentation in a format that suits your needs and then share it with your audience via email, social media or by embedding it on your website or blog .

So, as you gear up for your next presentation, whether it’s for business, education or pure creative expression, don’t forget to keep these visual presentation ideas in your back pocket.

Feel free to experiment and fine-tune your approach and let your passion and expertise shine through in your presentation. With practice, you’ll not only build presentations but also leave a lasting impact on your audience – one slide at a time.

ssemble

15 Video Presentation Ideas: Engaging Your Audience Like Never Before

" rel="bookmark" title=" ">.

how to make video presentations more engaging

Table of contents

In today’s digital age , video presentations have become an essential tool for businesses and individuals alike. Whether you’re delivering a sales pitch, presenting a project, or teaching a class, a well-designed video presentation can make all the difference in engaging your audience and delivering your message effectively. However, coming up with innovative and captivating video presentation ideas can be a challenge. That’s why we’ve compiled this list of 15 video presentation ideas to inspire and help you create a memorable video presentation.

What is a Video Presentation?

Information, ideas, or messages can be visually represented in a video presentation. It’s a great tool for communicating difficult concepts in a way that’s interesting and accessible to the audience. There are plenty of uses for video presentations.

  • Marketing and sales
  • Education and training
  • Corporate communication
  • Entertainment

7 Steps H ow to Create a Video Presentation

Creating a video presentation can seem like a daunting task, but it is easier than you think. Here are the steps you need to follow to create a successful video presentation:

1. Identify Your Target Audience

Who is your target audience? What are their interests, needs, and preferences? Understanding your audience will help you create a presentation that is relevant and engaging.

2. Define Your Message

What is the message you want to convey? What do you want your audience to learn or take away from your presentation? Defining your message will help you stay focused and ensure that your presentation is clear and concise.

3. Create an Outline

Once you have identified your audience and defined your message, it’s time to create an outline. Your outline should include the main points you want to cover in your presentation, as well as any supporting information or visuals you plan to use.

4. Write Your Script

With your outline in hand, it’s time to write your script. Your script should be conversational and easy to understand. It should also be engaging and persuasive, with a clear call to action. You can use ChatGPT for this to make it quicker but more effective.

5. Choose Your Visuals

Visuals are an essential part of any video presentation. They help to illustrate your message and keep your audience engaged. Choose visuals that are relevant to your message and that support your key points. Custom visuals are ideal but you can also look for stock footage and images.

6. Record Your Presentation

With your script and visuals in hand, it’s time to record your presentation. Make sure to rehearse your script and practice your delivery before recording.

7. Edit and Finalize

Once you have recorded your presentation, it’s time to edit and finalize it. This is where you can add any additional visuals or effects, adjust the timing and pacing, and make any final tweaks. You can get an idea of what is missing by using computer mockups to visualize your creation.

Benefits of Video Presentations

Video presentations offer several benefits over traditional presentations, including:

Increased Engagement

Unlike traditional presentations, video presentations incorporate visuals, audio, and text to deliver a message in a more dynamic and interactive way. By engaging multiple senses, video presentations are able to captivate and maintain the attention of viewers for longer periods of time, which can help to increase information retention.

Improved Retention

Visual aids like photos, graphs, and charts can help to illustrate crucial points and make them easier to learn and recall. Meanwhile, audio can serve to reinforce knowledge and provide additional context, both of which can help with information retention. With a multitude of sensory cues, video presentations can provide viewers with a more immersive and memorable experience.

Greater Reach

Because video presentations can be quickly shared and distributed online, they can reach a considerably bigger audience than traditional presentations. This is especially beneficial for firms trying to reach out to new clients or market their products or services to a larger audience. Businesses can access new audiences and expand their reach beyond their local area by making video presentations available online. Additionally, video presentations can be included in an online catalogue , making them easily accessible to a broader audience and allowing viewers to browse through a variety of presentations at their convenience, further enhancing the reach and impact of your message

Increased Conversions

Video presentations are more effective than traditional presentations at persuading viewers to take action. This is because videos may make an emotional connection with viewers and convey a message more effectively. Video presentations can drive viewers to take action and make a purchase , join up for a service, or take any other desired action by using storytelling techniques and establishing a sense of urgency. Moreover, you can leverage videos by converting them  into shoppable videos . With the effective use of Call-To-Actions (CTAs), you can thereby increase your chances of making your customers convert even more. A study shows that with the utilization of shoppable videos, you can increase your chances of conversion by  30% .

8 Common Mistakes to Avoid in Video Presentations

When creating a video presentation, there are a number of common mistakes that you should be aware of and take steps to avoid. Some of the most important mistakes to avoid include:

1. Using too much text on slides

When creating slides for your video presentation, avoid using too much text. This can overwhelm viewers and make it difficult for them to engage with your message. Instead, use images, graphics, and other visual elements to illustrate key points and break up the text.

2. Speaking too quickly or too slowly

Speaking too quickly can make it difficult for viewers to follow along while speaking too slowly can be boring. Practice your delivery ahead of time to find the right pace that allows your audience to easily understand your message.

3. Not practicing enough

Failing to practice your presentation ahead of time can lead to mistakes or stumbles during the actual recording. Take the time to practice your delivery and become familiar with your content, so you feel confident and prepared during the presentation.

4. Not considering the audience’s perspective

When creating your presentation, it’s important to consider your audience’s interests and knowledge level. This allows you to tailor your content to their needs and make it more engaging for them.

5. Using low-quality visuals or audio

Poor audio or video quality can distract from your message and make it difficult for viewers to engage with your presentation. Make sure your visuals and audio are of high quality to keep your audience’s attention.

6. Not ending the presentation on a strong note

A strong ending is key to leaving a lasting impression on your audience. You can end a video presentation on a strong note by summarizing key points, ending with a call to action, or leaving the audience with a memorable quote or visual.

7. Failing to tailor your presentation to your audience

To make your presentation more engaging, you should consider your audience’s interests, needs, and knowledge level. This allows you to create content that is relevant to them and keeps them engaged throughout.

8. Not having a clear structure or message

Your presentation should have a clear structure and message that is easy for viewers to follow and understand. Make sure your content is organized and flows logically, so your audience can easily follow your message.

By being aware of these common mistakes and taking steps to avoid them, you can create a more effective and engaging video presentation that effectively communicates your message and resonates with your audience.

15 Best Video Presentation Ideas

1. interactive whiteboard presentation.

Create a presentation that engages your audience and invites involvement using an interactive whiteboard. This style of presentation enables you to draw, write, and add images in real time, making it excellent for brainstorming sessions or classroom instruction.

2. Kinetic Typography Presentation

Kinetic typography is a technique that uses animated text to deliver your message. This type of presentation is perfect for showcasing quotes or highlighting key points in your message.

3. Explainer Video

An explainer video is a short video that explains a concept or product in an engaging way. This type of video can be used for marketing purposes, or to teach a concept in a classroom setting.

4. Screen Recording Presentation

A screen recording presentation is ideal for showcasing software or a digital product. This type of presentation allows you to record your screen while demonstrating the product, making it easy for your audience to follow along.

5. Storytelling Presentation

A storytelling presentation uses a narrative to convey your message. This type of presentation is great for capturing your audience’s attention and creating an emotional connection.

6. Motion Graphics Presentation

Motion graphics presentations use animated graphics to deliver your message. This type of presentation is ideal for showcasing complex data or statistics in an engaging and visually appealing way.

7. Live Streaming Presentation

Live streaming presentations allow you to connect with your audience in real-time. This type of presentation is perfect for webinars or Q&A sessions, as it allows for direct interaction with your audience.

8. Testimonial Video

A testimonial video is a great way to showcase the success of your product or service. This type of video features satisfied customers sharing their positive experiences with your product or service.

9. Virtual Tour Presentation

A virtual tour presentation is a great way to showcase a physical space or location. This type of presentation allows your audience to explore and experience the space from the comfort of their own device.

10. Animated Video Presentation

An animated video presentation uses animated characters or objects to deliver your message. This type of presentation is perfect for conveying complex ideas in a fun and engaging way.

11. Product Demo Video

A product demo video showcases the features and benefits of your product. This type of video is ideal for marketing purposes, as it allows potential customers to see the product in action.

12. Documentary-Style Video Presentation

A documentary-style video presentation tells a story through real-life footage and interviews. This type of presentation is great for showcasing the impact of your product or service on real people.

13. Infographic Video Presentation

An infographic video presentation uses visual representations of data to deliver your message. This type of presentation is perfect for showcasing complex statistics or data in a visually appealing and easy-to-understand way.

14. Picture Slideshow Presentation

A picture slideshow presentation uses images to tell a story or convey a message. This type of presentation is great for personal or creative projects, as it allows you to showcase your photography or artwork in a visually appealing way.

15. Collaborative Video Presentation

A collaborative video presentation allows multiple presenters to contribute to the same video. This type of presentation is great for team projects or panel discussions, as it allows for a diverse range of perspectives to be presented.

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, video presentations are an excellent way to engage your audience and make a lasting impression. With the right video presentation ideas, you can create a dynamic and memorable experience that will captivate your viewers and leave a lasting impression. Whether you’re looking to promote a product, educate your audience , or deliver a message, video presentations offer a range of benefits that can help you achieve your goals.

From explainer videos and product demos to customer testimonials and event recaps, there are countless video presentation ideas to choose from. By using a mix of visuals, audio, and text, you can create a multi-sensory experience that will help your message resonate with your audience. And with the ability to easily share and distribute videos online, you can reach a wider audience than ever before.

Overall, being innovative, entertaining, and memorable is essential for crafting a great video presentation. By adding these characteristics into your videos, you can leave a lasting impression on your viewers and keep them coming back for more. So, for your next project, why not try some of these video presentation ideas and see how they may help you connect with your audience like never before?

Q: What are some tips for creating an engaging video presentation? A: Some tips for creating an engaging video presentation include: keeping it concise and focused, using visuals to convey your message, using a clear and engaging speaking voice, and using storytelling techniques to capture your audience’s attention.

Q: What software can I use to create a video presentation? A: There are several software options available for creating video presentations, including Ssemble, PowerPoint, Prezi, and Adobe Premiere Pro. Ssemble provides you with free but user-friendly features so that you can make video presentations easily. Why don’t you sign up and try now?

Q: How long should a video presentation be? A: The ideal length of a video presentation can vary depending on the topic and purpose of the presentation. As a general rule of thumb, it’s best to keep the presentation as concise as possible while still delivering the necessary information.

Q: What are some creative ways to start a video presentation? A: Some creative ways to start a video presentation include using humor, telling a story, asking a question, or using a dramatic visual.

Q: What are some ways to keep your audience engaged throughout a video presentation? A: Some ways to keep your audience engaged throughout a video presentation include using humor, changing up the pace or tone, using interactive elements, and using visuals to illustrate key points.

Q: How can you tailor a video presentation to a specific audience? A: You can tailor a video presentation to a specific audience by considering their interests, needs, and knowledge level, and by using language and examples that are relevant to them.

' src=

View all posts

Keep Learning

partner

Cart

  • SUGGESTED TOPICS
  • The Magazine
  • Newsletters
  • Managing Yourself
  • Managing Teams
  • Work-life Balance
  • The Big Idea
  • Data & Visuals
  • Reading Lists
  • Case Selections
  • HBR Learning
  • Topic Feeds
  • Account Settings
  • Email Preferences

What It Takes to Give a Great Presentation

  • Carmine Gallo

how to make video presentations more engaging

Five tips to set yourself apart.

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

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

how to make video presentations more engaging

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

Partner Center

6 Psychology-Backed Hacks for Making Engaging Videos

Clifford Chi

Updated: July 12, 2019

Published: August 04, 2017

At HubSpot, our one-minute Facebook videos usually receive more views than our longer videos. So how is it that our third most viewed video right now is almost four minutes long?

making engaging videos illustration

Facebook will boost a video’s organic reach if it deeply engages viewers , so we knew our video needed to grip our audience from start to finish -- especially since it’s four times longer than the majority of our other videos. If it didn’t captivate them, Facebook could squash its organic distribution.

To maximize audience engagement, we implemented psychology-backed hacks throughout the entire video. Let’s check it out and the takeaways below to learn how to capture an audience’s attention.

→ Access Now: Video Marketing Starter Pack [Free Kit]

6 Psychology-based Hacks for Making Engaging Videos

1) spark curiosity.

To spark on-demand curiosity, George Loewenstein, Professor at Carnegie Mellon University, recommends leveraging the information gap theory of curiosity .

The theory states that sensing a knowledge gap between what you know and what you want to know compels you to take action to fill it, like clicking through to a story.

We evoked curiosity in our viewers by using a simple, yet thought-provoking headline: Entrepreneurship is Back .

This title can trigger loads of questions from our audience, like “Entrepreneurship was gone?”, “What does it look like now?” and “How can I be an entrepreneur in today’s age?”, increasing the odds that they would click on our video.

By stimulating curiosity and leaving questions unanswered, we could succesfully create a gap between what the reader knows and what they want to learn.

2) Hook Your Audience

When Facebook analyzed their users’ video consumption data in 2016 , they discovered that 45% of people who watch the first three seconds of a video will keep watching it for at least 30 seconds.

This helped us realize that sparking our audience’s curiosity wasn’t enough to engage them. We needed to instantly hook our viewers in the first three seconds. The human attention span isn’t long enough to be entertained by sluggish content .

What hooks people, though? According to Buffer, an effective video hook visually engages viewers and previews the video’s core message . Hooks are potent because they can simultaneously grab your viewers’ attention and generate interest in the rest of the video.

During our video’s first three seconds, we rapidly cut between numerous Shark Tank pitches. The swift frames caught our viewers’ eye. And if they recognized the entrepreneurs, they knew exactly what the video was about.

The narrator quickly summarizes the video’s main point too. He cuts right to the chase, informing the viewer that the video covers the rise of entrepreneurship. Many of our viewers dream about starting their own business, so this quick sketch of the topic definitely piqued their interest.

3) Make It Visual

When we were babies, we relied on vision to associate objects with behaviors, like a ball meaning play time. Vision was the only way to learn about the world.

That’s why you can understand visual information in 250 milliseconds (almost two times faster than a blink of an eye) and why your visual system activates over 50% of your brain. Watching something has always been the best way to learn.

Since visual storytelling helps people grasp concepts and data easily , we decided to complement our video’s text and narration with dynamic graphics, popular movie scenes, and footage of real people.

Each time our narrator expanded on a concept or some data, our viewers could listen to the information and watch a visual representation of it. This helped them form a concrete understanding of the video’s central idea.

4) Tell a Story

When someone tells you a story, they can plant their personal experiences and ideas directly into your mind. You start to feel what they feel.

Powerful stories evoke empathy because they activate parts of the brain that’d operate if you actually experienced the stories’ events . If someone describes eating a plate of lobster mac and cheese, your sensory cortex lights up. If someone recounts scoring their first touchdown, your motor cortex enlivens.

By using our memories to recreate the story’s sensory details, we turn its events into our own idea and experience.

Our video told a story about entrepreneurship. More specifically, entrepreneurship’s history, its economic benefits, and the reasons for its recent rocky past, current resurgence, and hopeful future.

By weaving these facts into a narrative, our viewers could place themselves into the modern entrepreneur’s mind. This allowed them to relate to the lack of fulfillment the “work to live” mentality provides and the impact their potential entrepreneurial pursuits could have on themselves and the world.

5) Inspire Your Audience

According to Psychology Today, brand preference is largely an emotional decision. Humans associate the same personality traits to brands as they do with people .

Choosing your favorite brand is like choosing your best friend, and since we spend time with the people who make us feel good, we engage with the brands that also make us feel good.

If you want your videos to resonate with your viewers, then they need to kindle warm feelings. In fact, happiness, hope, and excitement are some of the most common emotions that drive viral content .

By highlighting the digital age’s low market entry costs, a diminished need for investors, and the ability to efficiently build unprecedented amounts of brand engagement through social media, our video inspired entrepreneurs everywhere to keep pursuing their dreams. Their futures have never looked brighter.

6) Make it Credible

Trust is pivotal in the inbound marketing world. If our viewers didn’t trust us, they would never consume our video content. And just because we stamped the HubSpot brand on the video doesn’t automatically validate its points.

That’s why we featured clips of Jack Delosa , Founder and CEO of The Entourage , backing up our points about finding a problem before you provide a solution, the purpose behind starting a business, and the power of social media.

Notice something different? Click here to learn more about the HubSpot blog  redesign process.

He’s an established entrepreneur and an outside source, so his backing helps bolster our video’s credibility and, in turn, our audience’s trust in our content.

On Facebook, video isn’t king. Engaging video is king. And to create gripping videos, you need to be able to understand and predict human preference and behavior.

Nowadays, psychology isn't just a college prerequisite. It's the core of marketing.

Discover videos, templates, tips, and other resources dedicated to helping you  launch an effective video marketing strategy. 

Don't forget to share this post!

Related articles.

How to Write a Video Script [Template + Video]

How to Write a Video Script [Template + Video]

The Hustle's YouTube Team Tells Us Their Favorite Short-Form Videos of 2023

The Hustle's YouTube Team Tells Us Their Favorite Short-Form Videos of 2023

[UPDATE] How to Make a Facebook Business Page That Keeps People Engaged

[UPDATE] How to Make a Facebook Business Page That Keeps People Engaged

22 Video Marketing & Advertising Campaigns You'll Actually Enjoy Watching

22 Video Marketing & Advertising Campaigns You'll Actually Enjoy Watching

21 Royalty-Free Music Sites to Help You Make the Perfect Video Soundtrack

21 Royalty-Free Music Sites to Help You Make the Perfect Video Soundtrack

8 Holiday Gifts for the Content Creator in Your Life

8 Holiday Gifts for the Content Creator in Your Life

How to Organize Your Email: 11 Management Tools

How to Organize Your Email: 11 Management Tools

How to Use Wistia: A Step-by-Step Guide

How to Use Wistia: A Step-by-Step Guide

How to Make a Video on iPhone (Expert Tips)

How to Make a Video on iPhone (Expert Tips)

31 Free Resume Templates for Microsoft Word (& How to Make Your Own)

31 Free Resume Templates for Microsoft Word (& How to Make Your Own)

Videos, resources, and tips on how to get your video marketing strategy off the ground.

Marketing software that helps you drive revenue, save time and resources, and measure and optimize your investments — all on one easy-to-use platform

how to make video presentations more engaging

10 Expert Tips to Make Your PowerPoint Presentations More Engaging and Effective!

  • Sathish Shanmugam
  • January 8, 2023
  • No Comments

PowerPoint presentations are an essential part of many business meetings, conferences, and even online classes. However, while PowerPoint can be a great tool to get your message across, it can also easily become boring and unengaging if not done right. Luckily, you can use plenty of tips and tricks to make your presentations more effective and engaging. 

powerpoint presentation

Here are ten expert tips to help you create powerful and engaging PowerPoint presentations.

Table of Contents

1. Organize your content for maximum impact

Use 10-20-30 rule, use colors, shapes, and images effectively to draw attention, ensure design consistency, use visuals to support the narrative, benefits of using animation, things to consider when using animation, incorporate audio, video, and interactive elements, balance multimedia content with other elements, use charts and graphs to illustrate data points, understand the audience, utilize a logical structure, incorporate design templates and slideshows, prepare a script to help you stay on track, 8. consider using presentation platforms, 9. encourage audience participation, ask for feedback, review the notes, check the presentation, follow up with the audience.

Organizing content for PowerPoint presentations is important as it helps to keep the presentation focused and engaging. When organizing content, it is important to create an introduction, body, and conclusion that flow logically. Additionally, it is important to use visual cues such as headings and images to help the audience follow the presentation. Finally, it is important to use a consistent color palette, font, and style to help create a cohesive presentation that is visually appealing and easy to understand.

2. Choose an engaging visual design

When it comes to making a PowerPoint presentation engaging, visuals are key. Visual designs can help set the tone of your presentation and get your message across. Here are some tips on choosing an engaging visual design for your PowerPoint presentations .

This rule suggests that you should have no more than ten slides, 20 minutes of content, and 30-point font size. This is important because too many words or slides can be overwhelming and distracting. Instead, focus on the most important points and let visual elements do the work.

Consider using abstract shapes, large-high-quality photos, and vibrant colors to ensure that the visuals you choose are appealing and draw attention. Additionally, make sure that the visuals you choose are relevant to your message. For example, use visuals to show off its features if you’re discussing a product. You can also embed attractive QR codes with logos to provide more information on that product by linking to external resources.

To ensure that you keep your design consistent throughout the presentation, you must use similar colors and font sizes throughout. To make this easier, you can use dynamic presentation software or a template with hundreds of example slides that all follow the same design theme.

Visual design is an incredibly powerful tool for enhancing the narrative of a PowerPoint presentation. With the right elements, visuals can help to make a presentation more interesting and memorable for the audience. Visuals should be used strategically to support the narrative. Using visuals that reflect the presentation’s theme will help create a cohesive story that resonates with the audience.

Check out the video to learn about the core prinicple of visual design:

3. Enhance the presentation with animation

Animation can enhance a PowerPoint presentation by making it more visually engaging and helping control information flow.

  •   Animation can add energy to static images and text and can also be used to add surprise elements that help make the content more memorable.
  • Animations can help to draw your audience’s attention, making it easier for them to stay focused and remember the key points of your presentation. 
  • It is important to use animations sparingly, as too many animations can detract from the main message of your presentation. So, make sure to use animation to control the presentation’s pace and keep the audience engaged.
  • When adding animations, wait until you have added all the information and objects to the slides.
  • Ensure that animations are visible and clear in a PowerPoint presentation to help the audience follow the content.
  • Animations should also be used to keep the audience on track and help them to jump back into the topic at any time.

How to make animated powerpoint slide?

4. Include multimedia components

Including multimedia components in PowerPoint presentations is an effective way to make them more engaging. Multimedia combines different types of media, such as audio, video, animation, and images, which can help capture and maintain your audience’s attention.

powerpoint presentation

Including multimedia components in Powerpoint presentations is quite easy. For example, you can crop images to fit shapes, play music in the background, embed YouTube videos , insert screenshots or screen clippings, remove background from pictures, combine shapes to create a custom shape, add sound effects to animations, etc.

Multimedia content can be a great way to bring your presentation to life, but it should not be the only element you use. While multimedia content can be eye-catching, too much of it can distract from the message you are trying to convey.

 Instead, try to use a mix of multimedia content, text, images, and diagrams that will help ensure that your presentation is visually appealing and informative. For example, if you have a video clip, don’t just rely on it to convey the message, but rather provide some additional information in the form of a text block or image that summarises the key points of the clip. This will provide context and help support the message you are trying to get across.

 Additionally, consider using multimedia content and other elements such as text, images, and diagrams to create a more interactive presentation. This will help keep the audience engaged and allow them to better understand the message you are trying to communicate.

5. Utilize data visualization and infographics

Utilizing data visualization and infographics in PowerPoint presentations can be beneficial for a few reasons. First, data visualization and infographics can help to illustrate complex concepts in an easy-to-understand way. Additionally, data visualization and infographics can help to make the content more engaging and visually appealing. Furthermore, data visualization and infographics can help ensure the audience can retain the information presented. Finally, data visualization and infographics can help to add a professional look to the presentation.

Charts and graphs are powerful tools to make your PowerPoint presentations more engaging and effective. Not only do they help to break up the presentation to make it easier for the viewers to digest, but they also allow you to provide a visual representation of complex data that is easy to understand.

Here are some tips on how to use charts and graphs effectively in your PowerPoint presentations:

  • Choose the right type of chart or graph: You have to choose the right charts or graphs depending on your data. For example, bar graphs are better suited for categorical data, while pie charts are better for numerical data.
  • Keep it simple: Avoid overloading your charts and graphs with too much information, as this can make them difficult to read. Stick to just one or two key points you want to illustrate, and choose colors and fonts that are easy to read.
  • Label your axes: Make sure your x and y axes are clearly labeled so audiences can easily follow the data points.
  • Make sure your data is accurate: Before you present it, double-check to ensure it is accurate and up-to-date. This will ensure that your conclusions are reliable.
  • Use the right scale: When creating your chart or graph, make sure that the scale is appropriate. If the scale is too large or small, it can be difficult to interpret the data.

How to make good infographic?

 6. Create an effective structure and flow

Creating an effective structure and flow to make your PowerPoint presentation more engaging is key to captivating your audience. Here are a few ways to create a flow and structure for your PowerPoint presentation .

The first step is understanding your audience and what their needs are. Knowing your audience’s interests can help you tailor your presentation to be more engaging and interactive. Once you have a good idea of who you’re speaking to, create an outline that will focus on the important points of your presentation.

powerpoint presentation

A logical structure helps to organize the information clearly and logically, making it easier for the audience to follow and understand. It also helps to keep the presentation focused and on track, preventing it from becoming disorganized or tangential. A logical structure can be achieved through the use of clear headings and subheadings and visual aids such as charts and diagrams to illustrate key points.

Use design templates and slideshows to keep the look of your presentation consistent and visually appealing. Ensure to align all objects with the grid to ensure your visuals are perfectly in line.

7. Rehearse and practice

Preparing and rehearsing your presentation allows you to get comfortable with the material and will help you convey your message in a more confident and engaging way.

Having a script for your PowerPoint presentation can be an invaluable tool to ensure that you stay on track and keep to the main points you want to make. In addition, by preparing a script, you can ensure that your presentation runs smoothly and is more engaging and effective.

powerpoint presentation

Here are some tips to help you write an effective script:

  • Start with an outline of your presentation. This will help you organize your thoughts and ensure you don’t forget any important points.
  • Write down the main points you want to make. Think about what information you want to convey in each section and decide how to present it.
  • Include visuals. Think about how visuals or diagrams can help illustrate your points.
  • Make sure your language is clear and concise. Avoid jargon and long sentences.
  • Keep it conversational. Speak to your audience as if you are having a conversation with them.
  • Become familiar with it and make sure you don’t forget any important points
  • Timing yourself is an important factor in creating a good PowerPoint presentation. It is important to allocate enough time to cover all the necessary information but not so much time that the presentation becomes tedious for the audience. When practicing, note how long it takes to go through each slide. This will allow you to adjust the length of the presentation as needed and ensure that it flows smoothly.

Presentation platforms offer a wide range of features to help you create an interactive, visually appealing experience for your viewers. Many of these platforms have built-in templates and tools that make it easy to customize the look and feel of your slides. They also provide interactive elements such as quizzes, videos, audio clips, and animations that can add life to your presentation and keep your viewers engaged.

Encouraging audience participation is key to making a PowerPoint presentation more engaging. There are several techniques that can be used to foster engagement with the audience during a PowerPoint presentation.

  • Firstly, maintaining eye contact, smiling, and using dynamic gestures and facial expressions will help make your message more memorable and engaging.
  • Secondly, hosting an expert discussion panel or inviting guest appearances on stage can add an extra layer of engagement for the audience.
  • Thirdly, you can use props or tangible objects to demonstrate ideas and allow the audience to engage with them.
  • You can ask questions to keep your audience engaged with your PowerPoint presentations. Questions help to build suspense for the next slide, engage the audience in real time, and make people pay closer attention. It also causes people to reflect rather than merely take in the information one way.
  • You can use live polling tools to get real-time feedback.

Effective methods to engage an audience in a presentation

10. Follow-up and review

Following up and reviewing a PowerPoint presentation is important in ensuring that the presentation is effective and that the audience understands the main points. There are several ways to follow up and review a presentation:

Ask the audience for feedback on the presentation, including what they found most useful or interesting and what they would like to see more of in the future.

Go over the notes you made during the presentation to see if there are any areas you may have missed or could have explained more clearly.

Review the presentation and make any necessary edits or updates based on the feedback you received.

Follow up with the audience after the presentation to see if they have any additional questions or concerns and to address any issues that may have come up during the presentation.

Creating engaging and powerful presentations with PowerPoint doesn’t have to be daunting. With the right tips and tricks, you can create presentations that will grab and hold your audience’s attention. Try out some expert tips to take your PowerPoint presentations from boring to brilliant! You can also take the help of professional designers to help you out with the visual aspect of  your presentation.

At Graphically.io , we are your go-to for all your creative needs! Our global network of customers can enjoy unlimited, custom-designed graphics and illustrations for one flat rate. We are committed to delivering exceptional and affordable designs, always ready for when you need them, no matter how soon. We also offer video creation in our standard package at no extra cost that can capture and captivate the attention of your clients and potential customers.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Magic-Of-Subscription-Workforce

Reduce Your Creative Design Budget by 92% With Us!

Colby Wren

100+ Agencies use Graphically.io for their creative needs. Signup now for actionable content & GREAT deals. We won’t SPAM, we promise!

 Useful Resources

Kittl vs Canva : Everything You Need to Know about Design Tools

Top 10 Best Free 2D Animation Software in 2024

Top Free Cloud Databases For 2024 and Beyond

What is a Marketing Communications or Marcom Degree?

how to make video presentations more engaging

Copyright © 2024 Graphically

All rights reserved. | Terms of Services

Quick Links

  • Scope of Service
  • Testimonials
  • How It Works
  • Graphically 4 Cats 🐱
  • Women In Graphically
  • Cost Calculator
  • Client Panel
  • Youtube Channel
  • Book A Demo
  • +1 343 303 6668

Badge-01.png

A family's guide to the total solar eclipse: Kids activities, crafts, podcast parties and more

how to make video presentations more engaging

Some lucky children will be able to catch a total solar eclipse April 8 alongside their parents in an incredible event that will not present itself again until 2044.

Families in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont New Hampshire and Maine, according to NASA , will have the opportunity to experience the moment when the moon completely blocks the sun. Families in parts of Tennessee and Michigan may also experience its full effect.

With many schools closing across the U.S. on the day of the eclipse, parents are left looking for ways to keep their kids busy, but also, ideas on how to make the day fun.

We've gathered some stellar leads, but first, a little on how to talk to kids about what to expect.

Solar eclipse information for kids

Michelle Nichols, director of public observing at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago shares an easy way to explain the event to kids.

“At its very simplest, when the moon gets in between the Earth and the sun, and the moon appears to pass over the sun as seen from Earth, then we get a solar eclipse,” Nichols told Scientific American .

“If the moon partially covers the sun, we call it a partial solar eclipse. If it completely covers the sun, we call it a total solar eclipse.”

Other information that may be fun for older kids to digest would be how the solar eclipse phenomenon differs from the "new moon," Jackie Faherty, an astrophysicist and senior education manager at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, told Scientific American.

The two are similar, yes, but the moon's orbit around the Earth "is not completely lined up with our planet’s orbit around the sun," Faherty said. It is actually tilted by about five degrees, so "when the moon moves between Earth and the sun, the three bodies are out of alignment."

"The moon doesn’t block the sun, and the shadow of the moon cast by the sun lands in space instead of on Earth’s surface."

Solar eclipse activities for kids

There were some creative ideas that surfaced during the 2017 solar eclipse that more families are trying out this time around. Here are some of the best.

Make a pinhole viewer

The Boy Scouts of America have an idea for how to get kids excited about the eclipse. Why not personalize a viewing box for the event?

You will need:

  • A small box with a lid
  • A small piece of aluminum foil
  • A small sheet of white paper
  • A utility knife or hobby knife
  • A needle or sharpened pencil
  • Some art supplies to decorate your box

For instructions on how to make the pinhole viewer, visit Scout Life Magazine.

Create sun prints

Scholastic has a fun art project kids can engage in ahead of the eclipse.

"Human eyes can’t see ultraviolet light, but using construction paper, kids can create sun prints to see for themselves how the sun’s powerful UV rays break down dyes and bleach paper," Scholastic shares.

  • Colorful construction paper
  • Clear plastic wrap, or a large piece of plexiglass
  • Leaves, flowers, or other flat items
  • Small rocks to use as weights

For instructions on how to create your sun print, visit Scholastic's blog .

Recreate a solar eclipse at home

A fun way to keep your kids busy and also increase their understanding around how a solar eclipse works is by creating your own eclipse at home.

Multiple parenting blogs suggest using an inflatable earth, tennis ball (or ball of a similar size), and a flashlight to experience an in-home solar eclipse.

Follow NASA's interactive map

Know the exact time the eclipse will pass over you by tracking it using NASA's eclipse map.

You will be able to see when the eclipse begins, when it will get to you and how much of the Sun will be covered during the event.

"Wow In The World": The Great Solar Eclipse Party Podcast

Another way to celebrate the event is with a fun podcast episode for the entire family to enjoy. The " Wow In The World " special eclipse episode will be available April 1 on the Wondery app and wherever you get your podcasts.

In the special episode, “The Great Solar Eclipse Party,” hosts of the show, Mindy Thomas and Guy Raz, plan an eclipse celebration for their special friends. They explore the basic physics behind the event and discuss ways to stay safe while observing it. The party ends with a song called "Eclipse Party" by a kid band called "Moon 5."

"Wow In The World" is a the #1 science podcast for kids and their grown-ups, according to the show.

Solar eclipse glasses: Everything you need to know, including where to get them

Kids eclipse glasses

Amazon has plenty of options for solar eclipse glasses for kids. Including some really cool plastic pairs that look more like sunglasses and come in fun colors.

My Science Shop has wraparound solar glasses for smaller heads at risk of having them fall off, and Lunt Solar Systems has a really creative paper pack of four glasses for kids to enjoy.

IMAGES

  1. 4 Quick Tips to Make an Engaging PowerPoint Presentation [Made for Teachers]

    how to make video presentations more engaging

  2. 18 Ways to Make Presentations More Engaging

    how to make video presentations more engaging

  3. How to make your presentations more engaging

    how to make video presentations more engaging

  4. 13 PowerPoint Presentation Tips to Create Engaging Presentations

    how to make video presentations more engaging

  5. Delivering Engaging Presentations

    how to make video presentations more engaging

  6. 13 Hacks to Add Engagement and Interactivity to Your Presentations

    how to make video presentations more engaging

VIDEO

  1. Make your Presentation Interesting

  2. How to Create Engaging Presentations to Captivate Audiences and Convey Information Effectively?

  3. Would you do this in a presentation? 😮

  4. How to make a great presentation in 60 seconds?!

  5. How to make powerpoints more engaging

  6. Would you do this in a presentation? 😂

COMMENTS

  1. 18 Ways to Make Your Presentation More Interactive

    You want to flow naturally from one part to the next like you are telling a big story chapter by chapter. 3. Get the audience immediately involved. You audience will come to your presentation in a range of different moods. Try using a simple ice-breaker to re-energise them and get them focussed on your presentation.

  2. A beginner's guide to creating more engaging presentations

    When designing your presentation, consider adhering to the 20/30 rule. This approach encourages limiting your presentation to 20 slides or fewer, aiming for a duration of 20 minutes. The purpose is to create a concise, engaging presentation that maintains your audience's attention. Additionally, a font size of 30 points or larger is ...

  3. 23 PowerPoint Presentation Tips for Creating Engaging Presentations

    Best Practice PowerPoint Presentation Tips. Use A Consistent Presentation Design. One Topic Per Slide. Avoid information overwhelm by using the "Rule of Three". Display one bullet at a time. Presentation Blunders To Avoid. Avoid unnecessary animations. Only add content that supports your main points.

  4. 15 Ways to Make Your Presentation More Interactive

    Use humor. Showing your personality and sense of humor can lighten the mood and build a good rapport with the crowd. The audience is more likely to remember you if you make them laugh and in turn remember your ideas and key points. 6. Eye contact. The power of good eye contact can never be underestimated.

  5. 20 Ways to Create an Interactive Presentation That Stands Out

    1 Start your interactive presentation with an icebreaker. The first step is creating a rapport with your audience. You can do this by helping them to get to know you a little better and get to know each other as well. The way you go about this will depend on the size of your audience.

  6. The ultimate guide to making video presentations

    Drag and drop your media onto the timeline side-by-side to create a slideshow video. Step 2. Edit your video presentation. To trim the length of your video, click on the video on the timeline so it's highlighted green. Move the green handles to the left of the timeline to trim the video length.

  7. Video Presentations: A Guide for Engaging Content

    Tip #3 - Voiceovers can become your best friends. The whole point behind a video presentation is not to create a boring one-person video speaking in front of the camera. Use voiceovers effectively to introduce charts, data feedback, etc., with your voice connecting the points of the entire presentation.

  8. How to Make a Video Presentation With Audio in 8 Steps

    Step #1: Plan and Strategize. For any successful project to be a success, including your new video presentation, you must plan and strategize. You and your team need to know the purpose of the video presentation before you even start putting together content or visuals.

  9. How to Create an Engaging Video Presentation

    Bite-sized statistics or facts. Graphs and charts. Relevant images. Even the occasional funny GIF or meme can keep your audience more engaged with your presentation (not to mention lighten the mood and inspire a little chuckle). 6. Use breakout sessions to boost engagement.

  10. How to Give an Interactive PowerPoint Presentation in 2023

    Involve the audience from the very start. Re-engage your audience every 5-7 minutes. Use polls to trigger a discussion. Take advantage of Zoom's interactive features. Simplify your slides: One idea/visual per slide. Play around with virtual backgrounds. Use breakout sessions for peer-to-peer learning.

  11. How to Make an Eye-catching Video Presentation in Minutes

    Step 1: On the File menu, select Save to make sure you have saved all your recent work in PowerPoint presentation format (.pptx). Step 2: On the File menu, select Save As. Step 3: Select the folder location where you want to store your PowerPoint Show file. Step 4: In the Save as type box, choose PowerPoint Show (*.ppsx).

  12. Five Ways To Create Engaging Virtual Presentations

    Intersperse interactivity throughout the presentation to reinforce learning before continuing. Aim to balance the time you spend delivering content with time for interactivity. 5. Listen to ...

  13. 15 Effective Visual Presentation Tips To Wow Your Audience

    It's like adding a dash of spice to your content - it becomes more memorable and relatable. 15. Nail that delivery. Don't just stand there and recite facts like a robot — be a confident and engaging presenter. Lock eyes with your audience, mix up your tone and pace and use some gestures to drive your points home.

  14. How to Create an Interactive Presentation That Engages Your ...

    Want to create an interactive presentation that gets your audience to engage and interact on another level? We've got 15 great ideas to add interactivity int...

  15. 15 Video Presentation Ideas: Engaging Your Audience Like Never Before

    In today's digital age, video presentations have become an essential tool for businesses and individuals alike.Whether you're delivering a sales pitch, presenting a project, or teaching a class, a well-designed video presentation can make all the difference in engaging your audience and delivering your message effectively.

  16. 10 Top Tips: How to Make More Engaging PowerPoint Presentations

    Here are ten tips to make a more engaging PowerPoint Presentation: 1. Create an Outline. Before you start considering your presentation design, create an outline. They're a big help if you're wondering how to make engaging PowerPoint presentations. Outlines give you the opportunity to plan out your slide contents.

  17. What It Takes to Give a Great Presentation

    Here are a few tips for business professionals who want to move from being good speakers to great ones: be concise (the fewer words, the better); never use bullet points (photos and images paired ...

  18. 6 Psychology-Backed Hacks for Making Engaging Videos

    5) Inspire Your Audience. According to Psychology Today, brand preference is largely an emotional decision. Humans associate the same personality traits to brands as they do with people. Choosing your favorite brand is like choosing your best friend, and since we spend time with the people who make us feel good, we engage with the brands that ...

  19. 6 Tips to Make Your Presentations More Engaging

    To make presentations more engaging, start with a compelling story to grab attention. Use visuals to complement your narrative, and interact with your audience through questions or polls. Keep ...

  20. 13 PowerPoint Presentation Tips to Create Engaging Presentations

    1. Start by writing out your talking points. The first thing you need to do, before even considering your presentation design, is to write out your talking points and outline your speech. Pay attention to popular and engaging presentation structures so you know the framework you want to follow throughout your talk.

  21. 10 Expert Tips to Make Your PowerPoint Presentations More Engaging and

    4. Include multimedia components. Including multimedia components in PowerPoint presentations is an effective way to make them more engaging. Multimedia combines different types of media, such as audio, video, animation, and images, which can help capture and maintain your audience's attention.

  22. Free Video Presentation Maker

    Access the "Present and record" option on the editor's top-right side or click on the three-dot menu to select it among recommended actions. Select "Go to recording studio" and set up your camera and microphone. Start recording with your notes in Presenter's View and have the options to pause and resume your recording.

  23. How to make PowerPoint Presentations more engaging

    Learn how to make PowerPoint Presentations more engaging by avoiding bullet points. Move away from using bullet points in your PowerPoint Presentations but u...

  24. Solar eclipse ideas for kids: Videos, crafts, activities and more

    Create sun prints. Scholastic has a fun art project kids can engage in ahead of the eclipse. "Human eyes can't see ultraviolet light, but using construction paper, kids can create sun prints to ...