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Blog Beginner Guides How To Make a Good Presentation [A Complete Guide]

How To Make a Good Presentation [A Complete Guide]

Written by: Krystle Wong Jul 20, 2023

How to make a good presentation

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

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

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

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

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

Click to jump ahead:

What are the 10 qualities of a good presentation?

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

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

1. Clear structure

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

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

company presentation guidelines

2. Engaging opening

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

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

3. Relevant content

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

4. Effective visual aids

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

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

company presentation guidelines

5. Clear and concise communication

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

6. Engaging delivery

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

7. Interaction and audience engagement

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

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

company presentation guidelines

8. Effective storytelling

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

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

9. Well-timed pacing

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

10. Strong conclusion

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

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

Peloton Pitch Deck - Conclusion

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

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

1. Understand the audience and their needs

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

2. Conduct thorough research on the topic

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

3. Organize the content with a clear structure

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

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

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

company presentation guidelines

4. Develop visually appealing and supportive visual aids

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

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

5. Practice, practice and practice

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

6. Seek feedback and make necessary adjustments

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

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

Venngage Real Time Collaboration

7. Prepare for potential technical or logistical issues

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

8. Fine-tune and polish your presentation

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

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

company presentation guidelines

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

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

1. Confidence and positive body language

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

2. Eye contact with the audience

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

3. Effective use of hand gestures and movement

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

4. Utilize storytelling techniques

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

company presentation guidelines

5. Incorporate multimedia elements

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

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

6. Utilize humor strategically

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

7. Practice active listening and respond to feedback

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

company presentation guidelines

8. Apply the 10-20-30 rule

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

9. Implement the 5-5-5 rule

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

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

company presentation guidelines

1. How to start a presentation?

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

2. How to end a presentation?

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

3. How to make a presentation interactive?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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How to Make a “Good” Presentation “Great”

  • Guy Kawasaki

company presentation guidelines

Remember: Less is more.

A strong presentation is so much more than information pasted onto a series of slides with fancy backgrounds. Whether you’re pitching an idea, reporting market research, or sharing something else, a great presentation can give you a competitive advantage, and be a powerful tool when aiming to persuade, educate, or inspire others. Here are some unique elements that make a presentation stand out.

  • Fonts: Sans Serif fonts such as Helvetica or Arial are preferred for their clean lines, which make them easy to digest at various sizes and distances. Limit the number of font styles to two: one for headings and another for body text, to avoid visual confusion or distractions.
  • Colors: Colors can evoke emotions and highlight critical points, but their overuse can lead to a cluttered and confusing presentation. A limited palette of two to three main colors, complemented by a simple background, can help you draw attention to key elements without overwhelming the audience.
  • Pictures: Pictures can communicate complex ideas quickly and memorably but choosing the right images is key. Images or pictures should be big (perhaps 20-25% of the page), bold, and have a clear purpose that complements the slide’s text.
  • Layout: Don’t overcrowd your slides with too much information. When in doubt, adhere to the principle of simplicity, and aim for a clean and uncluttered layout with plenty of white space around text and images. Think phrases and bullets, not sentences.

As an intern or early career professional, chances are that you’ll be tasked with making or giving a presentation in the near future. Whether you’re pitching an idea, reporting market research, or sharing something else, a great presentation can give you a competitive advantage, and be a powerful tool when aiming to persuade, educate, or inspire others.

company presentation guidelines

  • Guy Kawasaki is the chief evangelist at Canva and was the former chief evangelist at Apple. Guy is the author of 16 books including Think Remarkable : 9 Paths to Transform Your Life and Make a Difference.

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Home Blog Business Business Presentation: The Ultimate Guide to Making Powerful Presentations (+ Examples)

Business Presentation: The Ultimate Guide to Making Powerful Presentations (+ Examples)

Business Presentation Ultimate Guide plus examples

A business presentation is a purpose-led summary of key information about your company’s plans, products, or practices, designed for either internal or external audiences. Project proposals, HR policy presentations, investors briefings are among the few common types of presentations. 

Compelling business presentations are key to communicating important ideas, persuading others, and introducing new offerings to the world. Hence, why business presentation design is one of the most universal skills for any professional. 

This guide teaches you how to design and deliver excellent business presentations. Plus, breaks down some best practices from business presentation examples by popular companies like Google, Pinterest, and Amazon among others! 

3 General Types of Business Presentations

A business presentation can be given for a number of reasons. Respectively, they differ a lot in terms of content and purpose. 

But overall, all types of business presentations can be classified as:

  • Informative
  • Persuasive 
  • Supporting 

Informative Business Presentation 

As the name suggests, the purpose of an informative presentation is to discern the knowledge you have — explain what you know. It’s the most common type of business presentation out there. So you have probably prepared such at least several times. 

Examples of informative presentations:

  • Team briefings presentation 
  • Annual stakeholder report 
  • Quarterly business reviews
  • Business portfolio presentation
  • Business plan presentation
  • Project presentation

Helpful templates from SlideModel:

  • Business plan PowerPoint template
  • Business review PowerPoint template
  • Project proposal PowerPoint template
  • Corporate annual report template

Persuasive Business Presentation 

The goal of this type of presentation is to persuade your audience of your point of view — convince them of what you believe is right. Developing business presentations of this caliber requires a bit more copywriting mastery, as well as expertise in public speaking . Unlike an informative business presentation, your goal here is to sway the audience’s opinions and prompt them towards the desired action. 

Examples of persuasive presentations:

  • Pitch deck/investor presentations
  • Sales presentation  
  • Business case presentation 
  • Free business proposal presentation
  • Business proposal PowerPoint template
  • Pitch deck PowerPoint template
  • Account Plan PowerPoint template

Supporting Business Presentation 

This category of business PowerPoint presentations is meant to facilitate decision-making — explain how we can get something done. The underlying purpose here is to communicate the general “action plan”. Then break down the necessary next steps for bringing it to life. 

Examples of supporting presentations:

  • Roadmap presentation
  • Project vision presentation 
  • After Action Review presentation 
  • Standard operating procedure (SOP) PowerPoint template 
  • Strategy map PowerPoint template 
  • After action review (ARR) PowerPoint template 

What Should Be Included in a Business Presentation?

Overall, the content of your business presentation will differ depending on its purpose and type. However, at the very minimum, all business presentations should include:

  • Introductory slide 
  • Agenda/purpose slide
  • Main information or Content slides
  • Key Takeaways slides
  • Call-to-action/next steps slides

We further distill business presentation design and writing best practices in the next section (plus, provide several actionable business PowerPoint presentation examples !). 

How to Make a Business Presentation: Actionable Tips

A business presentation consists of two parts — a slide deck and a verbal speech. In this section, we provide tips and strategies for nailing your deck design. 

1. Get Your Presentation Opening Right 

The first slides of your presentation make or break your success. Why? By failing to frame the narrative and set the scene for the audience from the very beginning, you will struggle to keep their interest throughout the presentation. 

You have several ways of how to start a business presentation:

  • Use a general informative opening — a summative slide, sharing the agenda and main points of the discussion. 
  • Go for a story opening — a more creative, personal opening, aimed at pulling the audience into your story. 
  • Try a dramatic opening — a less apparent and attention-grabbing opening technique, meant to pique the audience’s interest. 

Standard Informative Opening 

Most business presentation examples you see start with a general, informative slide such as an Agenda, Problem Statement, or Company Introduction. That’s the “classic” approach. 

To manage the audience’s expectations and prepare them for what’s coming next, you can open your presentation with one or two slides stating:

  • The topic of your presentation — a one-sentence overview is enough. 
  • Persuasive hook, suggesting what’s in it for the audience and why they should pay attention. 
  • Your authority — the best technique to establish your credibility in a business presentation is to share your qualifications and experience upfront to highlight why you are worth listening to. 

Opening best suited for: Formal business presentations such as annual reports and supporting presentations to your team/business stakeholders. 

Story Opening 

Did you ever notice that most TED talks start with a quick personal story? The benefit of this presenting technique is that it enables speakers to establish quick rapport and hold the listener’s attention. 

Here’s how Nancy Duarte, author of “Slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations” book and TED presenter, recommends opening a presentation: 

You know, here’s the status quo, here’s what’s going on. And then you need to compare that to what could be. You need to make that gap as big as possible, because there is this commonplace of the status quo, and you need to contrast that with the loftiness of your idea. 

Storytelling , like no other tool, helps transpose the audience into the right mindset and get concentrated on the subject you are about to discuss. A story also elicits emotions, which can be a powerful ally when giving persuasive presentations. In the article how to start a presentation , we explore this in more detail.

Opening best suited for: Personal and business pitches, sales presentations, other types of persuasive presentations. 

Dramatic Opening 

Another common technique is opening your presentation with a major statement, sometimes of controversial nature. This can be a shocking statistic, complex rhetoric question, or even a provocative, contrarian statement, challenging the audience’s beliefs. 

Using a dramatic opening helps secure the people’s attention and capture their interest. You can then use storytelling to further drill down your main ideas. 

If you are an experienced public speaker, you can also strengthen your speech with some unexpected actions. That’s what Bill Gates does when giving presentations. In a now-iconic 2009 TED talk about malaria, mid-presentation Gates suddenly reveals that he actually brought a bunch of mosquitoes with him. He cracks open a jar with non-malaria-infected critters to the audience’s surprise. His dramatic actions, paired with a passionate speech made a mighty impression. 

Opening best suited for: Marketing presentations, customer demos, training presentations, public speeches. 

Further reading: How to start a presentation: tips and examples. 

2. Get Your PowerPoint Design Right

Surely, using professional business PowerPoint templates already helps immensely with presentation deck design since you don’t need to fuss over slide layout, font selection, or iconography. 

Even so, you’ll still need to customize your template(s) to make them on brand and better suited to the presentation you’re about to deliver. Below are our best presentation design tips to give your deck an extra oomph. 

Use Images, Instead of Bullet Points 

If you have ever watched Steve Jobs’s presentations, you may have noticed that he never used bullet-point lists. Weird right? Because using bullet points is the most universal advice in presentation design. 

company presentation guidelines

But there’s a valid scientific reason why Jobs favored images over bullet-point texts. Researchers found that information delivered in visuals is better retained than words alone. This is called the “ pictorial superiority effect ”. As John Medina, a molecular biologist, further explains :

“Hear a piece of information, and three days later you’ll remember 10% of it. Add a picture and you’ll remember 65%.”

So if your goal is to improve the memorability of your presentation, always replace texts with images and visualizations when it makes sense. 

Fewer Slides is Better

No matter the value, a long PowerPoint presentation becomes tiring at some point. People lose focus and stop retaining the information. Thus, always take some extra time to trim the fluff and consolidate some repetitive ideas within your presentation. 

For instance, at McKinsey new management consultants are trained to cut down the number of slides in client presentations. In fact, one senior partner insists on replacing every 20 slides with only two slides . Doing so prompts you to focus on the gist — the main business presentation ideas you need to communicate and drop filler statements. 

Here are several quick tips to shorten your slides:

  • Use a three-arc structure featuring a clear beginning (setup), main narrative (confrontation), ending (resolution). Drop the ideas that don’t fit into either of these. 
  • Write as you tweet. Create short, on-point text blurbs of under 156 symbols, similar to what you’d share on Twitter. 
  • Contextualize your numbers. Present any relevant statistics in a context, relevant to the listeners. Turn longer stats into data visualizations for easier cognition. 

Consistency is Key 

In a solid business presentation, each slide feels like part of the connecting story. To achieve such consistency apply the same visual style and retain the same underlying message throughout your entire presentation.

Use the same typography, color scheme, and visual styles across the deck. But when you need to accentuate a transition to a new topic (e.g. move from a setup to articulating the main ideas), add some new visual element to signify the slight change in the narrative. 

Further reading: 23 PowerPoint Presentation Tips for Creating Engaging and Interactive Presentations

3. Make Your Closure Memorable 

We best remember the information shared last. So make those business presentation takeaways stick in the audience’s memory. We have three strategies for that. 

Use the Rule of Three 

The Rule of Three is a literary concept, suggesting that we best remember and like ideas and concepts when they are presented in threes. 

Many famous authors and speakers use this technique:

  • “Duty – Honor – Country. Those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, and what you will be” . Gen. Douglas MacArthur.
  • “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness” are the unalienable rights of all humans that governments are meant to protect.” Thomas Jefferson 

The Rule of Three works because three is the maximum number of items most people can remember on their first attempt. Likewise, such pairings create a short, familiar structure that is easy to remember for our brains. 

Try the Title Close Technique

Another popular presentation closing technique is “Title Close” — going back to the beginning of your narrative and reiterating your main idea (title) in a form of a takeaway. Doing so helps the audience better retain your core message since it’s repeated at least two times. Plus, it brings a sense of closure — a feel-good state our brains love. Also, a brief one-line closure is more memorable than a lengthy summary and thus better retained. 

Ask a Question 

If you want to keep the conversation going once you are done presenting, you can conclude your presentation with a general question you’d like the audience to answer.

Alternatively, you can also encourage the members to pose questions to you. The latter is better suited for informational presentations where you’d like to further discuss some of the matters and secure immediate feedback. 

Try adding an interactive element like a QR code closing your presentation with a QR code and having a clear CTA helps you leverage the power of sharing anything you would like to share with your clients. QR codes can be customized to look alike your brand.

If you are looking for a smoother experience creating presentations on the fly, check out the AI PowerPoint maker —it offers everything you can ask forfrom presentation design in a couple of clicks.

12 Business Presentation Examples and What Makes Them Great 

Now that we equipped you with the general knowledge on how to make a presentation for business, let’s take a look at how other presenters are coping with this job and what lessons you can take away from them. 

1. N26 Digital Bank Pitch Deck 

The Future of Banking by N26. An example of a Business Presentation with a nice cover image.

This is a fine business pitch presentation example, hitting all the best practices. The deck opens with a big shocking statement that most Millennials would rather go to the dentist than step into a bank branch. 

Then it proceeds to discuss the company’s solution to the above — a fully digital bank with a paperless account opening process, done in 8 minutes. After communicating the main product features and value proposition, the deck further conceptualizes what traction the product got so far using data visualizations. The only thing it lacks is a solid call-to-action for closing slides as the current ending feels a bit abrupt. 

2. WeWork Pitch Deck

Business Presentation Example by WeWork

For a Series D round, WeWork went with a more formal business presentation. It starts with laying down the general company information and then transitions to explaining their business model, current market conditions, and the company’s position on the market.

The good thing about this deck is that they quantify their business growth prospects and value proposition. The likely gains for investors are shown in concrete numbers. However, those charts go one after another in a row, so it gets a bit challenging to retain all data points. 

The last part of their presentation is focused on a new offering, “We Live”. It explains why the team seeks funds to bring it to life. Likewise, they back their reasoning with market size statistics, sample projects, and a five-year revenue forecast. 

3. Redfin Investor Presentation 

Redfin Investor Presentation for Business. A Technology-Powered Real Estate Company.

If you are looking for a “text-light” business presentation example, Redfin’s investor deck is up to your alley. This simple deck expertly uses iconography, charts, and graphs to break down the company’s business model, value proposition, market share, and competitive advantages over similar startups. For number-oriented investors, this is a great deck design to use. 

4. Google Ready Together Presentation 

This isn’t quite the standard business presentation example per se. But rather an innovative way to create engaging, interactive presentations of customer case studies .

Interactive Online Presentation example by Google, from Customer Insights.  Google Ready Together Presentation.

The short deck features a short video clip from a Google client, 7-11, explaining how they used the company’s marketing technology to digitally transform their operations and introduce a greater degree of marketing automation . The narrated video parts are interrupted by slides featuring catchy stats, contextualizing issues other businesses are facing. Then transitions to explaining through the words of 7-11 CMO, how Google’s technology is helping them overcome the stated shortcomings.

5. Salesforce Business Presentation Example 

This is a great example of an informational presentation, made by the Salesforce team to share their research on customer experience (CX) with prospects and existing customers.

Business Presentation Example by Service Salesforce on How to Know Your Customer. A look into the Future of Customer Experience.

The slide deck errs on the lengthier side with 58 slides total. But bigger topics are broken down and reinforced through bite-sized statistics and quotes from the company leadership. They are also packaging the main tips into memorable formulas, itemized lists, and tables. Overall, this deck is a great example of how you can build a compelling narrative using different statistics. 

6. Mastercard Business Presentation

This slide deck from Mastercard instantly captures the audience’s attention with unusual background images and major data points on the growth of populations, POS systems, and payment methods used in the upcoming decade.

Business Presentation by MasterCard on Technology and Payment solutions. The Unfinished Revolution.

Perhaps to offset the complexity of the subject, Mastercard chose to sprinkle in some humor in presentation texts and used comic-style visuals to supplement that. However, all their animations are made in a similar style, creating a good sense of continuity in design. They are also using colors to signify the transition from one part of the presentation to another. 

In the second part, the slide deck focuses on distilling the core message of what businesses need to do to remain competitive in the new payments landscape. The team presents what they have been working on to expand the payment ecosystem. Then concludes with a “title close” styled call-to-action, mirroring the presentation title.

7. McKinsey Diversity & Inclusion Presentation 

This fresh business slide deck from McKinsey is a great reference point for making persuasive business presentations on complex topics such as D&I. First, it recaps the main definitions of the discussed concepts — diversity, equity, and inclusion — to ensure alignment with the audience members. 

Business Presentation Example by McKinsey Company on Diversity Wins: How inclusion matters.

Next, the business presentation deck focuses on the severity and importance of the issue for businesses, represented through a series of graphs and charts. After articulating the “why”, the narrative switches to “how” — how leaders can benefit from investment in D&I. The main points are further backed with data and illustrated via examples. 

8. Accenture Presentation for the Energy Sector

Similar to McKinsey, Accenture keeps its slide deck on a short. Yet the team packs a punch within each slide through using a mix of fonts, graphical elements, and color for highlighting the core information. The presentation copy is on a longer side, prompting the audience to dwell on reading the slides. But perhaps this was meant by design as the presentation was also distributed online — via the company blog and social media. 

Business Presentation Example by Accenture on Accelerating Innovation in Energy.

The last several slides of the presentation deck focus on articulating the value Accenture can deliver for their clients in the Energy sector. They expertly break down their main value proposition and key service lines, plus quantify the benefits. 

9. Amazon Web Services (AWS) Technical Presentation 

Giving an engaging technical presentation isn’t an easy task. You have to balance the number of details you reveal on your slides to prevent overwhelm, while also making sure that you don’t leave out any crucial deets. This technical presentation from AWS does great in both departments. 

Business Presentation created by AWS explaining how to build forecasting using ML/DL algorithms.

First, you get entertained with a quick overview of Amazon’s progress in machine learning (ML) forecasting capabilities over the last decade. Then introduced to the main tech offering. The deck further explains what you need to get started with Amazon Forecast — e.g. dataset requirements, supported forecasting scenarios, available forecasting models, etc. 

The second half of the presentation provides a quick training snippet on configuring Amazon SageMaker to start your first project. The step-by-step instructions are coherent and well-organized, making the reader excited to test-drive the product. 

10. Snapchat Company Presentation

Snapchat’s business model presentation is on a funkier, more casual side, reflective of the company’s overall brand and positioning. After briefly recapping what they do, the slide deck switches to discussing the company’s financials and revenue streams.

company presentation guidelines

This business slide deck by Snap Inc. itself is rather simplistic and lacks fancy design elements. But it has a strong unified theme of showing the audience Snapchat’s position on the market and projected vector of business development. 

11. Visa Business Acquisition Presentation 

VISA Acquisition of Plaid Business presentation.

If you are working on a business plan or M&A presentation for stakeholders of your own, this example from Visa will be helpful. The presentation deck expertly breaks down the company’s rationale for purchasing Plaid and subsequent plans for integrating the startup into their business ecosystem. 

The business deck recaps why the Plaid acquisition is a solid strategic decision by highlighting the total addressable market they could dive into post-deal. Then it details Plaid’s competitive strengths. The slide deck then sums up all the monetary and indirect gains Visa could reap as an acquirer. 

12. Pinterest Earnings Report Presentation 

Pinterest Business Presentation Example with Annual Report

Annual reports and especially earnings presentations might not be the most exciting types of documents to work on, but they have immense strategic value. Hence, there’s little room for ambiguities or mistakes. 

In twelve slides, this business presentation from Pinterest clearly communicates the big picture of the company’s finance in 2021. All the key numbers are represented as featured quotes in the sidebar with diagrams further showcasing the earning and spending dynamics. Overall, the data is easy to interpret even for non-finance folks. 

To Conclude 

With these business presentation design tips, presentation templates , and examples, you can go from overwhelmed to confident about your next presentation design in a matter of hours. Focus on creating a rough draft first using a template. Then work on nailing your opening slide sequence and shortening the texts in the main part of your presentation when needed. Make sure that each slide serves a clear purpose and communicates important details. To make your business presentation deck more concise, remove anything that does not pertain to the topic. 

Finally, once you are done, share your business presentation with other team members to get their feedback and reiterate the final design.

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Business Presentations, Corporate Presentations, Design, Design Inspiration, Examples, Executive Reports, Inspiration, Presentation Ideas Filed under Business

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What are the main difficulties when giving presentations?

How to create an effective presentation, after that, how do i give a memorable presentation, how to connect with the audience when presenting.

If you’ve ever heard someone give a powerful presentation, you probably remember how it made you feel. Much like a composer, a good speaker knows precisely when each note should strike to captivate their audience’s attention and leave them with a lasting impression.

No one becomes a great public speaker or presenter without practice. And almost everyone can recall a time one of their presentations went badly — that’s a painful part of the learning process.

Whether you’re working within a small creative team or a large organization, public speaking and presentation skills are vital to communicating your ideas. Knowing how to present your vision can help you pitch concepts to clients, present ideas to your team, and develop the confidence to participate in team meetings.

If you have an upcoming presentation on the horizon and feel nervous, that’s normal. Around 15-30% of the general population experience a fear of public speaking . And, unfortunately, social anxiety is on the rise, with a 12% increase in adults over the last 20 years . 

Learning how to give a good presentation can dismantle your fears and break down these barriers, ensuring you’re ready to confidently share your point of view. 

It’s the week before your presentation, and you’re already feeling nervous . Maybe there’ll be an important mentor in the room you need to impress, or you’re looking for an opportunity to show your boss your value. Regardless of your countless past presentations, you still feel nervous. 

Sharing your vision and ideas with any sized group is intimidating. You’re likely worrying about how you’ll perform as a presenter and whether the audience will be interested in what you offer. But nerves aren’t inherently negative — you can actually use this feeling to fuel your preparation.

businesswoman-speaking-from-a-podium-to-an-audience-in-a-conference-room-how-to-give-a-good-presentation

It’s helpful to identify where your worries are coming from and address your fears. Here are some common concerns when preparing for an upcoming presentation:

Fear of public speaking: When you share your ideas in front of a group, you’re placing yourself in a vulnerable position to be critiqued on your knowledge and communication skills . Maybe you feel confident in your content, but when you think about standing in front of an audience, you feel anxious and your mind goes blank.

It’s also not uncommon to have physical symptoms when presenting . Some people experience nausea and dizziness as the brain releases adrenaline to cope with the potentially stressful situation . Remember to take deep breaths to recenter yourself and be patient, even if you make a mistake.

Losing the audience’s attention: As a presenter, your main focus is to keep your audience engaged. They should feel like they’re learning valuable information or following a story that will improve them in life or business.

Highlight the most exciting pieces of knowledge and ensure you emphasize those points in your presentation. If you feel passionate about your content, it’s more likely that your audience will experience this excitement for themselves and become invested in what you have to say.

Not knowing what content to place on presentation slides: Overloading presentation slides is a fast way to lose your audience’s attention. Your slides should contain only the main talking points and limited text to ensure your audience focuses on what you have to say rather than becoming distracted by the content on your slides.

Discomfort incorporating nonverbal communication: It’s natural to feel stiff and frozen when you’re nervous. But maintaining effective body language helps your audience stay focused on you as you speak and encourages you to relax.

If you struggle to incorporate body language into your presentations, try starting small by making hand gestures toward your slides. If you’re working with a large audience, use different parts of the stage to ensure everyone feels included. 

Each presenter has their own personal brand and style. Some may use humor to break the ice, while others might appeal to the audience’s emotional side through inspiring storytelling. 

Watching online presentations, such as TED talks, is an excellent way to expose yourself to various presentation styles and develop your own. While observing others, you can note how they carry themselves on stage and learn new ways to keep your audience engaged.

Once you’ve addressed what’s causing your fears, it’s time to prepare for a great presentation. Use your past experience as inspiration and aim to outshine your former self by learning from your mistakes and employing new techniques. Here are five presentation tips to help you create a strong presentation and wow your audience:

1. Keep it simple

Simple means something different to everyone.

Before creating your presentation, take note of your intended audience and their knowledge level of your subject. You’ll want your content to be easy for your intended audience to follow.

Say you’re giving a presentation on improving your company’s operational structure. Entry-level workers will likely need a more straightforward overview of the content than C-suite leaders, who have significantly more experience. 

Ask yourself what you want your audience to take away from your presentation and emphasize those important points. Doing this ensures they remember the most vital information rather than less important supporting ideas. Try organizing these concepts into bullet points so viewers can quickly identify critical takeaways.

2. Create a compelling structure

Put yourself in your audience member’s shoes and determine the most compelling way to organize your information. Your presentation should be articulate , cohesive, and logical, and you must be sure to include all necessary supporting evidence to strengthen your main points.

If you give away all of your answers too quickly, your audience could lose interest. And if there isn’t enough supporting information, they could hit a roadblock of confusion. Try developing a compelling story that leads your audience through your thought processes so they can experience the ups and downs alongside you. 

By structuring your presentation to lead up to a final conclusion, you’re more likely to keep listeners’ attention. Once you’ve reached that conclusion, you can offer a Q&A period to put any of their questions or concerns to rest. 

3. Use visual aids

Appealing to various learning styles is a great way to keep everyone on the same page and ensure they absorb your content. Visual aids are necessary for visual learners and make it easier for people to picture your ideas.

Aim to incorporate a mixture of photos, videos, and props to engage your audience and convey your key points. For instance, if you’re giving a presentation on anthropology subject matter, you could show your audience an artifact to help them understand how exciting a discovery must have been. 

If your presentation is long, including a video for your audience to watch is an excellent way to give yourself a break and create new jumping-off points for your speech.

4. Be aware of design techniques and trends

Thanks to cutting-edge technology and tools, you have numerous platforms at your disposal to create a good presentation. But keep in mind that although color, images, and graphics liven things up, they can cause distraction when misused.

  Here are a few standard pointers for incorporating visuals on your slides: 

  • Don’t place blocks of small text on a single slide
  • Use a minimalistic background instead of a busy one
  • Ensure text stands out against the background color
  • Only use high-resolution photos
  • Maintain a consistent font style and size throughout the presentation
  • Don’t overuse transitions and effects

5. Try the 10-20-30 rule

Guy Kawasaki, a prominent venture capitalist and one of the original marketing specialists for Apple, said that the best slideshow presentations are less than 10 slides , last at most 20 minutes, and use a font size of 30. Following this strategy can help you condense your information, eliminate unnecessary ideas, and maintain your audience’s focus more efficiently.

Once you’re confident in creating a memorable presentation, it’s time to learn how to give one. Here are some valuable tips for keeping your audience invested during your talk: 

Tip #1: Tell stories

Sharing an anecdote from your life can improve your credibility and increase your relatability. And when an audience relates to you, they’re more likely to feel connected to who you are as a person and encouraged to give you their full attention, as they would want others to do the same.

Gill Hicks utilized this strategy well when she shared her powerful story, “ I survived a terrorist attack. Here’s what I learned .” In her harrowing tale, Hicks highlights the importance of compassion, unconditional love , and helping those in need.

If you feel uncomfortable sharing personal stories, that’s okay. You can use examples from famous individuals or create a fictional account to demonstrate your ideas.

Tip #2: Make eye contact with the audience

Maintaining eye contact is less intimidating than it sounds. In fact, you don’t have to look your audience members directly in their eyes — you can focus on their foreheads or noses if that’s easier.

Try making eye contact with as many people as possible for 3–5 seconds each. This timing ensures you don’t look away too quickly, making the audience member feel unimportant, or linger too long, making them feel uncomfortable.

If you’re presenting to a large group, direct your focus to each part of the room to ensure no section of the audience feels ignored. 

Group-of-a-business-people-having-meeting-in-a-conference-room-how-to-give-a-good-presentation

Tip #3: Work on your stage presence

Although your tone and words are the most impactful part of your presentation, recall that body language keeps your audience engaged. Use these tips to master a professional stage presence:

  • Speak with open arms and avoid crossing them
  • Keep a reasonable pace and try not to stand still
  • Use hand gestures to highlight important information

Tip #4: Start strong

Like watching a movie trailer, the first seconds of your talk are critical for capturing your audience’s attention. How you start your speech sets the tone for the rest of your presentation and tells your audience whether or not they should pay attention. Here are some ways to start your presentation to leave a lasting impression:

  • Use a quote from a well-known and likable influential person 
  • Ask a rhetorical question to create intrigue
  • Start with an anecdote to add context to your talk 
  • Spark your audience’s curiosity by involving them in an interactive problem-solving puzzle or riddle

Tip #5: Show your passion

Don’t be afraid of being too enthusiastic. Everyone appreciates a speaker who’s genuinely excited about their field of expertise. 

In “ Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance ,” Angela Lee Duckworth discusses the importance of passion in research and delivery. She delivers her presentation excitedly to show the audience how excitement piques interest. 

Tip #6: Plan your delivery

How you decide to deliver your speech will shape your presentation. Will you be preparing a PowerPoint presentation and using a teleprompter? Or are you working within the constraints of the digital world and presenting over Zoom?

The best presentations are conducted by speakers who know their stuff and memorize their content. However, if you find this challenging, try creating notes to use as a safety net in case you lose track.

If you’re presenting online, you can keep notes beside your computer for each slide, highlighting your key points. This ensures you include all the necessary information and follow a logical order.

Woman-presenting-charts-and-data-to-work-team-how-to-give-a-good-presentation

Tip #7: Practice

Practice doesn’t make perfect — it makes progress. There’s no way of preparing for unforeseen circumstances, but thorough practice means you’ve done everything you can to succeed.

Rehearse your speech in front of a mirror or to a trusted friend or family member. Take any feedback and use it as an opportunity to fine-tune your speech. But remember: who you practice your presentation in front of may differ from your intended audience. Consider their opinions through the lens of them occupying this different position.

Tip #8: Read the room

Whether you’re a keynote speaker at an event or presenting to a small group of clients, knowing how to read the room is vital for keeping your audience happy. Stay flexible and be willing to move on from topics quickly if your listeners are uninterested or displeased with a particular part of your speech.

Tip #9: Breathe

Try taking deep breaths before your presentation to calm your nerves. If you feel rushed, you’re more likely to feel nervous and stumble on your words.

The most important thing to consider when presenting is your audience’s feelings. When you approach your next presentation calmly, you’ll put your audience at ease and encourage them to feel comfortable in your presence.

Tip #10: Provide a call-to-action

When you end your presentation, your audience should feel compelled to take a specific action, whether that’s changing their habits or contacting you for your services.

If you’re presenting to clients, create a handout with key points and contact information so they can get in touch. You should provide your LinkedIn information, email address, and phone number so they have a variety of ways to reach you. 

There’s no one-size-fits-all template for an effective presentation, as your unique audience and subject matter play a role in shaping your speech. As a general rule, though, you should aim to connect with your audience through passion and excitement. Use strong eye contact and body language. Capture their interest through storytelling and their trust through relatability.

Learning how to give a good presentation can feel overwhelming — but remember, practice makes progress. Rehearse your presentation for someone you trust, collect their feedback , and revise. Practicing your presentation skills is helpful for any job, and every challenge is a chance to grow.

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Elizabeth Perry, ACC

Elizabeth Perry is a Coach Community Manager at BetterUp. She uses strategic engagement strategies to cultivate a learning community across a global network of Coaches through in-person and virtual experiences, technology-enabled platforms, and strategic coaching industry partnerships. With over 3 years of coaching experience and a certification in transformative leadership and life coaching from Sofia University, Elizabeth leverages transpersonal psychology expertise to help coaches and clients gain awareness of their behavioral and thought patterns, discover their purpose and passions, and elevate their potential. She is a lifelong student of psychology, personal growth, and human potential as well as an ICF-certified ACC transpersonal life and leadership Coach.

How to write a speech that your audience remembers

6 presentation skills and how to improve them, 3 stand-out professional bio examples to inspire your own, tell a story they can't ignore these 10 tips will teach you how, how to make a presentation interactive and exciting, your guide to what storytelling is and how to be a good storyteller, reading the room gives you an edge — no matter who you're talking to, 18 effective strategies to improve your communication skills, writing an elevator pitch about yourself: a how-to plus tips, how to disagree at work without being obnoxious, the importance of good speech: 5 tips to be more articulate, the 11 tips that will improve your public speaking skills, 30 presentation feedback examples, fear of public speaking overcome it with these 7 tips, how to not be nervous for a presentation — 13 tips that work (really), 8 clever hooks for presentations (with tips), stay connected with betterup, get our newsletter, event invites, plus product insights and research..

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How to Make a Business Presentation (12 Easy Tips)

Jul 25, 2022

Whether over online or in the conference room, there’s a lot to consider when making a business presentation. Finding your unique presentation style that balances humor, confidence, approachability, and professionalism is no easy feat. Above all, capturing and retaining your audience’s attention is the most important and often the most difficult thing to juggle.

In this blog, we’ll share how to make a business presentation that’s compelling, engaging, persuasive, and memorable. Feel free to skip ahead to our 12 tips or start creating your own business presentation with a professional template

2022-06 SEO-Blog-Post-Images Q2-Batch1 How-to-make-a-Business Presentation

8 Tips for a Winning Company Presentation

A company presentation is a vital tool for management and sales departments . This type of presentation plays a huge part in promoting the corporate brand – it’s layout and structure need to be professional and convincing . In this article, we’ll show you what goes into a successful company presentation.

Your company presentation in PowerPoint 

Today’s dynamic market requires companies to adapt and continually seek out new partnerships and clients. Creating a compelling and versatile presentation of products and services is essential . Here are 8 useful tips for designing your company presentation in PowerPoint .

First impressions are everything – and that goes for company presentations, too. It takes people a fraction of a second to form an initial opinion and all too often, that initial opinion is hard to change. This makes it all the more important to set the right tone at introductory meetings.

At face value, a company presentation serves the simple purpose of presenting a company in the best possible light . You want to list key figures and detail services, but you also want to convey emotions and mission statements. The other party wants to learn about who you are .

Your company presentation needs to be tailored to your brand, your business, your products and your services . Although there is no ideal blueprint for a company presentation, there are principles and rules to guide the process.

Company Presentation

Tip 1: Preparation and design: The first impression counts

A company presentation is often the first step in connecting with important stakeholders . It lays the groundwork for further discussions and meetings and other objectives, such as closing a contract, establishing a partnership or inviting the client to a follow-up meeting.

You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression and your company presentation is no exception to this rule. To truly be effective, every presentation needs a professional design . And that starts with the corporate design (CD) .

Take a look at your existing company presentation. Is it consistent with your CD?

If not, you need to tailor the font, color scheme and visual language to your corporate identity. Establishing a consistent and meaningful design will help you make a lasting impression on potential clients and partners.

In addition, high-quality images are a must. Professional preparation and great design mean being able to win over even the most critical managing director or the most demanding customers.

✔ Keep the design of your company presentation timeless, elegant and appealing . Avoid overwhelming your audience with cluttered slides and too many bells and whistles. Clean and modern flat design (a large selection of graphics, icons and diagrams can be found here ),as well as isometric design (found here ) are currently on trend.

Tip 2: The 20-minute rule. Your audience’s time is precious!

Most executives and leader are pressed for time and as a result, attention spans can be short. For this very reason, keep your company presentation short:

Spend a maximum of 20 to 25 minutes on the introduction section (“about us”). Then it’s time to get to the point and present your business concept, specific offer, products and/or services in detail. Better yet, keep you presentation short and start a dialogue .

Studies have proven that during a presentation, attention levels drop sharply after just 15 minutes . Your audience will be grateful that you value their time. In most cases, they already know more about your company than you think.

Company Presentation

Tip 3: Structure: What belongs in a professional company presentation?

The art of a successful company presentation is, among other things, to condense the most important content of your business plan (business model, market, strategy, finances, etc.) onto a few slides . But it’s even more important to know which facts are truly relevant to your target audience and which are not.

1. Always start by answering the most important W questions :

Who? Contacts, management, staff, partner companies

What? Services, products, etc.

Where? Locations, industries/markets, business areas

How? Goal, vision, mission statement

Why? Advantages for new clients or partner companies

Emphasize the “What?” and ” Why?” of your presentation; this is what your audience will be most interested in.

2. Competition is fierce. Most markets are flooded with competitors and attractive alternatives. That’s why unique selling propositions and individual advantages are so important. What makes you special? Why are you better at meeting the needs of your audience?

3. Always include references from satisfied clients and customers . Concrete references help your audience better understand why your services or products are the right choice.

4. Call-to-action: The last slide of your PowerPoint presentation should motivate your audience to act . You’ve presented your company in detail and with conviction – now you want a reaction from the audience. You can formulate this call to action in more general phrases along the lines of “Let’s get it done!” or “Let’s go!”, package it as a targeted question about the content or use it as a prompt for follow-up contact.

Company Presentation

Tip 4: Highlight benefits to your target audience

Knowledge about your target group is power . The first question your audience will ask themselves when you give a presentation is, “How will I benefit from this?” Here are some questions that will help you tailor your content to your audience :

  • What are the driving factors for purchasing/collaborating?
  • How much prior knowledge about your company is available?
  • What follow-up questions are you likely to receive?
  • What key messages do you want to convey in your presentation?
  • What is your unique selling point (USP) and how do you differ from your competitors? Check out this blog article for more information.
  • What kind of design and layout is right for your (business) presentation?
  • Storytelling: How do you best get your story across?
  • Is the company history really interesting to your audience? Maybe it’s the new innovative solutions you’re about to launch that will deliver real added value?
  • Does it matter how many locations and employees you have or is how your customer service process works more important?

A good start to developing your presentation is a team brainstorming session followed by a workshop with key decision-makers from management, marketing, and sales. You can also bring editors, copywriters or a specialized agency on board.

Tip 5: Convince with more than just text

The presentation design needs to be just as convincing as the content. Most presentations we see consist of 70-80% text. But bullet points and sprawling text alone aren’t enough to make an impact .

The design process begins when you stop focusing on writing statements and start creating a presentation that supports your content visually. Here’s a good rule of thumb: 50% of your slide’s area should be text, 50% should be images, graphs and charts .

Obviously, you don’t have to follow this rigidly on all slides, but presentations with rich visual content are always a success . The most important thing is to keep written content short – keywords and short sentences are usually enough .

The following slides (screenshots from our Company Presentation Toolbo x ) provide vivid examples of layouts and designs.

Company Presentation Toolbox

If you’re pressed for time or need some professional design inspiration, check out our PowerPoint templates . Or ask a graphic designer or a professional PowerPoint or presentation agency like PresentationLoad for support.

Tip 6: The customer is king: Give them what they want

Before you start your presentation, ask your audience what information they need. Are they familiar with your company? Have they already gone to your website for information? Knowing this might help you tailor it more to your audience’s needs by editing or even completely omitting sections of your presentation. The key is to remain flexible while presenting and only include what is really relevant to your audience.

The first step is to make sure your presentation is completely up to date .  A slide master is the easiest way to make any universal changes to your presentation, update key figures, contact information, etc., without sacrificing formatting or layout.

Even in a completely updated presentation, you may find there’s information that just isn’t relevant to your target audience. PowerPoint helps you with this by providing a quick and easy option to hide slides . In the thumbnail pane, right-click the slide you want to hide and select Hide Slide .  You can also hide multiple slides by holding down the Ctrl key , clicking on them and then selecting Hide Slide with a right-click. The hidden slides will now appear greyed out. To reverse this option, simply click Hide Slide again and you slides will be visible.

Another technique to make your PowerPoint company presentation more flexible and interactive is to use hyperlinks . For example, you could hyperlink all the titles of individual sections on your agenda slide so that you can jump from the agenda slide directly to the relevant section with a simple click. This also allows you to respond dynamically to your audience’s reactions or interests.

Pro tip : Use your company logo as a home button. Adding a small logo to the corner of each slide not only strengthens your branding, but also allows you to add a hyperlink to the agenda slide. Click on the logo and you’re back to your PowerPoint presentation overview.

Tip 7: Present like a pro

A company presentation lives and dies by its delivery . Even a perfect presentation is of little value if the delivery isn’t convincing. As a presenter, you need to communicate the passion and enthusiasm you feel for your brand through your presentation.

But don’t go overboard! Be authentic . If you can do this, your company presentation will not only reinforce your company’s positive image but will also excite your audience.

Arouse emotions by using images that speak to your audience . Involve your audience by starting with words such as “Imagine…”. Focus less on “we” (your company) and more on “you” (your audience) . These techniques will help you open the door to your audience’s subconscious – which is where most decisions are made.

 ✔ Leave enough time to rehearse your presentation . Ask your colleagues if they would be willing to serve as a test audience and give feedback on your presentation.

Company Preseentation

Tip 8: Post-presentation best practice

Always prepare a ready-to-email format of your presentation . When your customers and partners are impressed, they’ more likely to ask for a digital copy.

Never send your presentation as a PowerPoint file; always send it as a PDF to preserve its formatting and layout. Be sure to pay attention to the file size , too. A company presentation in PDF format should be no larger than about 3MB. An email attachment containing a 30MB company presentation will come across as anything but professional. There’s also a risk that the email won’t even reach the recipient’s inbox due to a limited attachment size.

✔ Create your company presentation PDF before you present . This way, you can offer it as a digital copy directly after the presentation.

Win customers with your company presentation

On just a few slides, your company presentation summarizes all the pertinent facts and ideas with which you want to convince your audience. This makes it all the more important to truly understand your audience before you start designing your presentation .

The first impression counts – adhering to your corporate design will elevate your presentation to a higher, more professional level. Be concise and to the point and highlight the benefits your audience will derive from working with you and your company. A modern presentation is designed with a 50:50 ratio of text to images ; avoid too much text and unnecessary facts.

As the presenter, you represent your company. That’s why it’s especially important to be flexible and provide your audience with the information that matters most to them .

The aim of this blog post is to provide you with a general idea of how to create a practical and convincing company presentation in PowerPoint. These tips are based on years of proven professional expertise.

Need help creating an even better company presentation?

Feel free to post a comment here or contact me directly by sending an email to [email protected] .

I’d be happy to answer your questions or, along with my team, help you with the concept, structure, content and design of your company presentations. It can really help to have someone with a different perspective take a look at your presentations.

We have been creating PowerPoint presentations for mid-sized companies and international corporations for almost 20 years. As a result, we have a wealth of experience with corporate sales and strategy presentations.

Additional services:

  • Non-binding consultation for your presentations.
  • Send me your presentations for review.
  • Professional support with concept and design.
  • Revision of your existing company presentations.

Good luck with your presentations!

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How to Give a Business Presentation: Guide, Tips and Examples

Consistently nailing business presentations can be challenging, with recurring obstacles often popping up to scupper your chances. While some factors are beyond our control, many are not. Discover here how to consistently excel in preparation, creation, and delivery to boost your chances of ongoing success.

James Moffatt

April 23, 2024

It is inevitable that at one point in your professional life, you will be tasked with giving a business presentation. Making this presentation powerful and effective is something someone in this scenario would aspire for, and therefore the ability to deliver a business presentation well is an invaluable skill. Today, we will master this skill by honing in on the art and science behind crafting and delivering outstanding presentations, backed up by examples and tips that have proven effective in the corporate world from some of the most reputable businesspeople.

What are Business Presentations?

A professional’s tool for communicating new ideas and inspiring, persuading audiences or investors, and kicking off discussions, the business presentation is a collection of information that is prepared and shared in a business setting. Traditionally occurring solely within a boardroom or in-person workplace, recent developments in working styles and setups have meant that more business presentations than ever are being carried out remotely.

Common within both formats is a range of supporting content such as data visualizations, text, images, and other multimedia, that can be shown on slides, different tabs, or a pitch deck. To give a good presentation, the vocal and visual aspects have to be faultless individually, but must also intertwine seamlessly. Achieving this often poses challenges, whether presenting in-person or online, but the root of this challenge is poor preparation, or ineffective use of presentation software. By following the advice within this guide, you will unearth this root, replacing it with a new and improved seed containing invaluable information on top-tier business presentations and how to consistently deliver them.

On the note of ineffective presentation software use, and before we get stuck into our full guide for creating great business presentations, this seems like an apt place to give our first tip. 

Tip 1: Use Bubbles for Online Presentations

If you are in a position where you need to give a presentation remotely, you don’t want to fall into that trap of misusing or entirely neglecting software that can elevate your presentation and its aftermath. By using Bubbles, you are able to either present using just video recording software if a PowerPoint presentation isn't necessary, or present using screen recording and video recording, to get the best of both worlds.

company presentation guidelines

This is the view you will see before starting your presentation. Working within an asynchronous team, there have been countless times where I have had to record a presentation to share with my teammates. Often, my presentations involve going through and sharing various sets of data, all recorded in different areas. The beauty of Bubbles is that the transition between tabs, pitch deck slides, or PowerPoint slides is super slick and easy, meaning no focus is taken away from the content or the verbal element of the presentation. Try using Bubbles for free, and start to drive some positive change into your online presentations.

Now, let's get our teeth into the presentation itself, and how you can set yourself up for success.

Crafting an Effective Business Presentation

1. planning and preparation.

  • What are the Objectives: You don't want to meander along without a clear central idea for your business presentation, so begin the whole process by clearly defining the purpose of this presentation. What do you want to achieve by doing it? Who is the audience and how can you cater to them? Without realizing, you will go a long way towards shaping the future content and delivery of the presentation here. 
  • Research: You want to be seen as reputable! Even if you find it boring, you need to research thoroughly to make sure every claim in your presentation is backed up by accurate, up-to-date data, stats or information. This can be especially useful for persuasion in a pitch or presentation where the audience are highly experienced and knowledgeable.

2. Structuring Your Presentation

  • Create an Outline: As I said, your objectives will mostly ghost-write this for you, at least mentally. The next stage is to jot the outline of your presentation down and draft it into a blueprint. Get an introduction down in a brief but attention-grabbing format, then bulk out the presentation's main body and arguments, before drafting how you want to conclude. By outlining, you will make any necessary PowerPoint slide design a quicker and easier process, and your presentation slides will be more coherent from start to finish by establishing a structure.
  • Develop a Script: When it comes to the business presentation itself, you won't want to be sticking to this verbatim, and you wouldn’t see that in the presentation examples we will look at later, but it helps elsewhere. Having a script will help you practice and will help you to create a presentation template at a later stage, with prompts that you can use to prompt yourself in the presentation.

Read on for the final 3 stages in our guide, more tips, and interesting examples of great business presentations.

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3. Designing Your Slides (Where Applicable) ‍

  • Choose the Right Template:  As we know at this stage, the spoken element of the presentation is not the only important element. A good PowerPoint template or Google Slides template can, and will set the tone for your entire presentation. Unless you’re a lone wolf, make sure your slide design aligns with your company’s branding.
  • Effective Use of Visuals: Visuals should always be quality over quantity, as you don't want presentation design to be too busy. Incorporate some charts, graphs, and infographics if they are needed to explain complex data or add context. Also, throw in images and videos where it makes sense, to break up the monotony of text and to give yourself a break from speaking.
  • Consistent Style: Match the style you choose throughout for your presentation to be as professional as possible, whether that be fonts, color schemes, or the frequency of non-text elements like videos.

4. Delivering the Presentation

  • Practice Makes Perfect: Rehearse until you can't handle more rehearsing. A good presentation doesn't just happen overnight, and you need to practice to find areas that should be improved before the big moment. If you struggle with presentation anxiety, you will be doing yourself a favor by committing to rehearsing. Bubbles is great for practicing presentations, as you can record yourself presenting, before watching it back and analyzing the areas that need more work.
  • Engage with Your Audience: Eye contact, natural hand gestures, varied voice tones... all of the above with help the maintain interest in your presentation. Try to involve the audience by putting questions within your presentation template and inviting guest participation.
  • Handle Questions Intelligently: Questioning comes with a territory. Make sure you are prepared to answer the questions that you anticipate being asked.

5. Using Technology and Tools

  • Presentation Software: You don't want to look like a rookie when it comes to handling your PowerPoint presentation, for example, so familiarize yourself with your chosen tool and make sure you know how to troubleshoot any common issues (slide transitions etc).
  • Remote Presentation Tools: It's more common than ever before to present virtually, so pay equal attention to your virtual meeting platform, and make sure you know how to record a Zoom meeting, for example. Luckily for you, this is quick, easy, and free with Bubbles Notetaker.
  • Asynchronous Presentation Tools:  It might also be required for you to present asynchronously before sending it to whoever needs to hear. You can use the same tactic as you did for practicing here, and record your presentation with Bubbles. By doing so, you will allow yourself to invite the audience to comment and offer their input.

Examples of Effective Business Presentations

1. steve jobs' iphone launch (2007).

Overview: In 2007, Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone in a landmark presentation that would set the standard for product launches in the technology industry. The presentation was not only about revealing a new product but about introducing a revolutionary idea. Below, you can see how Bubbles can be used to record presentations, and you can also watch Steve Jobs' presentation in the bubble!

Why It Was Great: Steve Jobs excelled in creating a narrative that was both simple and compelling. He used clear, concise language and presented the iPhone as a revolutionary combination of three devices: a widescreen iPod with touch controls, a revolutionary mobile phone, and a breakthrough internet communicator. This approach helped the audience easily grasp the uniqueness and value of the iPhone without overwhelming technical details.

Key Elements: Jobs' presentation was highly effective due to his impeccable timing, use of suspense, and the staged reveal of each iPhone feature. He connected with the audience on an emotional level, making them feel they were witnessing the start of a new era. His minimalist slide design and charismatic delivery focused attention on the message, making the technology both relatable and desirable.

2. Mary Barra at CES 2021 (General Motors)

Overview: Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors, delivered a pivotal presentation at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in 2021, where she outlined GM's vision to transition to an all-electric future. The presentation marked a significant shift for the automotive giant, traditionally known for gas-powered vehicles.

Why It Was Great: Barra’s presentation was notable for its clear commitment to sustainability, a critical issue that resonated well with contemporary global concerns. She effectively communicated GM's long-term goals, including launching 30 new electric vehicles globally by 2025 and aspiring for carbon neutrality by 2040.

Key Elements: The use of high-quality visuals and futuristic video demonstrations helped illustrate GM’s forward-thinking approach. Barra presented complex technological and environmental plans in an accessible manner, which helped stakeholders understand and align with GM's strategic direction. The presentation was also successful in reinforcing GM’s image as a leader in innovation and environmental responsibility.

3. Simon Sinek’s “How Great Leaders Inspire Action” (TED Talk 2009)

Overview: Simon Sinek’s TED Talk, where he introduced his concept of the "Golden Circle" and explained why "people don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it," remains one of the most viewed TED Talks. It's effectively a presentation on how to present.

Why It Was Great: Sinek’s presentation stands out due to its insightful analysis of successful leaders and organizations. His core idea—that people are inspired by a sense of purpose or 'why' behind actions—helped many viewers rethink their business strategies and leadership approaches.

Key Elements: The simplicity of Sinek’s Golden Circle model, which starts with 'Why,' then moves to 'How,' and finally 'What,' made a complex concept easy to understand and apply. His engaging storytelling and use of real-world examples like Apple and Martin Luther King Jr. helped illustrate his points vividly. The talk’s clear, thought-provoking message combined with Sinek’s passionate delivery made it a transformative experience for many leaders and entrepreneurs.

These examples showcase not just the content of the presentations but also the strategies and delivery methods that made them stand out. Each presentation was tailored to its specific audience and designed to drive home a compelling message in a memorable way.

Tips for Giving Presentations Well

Storytelling.

Weave your data and statistics into a narrative that relates to your audience's experiences or challenges.

Interactive Elements

‍ Use polls, live demos, or interactive slides to involve your audience actively.

Psychological Engagement

‍ Techniques like the 'rule of three' or strategic pauses can enhance understanding and retention.

Delivering compelling business presentations requires careful preparation, thoughtful content organization, effective slide design, and engaging delivery. By integrating these elements, and staying on top of the latest technology that can help with presentations, such as Bubbles, presenters can captivate their audiences and achieve their communication objectives. Remember, the key to success lies in your ability to connect with your audience and convey your message powerfully and persuasively.

⚡️ Supercharge your meeting productivity Learn how in under 2 mins:

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20 Basic PowerPoint Guidelines to Design Effective Presentations in 2024 (+Video)

Brenda Barron

No matter what kind of presentation you’re working on, make sure it's engaging and also well designed. Otherwise, you run the risk of dealing with death by PowerPoint and nobody wants to see their presentation flop. 

Rhea Presentation Template

To make sure your presentation is effective , there are a few PowerPoint presentation guidelines you need to follow. In this post, we’ll share those guidelines. We’ll also show you examples of engaging presentation designs so you can save time and make sure your presentation looks polished and professional. 

The Top PowerPoint Guidelines to Design Effective Presentations for 2024 (Video)

Do you want to get started with the best PowerPoint design guidelines quickly? Review the quickstart video:

company presentation guidelines

For evern more PowerPoint design guidelines, study the complete tutorial below.

Guidelines for Planning Your PowerPoint Presentation

Before you start with the design part of your presentation, plan your presentation. Here are a few PowerPoint presentation design guidelines to follow when it comes to planning:

1. Decide on the Presentation Goal

Decide on Presentation Goals

First, decide on the presentation goal. Are you sharing an annual report or creating a pitch deck? Is the goal to increase sales or get the higher-ups onboard with a new marketing tactic?

Whatever the case may be, the presentation goal helps you decide what to include in your presentation and how that information should be presented. It'll also help you with all the other steps involved in creating an effective and engaging presentation. 

2. Create an Outline 

With your presentation goal in mind, create an outline for your presentation. You'll save time in the long run. Plus, you'll be sure that your presentation covers everything you need to cover for your idea or data to be understood. 

3. Think About the Slides You Need to Include

The next step is to think about the slides you need to include in your presentation. For example, if you’re creating a pitch deck for potential investors, sharing information about your company on an About or Team slide is a must. 

But if you’re creating an internal presentation to share your sales report, including those slides would be a waste of time. Instead, your presentation should focus on numbers and data as well as individual product or product line performance. 

Sparrow - Creative Agency PowerPoint Presentation

4. Decide on Visuals

Your planning stage should account for visuals that'll help back up your story. This can include photos, icons, charts, infographic elements, graphs, tables, and anything else you need to make your data more visually appealing. Envato Elements is a great source for a wide variety of design assets .

Once you’ve decided on the visuals you want, gather them all in one place so you can easily locate them. Don’t forget that you can create charts and graphs from your Excel data if needed. Be sure to gather those spreadsheets as well. 

5. Establish Your Call to Action

Finally, decide what’s the next step your audience should take once you’re done delivering your presentation. Should they email you or call you to set up an appointment? Do they need to send over information? 

Make sure your last slide includes your call to action along with specific instructions on what to do.

PowerPoint Presentation Design Guidelines

Once you've get your presentation planned out, it’s time to tackle the design part of creating a presentation . When designing your presentation, keep the following guidelines in mind: 

1. Keep the Text to a Minimum

When it comes to your presentation, PowerPoint should assist you in delivering the presentation. It shouldn't be the main source of information. Less is more, so keep the text to a minimum. 

Stick to one main idea per slide and limit yourself to using no more than three bullet points per slide. This will help keep your audience engaged and not zoned out. 

Minimal Presentation PowerPoint Template

2. Use Large Font Sizes

Another thing to keep in mind is that not everybody in your audience will be close to the slides. Make sure to use larger font sizes. Consider using 40 pts for headings and going no smaller than 28 pts for the content text.

3. Make Sure Fonts Are Readable

While we’re on the topic of fonts, avoid using script or decorative fonts. They're hard to read. Stick to sans-serif fonts for body text. To emphasize your headings, use a readable serif font. 

4. Use Color Sparingly

Color can make your presentation more visually appealing. But that doesn’t mean you've got to color every slide differently or use different colors for your fonts. If you’re presenting in a dark room, consider using a dark background for the slide paired with a light color for the text. It'll make it easier for your audience to follow along. 

Avoid using light text on light background or clashing colors. They'll distract your audience. 

5. Enhance the Data With Charts and Graphs

We mentioned earlier you need to decide on the visuals you'll use in your presentation. Using charts and graphs is a great way to make abstract data easier to understand. So, don’t shy away from using them. 

6. Design for Wide Screen Formats

Keep in mind that most projector screens are optimized for widescreen 16:9 ratio. As such, design your presentation following those PowerPoint presentation guidelines. If you design your presentation in 4:3 ratio, your presentation will still work. But some parts of your slides might get cut off or not display properly. 

7. Be Consistent With Style Settings

Another important bit of PowerPoint design guidelines is to keep your design style consistent across all slides. This will reinforce your brand image as well as ensure that the entire presentation is visually appealing.

Batagor PowerPoint Presentation Template

8. Use Animations Sparingly

There's nothing wrong with using subtle animations or slide transitions to keep things interesting. But, avoid animating every single word or slide as this will make your presentation look amateurish and unprofessional. 

9. Proofread Everything

Be sure to proofread each slide to make sure there are no embarrassing typos. If you’re mentioning other associates or colleagues in your presentation, make sure their names are spelled correctly to avoid any awkward moments. Ask another person to go through your presentation and make sure it’s error-free.

10. Consider Using a Template

Akhara Template

Our last guideline for making an effective PowerPoint presentation is to consider using a premade PowerPoint template . A premade template will have a professional design. It'll also have all the slides you'll need: from section break slides, company and team slides to charts, galleries, and more. This will save you a lot of time in the design stage and ensure that your presentation looks polished. 

Presentation Guidelines for Delivering Your PowerPoint

Now that your presentation is designed, the last thing you need to do is deliver it. Here are a few PowerPoint presentation guidelines to follow for delivering your PowerPoint presentation :

1. Do a Practice Run

Before the actual presentation day, do a practice run. This will help you memorize the contents of your presentation, not to mention it'll help you build up the necessary confidence.

company presentation guidelines

2. Test the Equipment

Show up early before the presentation and test the equipment. The last thing you want is tech difficulties or malfunctions that'll delay the start of your presentation. 

3. Maintain Eye Contact

Throughout your presentation, maintain eye contact with your audience. This will make them feel like you’re talking to them. Plus, it'll help keep them engaged and interested instead of losing interest. 

4. Ask Questions During Your Presentation

Ask your audience questions during the presentation. Get them involved or ask if they've got any questions that need to be clarified. Getting your audience involved is a great tactic for making your entire presentation feel more engaging. It also allows your audience to feel like they're active participants instead of being bombarded with data.

company presentation guidelines

5. Don’t Read the Slides

The last bit of PowerPoint guidance we've got for you is to avoid reading the slides. If you read the slides you’ll not only bore your audience, but you’ll also come off as disinterested in your own presentation. This will make your audience disengage and forget your presentation as soon as it’s over.

Best PowerPoint Presentation Template Examples

Following the basic PowerPoint guidelines outlined above is a great way to ensure your presentation has an engaging design and is easy to follow. But there's no doubt that designing an entire presentation from scratch is a time-consuming task. That’s why using a premade PowerPoint presentation template is a great alternative. 

You can find thousands of beautifully designed PowerPoint templates over on Envato Elements. If you buy design templates on a regular basis, Envato Elements is a logical choice. You get access to unlimited PowerPoint and other design templates for one low monthly price.  

Look at some of our top presentation templates from Envato Elements: 

1. Galaxi PowerPoint Presentation Template

Galaxi PowerPoint Presentation Template

The Galaxi PowerPoint template has a clean and modern design. It’s versatile enough to use for all kinds of presentations and comes with five premade color schemes. The template comes with 30 premade slides based on master slides, image placeholders, and editable shapes. 

2. Buizi PowerPoint Presentation

Buizi PowerPoint Presentation

The Buizi is another minimal presentation template for PowerPoint with a versatile design. This template is a great choice for portfolio presentations and comes with 30 total slides, all based on master slides. You’ll also find custom vector icons and fully editable shapes. 

3. Aiony Creative PowerPoint Template

Aiony Creative PowerPoint Template

If you’re looking for a more creative solution, the Aiony template is a great choice. It’s very photo heavy. This is perfect for any presentation that relies heavily on images and photos. You’ll get a total of 50 slides and drag and drop image placeholders for easy editing. 

4. Agio PowerPoint Presentation Template

Agio PowerPoint Presentation Template

The Agio template is best suited for corporate presentations. It's got an elegant look and feel. Customize colors and fonts to your liking. 

Easily add photos using the image placeholders. You’ll get a total of 630 presentation slides designed in full HD resolution. 

5. Over PowerPoint Presentation Template

Over PowerPoint Presentation Template

The Over PowerPoint presentation template is a multipurpose PowerPoint template. Use it for corporate presentations as well as for pitch decks and webinars. The template comes with 32 slides designed in both standard and HD resolution. 

Envato Elements is a great choice if you need design templates on a regular basis.

Find More PowerPoint Template

And if you want to see more beautiful PowerPoint templates from both Envato Elements, check out the following articles: 

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Envato Elements: Design Without Limits

Design Without Limits

Envato Elements has a compelling offer.  For a low monthly price, you get access to thousands of unlimited use PowerPoint templates, web templates, stock photos, fonts, and more. 

What’s more, you can download as many templates as you want and customize them to your needs. Sign up for Envato Elements and start downloading PowerPoint templates today.

Design a Stellar Presentation With the Help of PowerPoint Presentation Guidelines

Designing a stellar presentation might seem daunting. But once you’re familiar with and follow the basic PowerPoint guidelines for creating effective PowerPoint presentations, the task becomes easier. 

To save time while you’re designing your presentation, use one of our top PowerPoint presentation templates from Envato Elements. Why not get started today?

Editorial Note: This post has been updated with contributions from Brenda Barron . A video has been added by Nathan Umoh . Brenda and Nathan are freelance instructors for Envato Tuts+. 

Brenda Barron

company presentation guidelines

Tips for creating and delivering an effective presentation

In this article.

Creating an effective presentation

Delivering an effective presentation

Tips for creating an effective presentation

Choose a font style that your audience can read from a distance.

Choosing a simple font style, such as Arial or Calibri, helps to get your message across. Avoid very thin or decorative fonts that might impair readability, especially at small sizes.

Choose a font size that your audience can read from a distance.

Try to avoid using font sizes smaller than 18 pt, and you may need to go larger for a large room where the audience is far away.

Keep your text simple and minimize the amount of text on your slides

Use bullets or short sentences, and try to keep each to one line; that is, without text wrapping.

You want your audience to listen to you present your information, rather than read the screen.

Some projectors crop slides at the edges, so long sentences may be cropped.

You can remove articles such as "a" and "the" to help reduce the word count on a line.

Use art to help convey your message.

Use graphics to help tell your story. Don't overwhelm your audience by adding too many graphics to a slide, however.

Make labels for charts and graphs understandable.

Use only enough text to make label elements in a chart or graph comprehensible.

Make slide backgrounds subtle and keep them consistent.

Choose an appealing, consistent template or theme that is not too eye-catching. You don't want the background or design to detract from your message.

See .

For information about using themes, see .

Use high contrast between background color and text color.

Themes automatically set the contrast between a light background with dark colored text or dark background with light colored text.

See .

Check the spelling and grammar.

To earn and maintain the respect of your audience, always check the spelling and grammar in your presentation.

Top of Page

Tips for delivering an effective presentation

Show up early and verify that your equipment works properly.

Make sure that all equipment is connected and running.

Don't assume that your presentation will work fine on another computer.

Disk failures, software version mismatches, lack of disk space, low memory, and many other factors can ruin a presentation.

Turn off screen savers, and ensure you have the appropriate files and versions of software that you need, including PowerPoint.

To ensure all files are accounted for when you copy them to a USB drive and carry them to your presentation location, see 

Consider storing your presentation on OneDrive so it can be accessible to you from any device with an internet connection.

Verify that the projector's resolution is the same as the computer on which you created your presentation.

If the resolutions don't match, your slides may be cropped, or other display problems can occur.

Turn your screen saver off.

Keep your audience focused on the content of your presentation.

Check all colors on a projection screen before giving the actual presentation.

The colors may project differently than what appears on your monitor.

Ask your audience to hold questions until the end.

Questions are an excellent indicator that people are engaged by your subject matter and presentation skills. But if you save questions until the end of the presentation, you will get through your material uninterrupted. Also, early questions are often answered by ensuing slides and commentary.

Avoid moving the pointer unconsciously.

When you are not using the pointer, remove your hand from the mouse. This helps to stop you from moving the pointer unconsciously, which can be distracting.

Don't read the presentation.

Practice the presentation so that you can speak from bullet points. The text should be a cue for the presenter rather than the full message for the audience.

Stay on time.

If you plan a certain amount of time for your presentation, do not go over. If there is no time limit, take less time rather than more to ensure that people stay engaged.

Monitor your audience's behavior.

Each time that you deliver a presentation, monitor your audience's behavior. If you observe people focusing on your slides, the slides may contain too much data or be confusing or distracting in some other way. Use the information you learn each time to improve your future presentations.

Practice makes perfect.

Consider rehearsing your presentation with .

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10 ways to nail a business presentation that will seal the deal.

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If you're trying to land a new client, then as you prepare your pitch to be perfect, you'll also want to think outside of the box about how you can best serve their needs.

Be clear about expectations on both sides to determine if your missions align and whether you will be a good fit for each other. By demonstrating that you truly understand their current challenges and care about their business, they'll be much more likely to work with you.

Below are 10 starting points, courtesy of Forbes Business Development Council , to help build your case to attract potential partners.

Forbes Business Development Council members share their insight.

1. Provide Meaningful Content To Your Target Audience

A pitch should be developed with purpose for the specific audience and meaningful content that tells a story to help visualize the value of your product or service. Aspects of a successful pitch include identifying the problem, presenting solutions and showcasing features, benefits, product and service knowledge, passion and charisma. The partners may try to poke holes in your pitch, so preparation is critical. - James Mull , htmull

2. Identify The Organization's Needs And Goals

As always, it's important to understand the needs and goals of the organization to which you are pitching. Once you understand what's important to them, you can cater your pitch on how you'll enhance their customer experience and their bottom line together. - Erin Raese , Annex Cloud

3. Share Your Solutions To Their Problems

Think about what value the potential client is expecting. If they say they need to go to the cloud, that doesn't mean that's the value they're seeking. Reframing the problem enables companies and their partners to orchestrate the best offering, deliver a pitch with the highest unique value proposition and set themselves apart by not just selling something. This redefines the customer needs and maximizes their ROI. - Rolf Heimes , Talend

4. Demonstrate The Value For Both Partners

Research the specific partner and align with what exact problem you can solve for the partner. There should be a clear value for both you and your partner in the pitch. You can share previous examples of similar partnerships which have been a win-win for both the parties. - Dhiraj Chhabra , BuzzClan

5. Think Outside Of The Box

My pitch to new partners isn't about getting a yes, it's about getting the right yes. I look for partners that are adventurous, open-minded and willing to take the road less traveled. I construct my pitch to appeal to those candidates, starting with a statement that outlines my approach. "Feel free to call me crazy, but I'm going to start outside the box because I don't believe the box exists." - Sundance Monty Brennan , Nada

Forbes Business Development Council is an invitation-only community for sales and biz dev executives. Do I qualify?

6. Tell A Relatable Story

The No. 1 goal for any leader working on a pitch should be to add value to the partnership. The best way to drive key partnerships is to show impact, either through revenue, closing a product gap or market awareness. Revenue is the key driver. Focus on joint positioning and how it will benefit your joint customers from product, services and total cost ownership. Use customer examples, as storytelling is the best way to give examples of cases across the board. - Olga Lykova , Workspot

7. Explain Why The Deal Needs To Happen Now

An excellent partner pitch includes three ingredients: 1. Why the world needs this partnership to happen (What will it mean to the industry, customers or end users?); 2. What business value the partnership provides (What's in it for the partner economically?); 3. How urgent the opportunity window is (If the deal doesn't happen now, what's at take?). - Serrah Linares , Change Healthcare

8. Get To The Core Root Of The Client's Desires

It all starts with understanding what the core desires are of the specific partner so that you can position your pitch to solve a critical pain point they have, making what is being presented irresistible and impossible to say no to. - AJ Roberts , Kartra

9. Prove That You Truly Understand Their Business

The first place to start is to do your research. Understand the partner, their business and what their objectives are. Check to ensure that their business processes are aligned with your expectations. Then show them that you truly understand their business and their key success drivers. Today’s customers want to feel you understand and empathize with their business objectives. - Onyinye Ikenna-Emeka , MTN NIGERIA COMM PLC

10. Map Your Partnering Expectations About Outcomes

Begin mapping the outcomes that you and your partner expect. Have a win-win approach. What are the joint priorities and possible synergies you can drive? What concessions can you easily offer that will be highly valued by your partner and vice versa? And, more importantly, beyond the objective aspects, build the relationship. We do business with people (and companies) we trust. - Rosandra Silveira , Dell Technologies

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How to Make a Presentation Interactive: Best Tips, Templates & Tools

How to Make a Presentation Interactive: Best Tips, Templates & Tools

Written by: Raja Mandal

How to Make a Presentation Interactive: Best Tips, Templates & Tools

Delivering a presentation often comes with the fear of losing your audience's attention. You dread seeing unfocused eyes, whispering conversations or cell phone tapping.

If you've experienced this, you’re not alone. Recent surveys highlight that 4 in 5 business professionals admit they tuned out during the last presentation they attended. The reason could be anything from getting bored with the topic to people's decreasing attention spans.

So, how do you tackle this? One of the best solutions for this is to make your presentation interactive.

This way, they will have a lesser chance of getting distracted. In fact, studies show that when the audience participates, the engagement can reach an impressive 92% .

That’s why we've created this guide to help you make your presentations interactive, even if you have no prior design experience.

Stay tuned till the end to get the best tips, templates and tools to turn your ideas into an interactive visual presentation.

Additionally, you can watch this video to learn about 15 more interactive presentation ideas.

Table of Contents

What is an interactive presentation, what makes a presentation interactive, interactive presentation example, 16 interactive presentation ideas, how to make an interactive presentation with visme, interactive presentation faqs.

  • An interactive presentation allows the audience to engage with and respond to the material presented.
  • To make a presentation interactive, encourage audience participation, ask and answer questions, conduct polls, use technology tools and share engaging stories or scenarios.
  • Some interactive presentation design ideas include SWOT analysis, animated videos, data storytelling, case studies, idea mapping, countdown timers, visual animation, timelines, map exploration, and QR codes.
  • Visme's presentation software and templates are the best way to create an interactive presentation. Just choose a template, add your content, include interactive features and multimedia, and your presentation is ready to download, share, and present.
  • Sign up for Visme and create an interactive presentation that keeps your audience engaged throughout the presentation.

An interactive presentation is a type of presentation that allows the audience to actively participate and engage with the content.

Unlike regular presentations, where the audience simply views the slides, interactive presentations involve the audience in the experience.

For example, they can click on different elements to reveal more information, choose topics they're interested in exploring further and even manipulate data or graphics to see different outcomes.

This hands-on approach makes the audience an important part of the presentation, which ultimately enhances their understanding and retention of the information presented.

Interactive presentations may also feature quizzes, clickable videos and decision trees that allow attendees to control their view or interact with the material.

The primary goal of creating and delivering an interactive presentation is to engage the audience throughout it and help them retain the information for longer.

Here’s an example of an interactive presentation created with Visme

Made with Visme Presentation Maker

A good interactive presentation gets the audience involved in the learning process. But what exactly turns a regular presentation into an interactive one?

Let's break it down into five key elements.

1. Active Participation of the Audience

Unlike standard presentations, the audience doesn’t just sit back and listen in—they need them to get involved. This could mean answering questions, participating in discussions, giving feedback or participating in quizzes.

Presenters might ask the audience to share their experiences or give their opinions on the topic at hand. This not only keeps everyone engaged but can also bring a wealth of different perspectives to the discussion.

2. Polls and Surveys

Real-time polls and surveys are a standout feature of interactive presentations. The presenter can easily collect audience responses with clickers, smartphones, or raising hands and then show everyone the results.

From this immediate feedback, the speaker understands the audience's knowledge or opinions. It can even guide the direction of the presentation.

3. Dynamic and Interactive Elements

Adding dynamic and interactive elements to your presentation can make a big difference. Think about including an interactive menu or a table of contents that lets you jump to the right section by clicking a link.

Interactive elements like custom navigation buttons, hyperlinks, hotspots, transitions and clickable pop-ups or hover effects also spice up presentations and keep your audience hooked to your slide deck .

4. Engaging Animation

Animations like animated graphics, icons and characters bring life to presentations. Whether in 2D or 3D format or cool visual effects, it’s one of the best ways to grab attention and explain complex ideas in an enjoyable way.

5. Interactive Content

Finally, multimedia content like videos, GIFs and even background music or sound effects is a great way to engage your audience. Visual aids like photos, charts, graphs and maps also make information more accessible and fun. Adding these interactive pieces can turn a standard presentation into a dynamic learning experience.

6. Use of Interactive Technology

Modern technology has transformed the art of interactive presentations.

For example, there are digital tools that allow participants to submit questions or comments, vote on issues, or play educational games related to the topic. During interactive whiteboarding, participants can write, draw, or post sticky notes.

These tools make it easier for everyone to engage and interact during virtual presentations, no matter where they are.

7. Storytelling and Scenario-Based Engagement

Telling stories or creating hypothetical scenarios is a proven interactive presentation strategy.

For example, you might present real-world scenarios and ask the audience to discuss or solve them. These role-playing scenarios or case studies encourage participants to think critically or apply what they've learned.

Wondering what an interactive presentation looks like. Below is an example of an interactive presentation created with Visme. Check out this awesome example of an interactive presentation made with Visme.

You can actually engage with various elements of the slides and see interactivity in full effect!

Made with Visme

Whether you’re delivering a physical or virtual presentation, there are many different ways to infuse interactivity into your presentation.

Check out these 16 interactive presentation ideas to wow your audience and leave a lasting impression.

1. Add Visual Flair with Special Effects

Special effects like popups and hover effects are not just for visual purposes; they give extra information and make the experience interactive.

For example, a hover effect might show notes on an image and add more detail to your points without making the original view too messy.

Consider adding a flipbook effect to give a real-world experience in a digital format. It makes the audience feel like they're going through a real document and flipping through content pages, making digital presentations feel more personal and engaging.

With Visme, you can easily incorporate all these special effects and interactive elements and more to elevate your interactive presentations. From creating eye-catching popups and informative hover effects to adding engaging flipbook animations, Visme helps you bring your presentation to life.

2. Explain Complex Ideas with Animated Videos

We all love a good story, especially when it's visually appealing. Animated explainer videos can turn complex ideas into fun, easy-to-understand stories. By incorporating these videos into your presentation, you can capture your audience's attention and explain concepts in a memorable way.

Whether you're explaining a new product, concept, or process, adding animation can breathe life into your words. It's an enjoyable way to break the monotony of traditional presentations and bring your story to life.

Not sure how to make a great video? Visme's online video maker makes it a breeze for anyone to create an explainer video for their interactive presentation.

Get started with our rich variety of explainer video templates covering various industries, business types and sizes.

Here's an explainer video template you can customize and insert in your presentation.

3. Turn Data into Engaging Stories

Static data can sometimes be dry or overwhelming and make your presentation difficult to understand.

Adding a dose of storytelling and interactivity transforms your numbers into engaging narratives.

Interactive data visualization helps your audience understand the significance of the numbers, making the data impactful.

In this example below, check out how 270toWin makes the intricate US presidential election process come alive with an interactive and educational experience!

Visme's advanced data visualization tools help you turn complex data into engaging stories. Choose from 30+ data widgets like radial gauges, progress bars and population arrays.

Additionally, you can use 20+ types of charts and graphs, including pie charts , bar graphs , bubble charts and more.

Additionally, Visme comes with 3D data widgets , charts and graphs to help you add an extra layer of interactivity to the data visualizations.

Customize these data visualization tools to craft compelling narratives and make your data relatable and memorable.

company presentation guidelines

4. Add a Personal Touch with Voiceovers and Music

Another way to enhance your presentation is by incorporating voiceovers or subtle background music to captivate your audience's senses.

A voiceover can act as a secondary storyteller, delivering key points without overwhelming the visuals on the slide. This is especially ideal for asynchronous viewing, where the viewers can watch the presentation at their own pace.

On the other hand, background music is a powerful tool that deeply connects with your audience's emotions. For instance, a stirring classical piece can add a sense of seriousness to historical topics. At the same time, light, airy tunes can maintain a pleasant mood during longer video presentations , preventing attention from waning.

Visme allows you to add voiceovers, songs, background music, and any soundtrack to your presentation. You can either use your device's microphone to record the voiceover or upload your own recording or soundtrack and add them.

Read this article to learn more about creating a narrated presentation with voiceovers . Or watch the video below to learn more about recording an audio voice over in Visme.

5. Use Transitions and Animations to Enhance the Flow

Transitions and animations aren't just for making the presentation look good; they enhance comprehension and retention.

Use transitions to keep your presentation flowing smoothly and prepare your audience for what comes next. Transitions create a connection between slides, like visual punctuation that frames each new slide as a part of the story. They provide a moment for the information to be absorbed before moving on.

With Visme, you can choose from various slide transitions like "flipping page," "enter from side," "simple fade" and more. Additionally, you can choose when the slide should move to the next one, based on a specific time, a click, after a video or a transition delay.

a collage of the transition features in Visme

Explore our tutorial article on how to add transitions to your presentation slides to learn more.

6. Encourage Participation with a Q&A Session

Allocate time for questions and answers to turn a one-sided presentation into a conversation, building a good relationship with your audience.

A Q&A session encourages the audience to think about and question the information, creating a two-way exchange of ideas. It's not just for them; the questions they ask can also show you which parts of your presentation were most interesting or might need more explanation.

To make the session productive, ask the audience to think of questions as they listen and consider using a tool to gather questions from the audience. This way, you can address the most important questions from the audience.

Moreover, to ensure the session stays on track, consider timing the Q&A section and other interactive segments like polls and quizzes. Visme offers a Timer feature that can help you manage the length of these activities effectively.

Using the Visme Timer, you can allocate specific time slots to each part of your presentation, ensuring you cover all planned topics and interactive elements without running over your allotted time.

7. Bring Your Content to Life with Animated Characters and Icons

Animated characters and icons can truly bring your presentation to life. Think of them as the sidekicks in your presentation story, adding humor or clarity and making the overall experience more enjoyable and memorable for everyone. And beyond their aesthetics, they help your audience visualize and relate to your content on a personal level.

Transform your interactive presentation into an immersive experience with Visme’s 3D character creator . Choose a pre-designed character that matches your requirements and you can customize everything from the hairstyle, hair color, skin tone, animation style and more.

8. Navigate Through Timelines

Instead of static dates and events on a slide, imagine your audience clicking through a timeline, uncovering detailed explanations or exciting facts at their own pace.

This method turns a simple presentation into a journey through time, where each viewer becomes an active participant, exploring your subject's past, present, or future.

It's a powerful tool for storytelling and engagement, making history lessons, project milestones or future forecasts more compelling.

Visme's interactive presentation templates come with timelines for various purposes, including project management, event planning, history and more. Choose a template and customize the timeline using Visme's online timeline maker and the interactive features you want.

Prehistoric Timeline of Dinosaurs Presentation

Check out this article to explore 11 timeline presentation templates and use them in your presentation.

9. Incorporate Interactive Maps

Using interactive maps can transform a geographically dense presentation into an interactive exploration. With these maps, your audience can explore different places just by clicking and learning about each location.

Whether you're showing the spread of a trend, the sites of historical events, or your company's offices, interactive maps make learning about geography interesting and informative.

They invite your audience to dive deeper, understanding not just the "where" but also the "why" and "how" behind each pin on the map.

Visme's interactive map maker allows you to customize regions and markers. You can adjust colors, add tooltips and display data values for clarity. This helps to illustrate various information effectively, turning static data into a visual experience that encourages engagement and deeper understanding.

Below is an example of an interactive map created with Visme.

Did you hover over each state to see the different numbers and statistics? Do you see how powerful that is? Users are much less likely to scroll past interactive content. They want to stick around and play with it for a bit first. 

Explore our beautiful, interactive map templates and select one that suits your needs.

GDP Per Capita Choropleth Map

10. Surprise Your Audience with a QR Code

Ending your presentation with a QR code is a modern twist that surprises and engages your audience. This could be your call to action, leading them to a website for more information, a video summary of your presentation or a feedback form to capture their thoughts.

The anticipation of scanning the code and discovering what's behind it adds a touch of mystery and interaction. This simple method can extend the conversation beyond the presentation room and keep your audience thinking about your message long after the discussion.

And guess what? Visme also lets you generate a QR code with its free QR maker . You just need to enter the text or paste the URL you want to link the QR code with, and that's it—it's that easy. Additionally, you can customize the appearance of the QR code to match your design.

Visme's QR scanner

11. Turn Learning into a Game with Interactive Quizzes

Turn passive reception into active learning by incorporating quizzes into your presentations. Quizzes grab attention, encourage participation and support the material covered.

Craft questions that are engaging yet easy to understand to ensure wide involvement. Interactive sessions can bring new energy to your presentation and add an element of fun and competition. Instant feedback on quiz responses can boost engagement, making the experience even more rewarding for participants.

Creating interactive quizzes and surveys for your presentation is a breeze with Visme. Its intuitive quiz maker allows you to design visually appealing and engaging quizzes with various question types and instant feedback options. You can even track quiz results to gauge audience understanding and tailor your content accordingly.

12. Conduct Polls to Make Your Presentation Fun

Using polls in your presentations is a great way to keep your audience engaged and get immediate feedback. You can ask questions throughout your talk to see what your audience thinks.

Use tools like Survey Monkey , Typeform and Formstack to create your poll and embed it easily into your Visme presentation.

As your audience votes, they can see the results in real time, making the experience more dynamic and interactive. It's a simple but effective way to make your presentations more engaging.

13. Make Your Presentation Non-Linear

Creating a non-linear presentation offers a unique way to engage your audience by allowing them to navigate the content according to their interests and needs.

Here are three key elements to consider:

  • Hyperlinks: Hyperlinks allow you to connect different slides or external resources in your presentation. They make it easy for the audience to jump to related topics, examples, or supporting materials.
  • Table of Contents: A table of contents in your presentation is like a map for your audience. It shows all the topics covered and lets them choose where to start or which parts to skip.
  • Navigation Buttons: The navigation buttons allow the audience to move back and forth between slides freely. This gives them control over their viewing experience. You can customize these buttons to go to specific sections or return to the main menu.

14. Captivate Your Audience with Storytelling

Using storytelling techniques while giving the presentation is one of the best ways to increase audience engagement. You can use relevant and interesting stories to make your content more relatable, engaging and memorable.

Begin with a compelling story to capture your audience's attention, and use anecdotes or real-life examples throughout to illustrate key points. Storytelling makes your presentation more human and helps people understand and remember even complex information. This method can transform a boring presentation into an engaging experience.

A great example of this is Brené Brown's TED Talk, " The Power of Vulnerability ." She uses personal stories and anecdotes to make her research on vulnerability relatable and memorable. This is a great example of how storytelling can make even complex topics engaging.

15. Learn by Doing with Role-Playing

Role-playing is a different dimension of interactivity that you can add to your presentation. To do this, you need to involve your audience in hypothetical scenarios or simulations and enable them to apply what they are learning in a practical context.

For instance, if you're giving a presentation on customer service, you could have audience members role-play a problematic customer interaction, allowing them to practice handling such situations.

This idea is especially helpful for training sessions, workshops and team-building exercises. It reinforces key messages and encourages participants to think creatively and explore different perspectives, which enhances the overall learning experience.

16. Brainstorm and Collaborate with Interactive Whiteboards

Interactive whiteboarding tools change how you and your audience interact together during presentations. These tools let everyone share ideas simultaneously, making group discussions, planning and meetings more interesting and efficient.

Participants can draw, write or add sticky notes directly on the digital board, building a sense of shared ownership and creative problem-solving.

Visme's built-in online whiteboard tool takes this interactivity to the next level. You can bring your presentation slides to this tool and use them effortlessly. This way, you and your audience can sketch out concepts, map out strategies or simply jot down ideas as they arise.

how to make an interactive presentation - an image of Visme's whiteboard

Creating an interactive presentation that captivates and engages your audience is easier than you think. With Visme, you don't need to be a design wizard or tech whiz.

Just follow these five simple tips to create an interactive presentation that looks professional and keeps your audience hooked from start to finish.

The Graphic Content Developer at WOW, Kendra Bradley, used Visme for her interactive presentation creation needs. Her experience says it all: Visme is one of the best presentation makers in terms of interactivity, ease-of-use and high-quality design output.

Here's what she has to say about Visme.

"Previously, we were using PowerPoint, which is fine, but the interactivity you can get with Visme is so much more robust that we've all steered away from PowerPoint."

"PowerPoint templates are plain and boring, and we want to create more fun and engaging content. Visme has multiple slide templates to choose from, which makes this so much easier."

"I just made a deck recently and it took me about 15-20 minutes. I found a template I really liked and tweaked it and put it in our brand colors. In PowerPoint, it would take anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half."

Read this case study to learn How WOW! is Saving Nearly 79% in Time and Cost With Visme.

Now, let’s get back to the process.

Step 1: Choose an Interactive Presentation Template

Before starting the process, you'll need a Visme account, which you can create using your email ID or Facebook account. Once done, it's time to choose a template.

Using a template saves you valuable time and gives you a professional starting point.

Look for a template that matches your topic and aligns with your design preferences.

Visme offers thousands of professionally designed presentation templates, so you’re sure to find one that aligns with your vision.

Go to our template library, click "Presentations" from the left panel and choose from various categories, including business , education , pitch deck and creative .

Better yet, head over to the editor, click "New," then "Project," and choose "Presentations" to access the extensive collection of presentation templates Visme offers.

There’s also an option to create your presentation from scratch on a blank canvas.

Step 2: Customize the Template

Customizing your chosen template in Visme is both easy and enjoyable, thanks to our intuitive design tools and features.

Here’s how you can infuse own content and style into your presentation:

Add Content and Edit Text

Visme’s drag-and-drop functionality makes it simple to add various content elements like text, images, charts or other visuals to your template.

Just select the element you want to add, drag it to the desired spot and drop it in place.

Personalizing the existing text is simple. Click on any text box to start editing. You can change the font, size, color and style to better match your brand or your personal preferences.

Change Colors

Adjusting the color palette of your template allows you to align it with your brand guidelines or set a specific mood for your presentation.

Visme enables you to customize the colors of various elements, from background to text and shapes. Simply click on the element you wish to change and select a new color using the color wheel.

With Visme's brand design tool , you can easily save and apply your brand elements. Just copy and paste your website URL, and the tool will extract your brand colors, brand fonts and company logo. You or anyone in your team can then apply them to your projects with just one click.

Add/Change Design Elements

Adding new design elements like icons, illustrations or shapes can significantly enhance the visual appeal of your presentation.

Choose from Visme’s extensive library of design assets, including vector icons , illustrations, shapes and 3D animated graphics .

Select the element you want to change, and either replace it with another from our library or adjust its attributes to better suit your vision.

Include your team members in the design process to get feedback or ideas using Visme's collaborative design feature . Invite your team via email or a shareable link and allow the invitees to comment, annotate and live edit your presentation.

Step 3: Add Interactive Features

Visme offers interactive tools like polls, quizzes, hotspots and clickable links to make presentations more engaging.

Here’s how you can include these interactive elements in your presentation.

Polls and Quizzes: Add polls and quizzes to make your presentation interactive and fun. For polls and quizzes, click on "Apps" from the left panel. Choose an app like Formstack, SurveyMonkey or Typeform to create your poll or quiz. Once you've created it, you can embed it directly into your presentation.

Hotspots: Hotspots allow you to hide extra information behind clickable icons. To create hotspots, select "Actions" from the top toolbar and then choose "Hotspot." You will have options to link to an object, video, or audio. Customize the settings for how you want the popup content to appear and show any additional details.

Clickable Links: Insert links into your presentation to let your audience explore more information easily. To add external links, first click on the object you want to link from. Then, from the top panel, click "Actions" and select "External Link." You'll be given options to link to different types of external sources such as websites or social media. Paste your URL in the provided field to set the link.

Embeddable Content: To embed online content, click "Media" from the left panel and select "Embed Online Content." Paste the URL of the content you want to embed in the provided box, then click "Insert." The content will be embedded in your presentation.

Transitions and Animations: To add transitions and animations to your Visme presentation, click on the object or text box you want to animate. Next, click on the "Animate" tab in the top toolbar and choose your desired animation effect. Finally, adjust the animation settings, such as duration and delay, to tailor it to your presentation's needs.

Step 4: Incorporate Animations, Visuals and Multimedia

Include visuals and multimedia in your presentation to break the monotony of text and convey messages faster. Visme allows you to add images, videos, audio and voiceovers to aid comprehension and improve your storytelling.

Here is how you can leverage these resources efficiently:

  • Adding Images and Icons: Navigate to the "Graphics" tab within Visme to access various stock images , 3D characters , animated shapes, icons and special effects. You can easily search for specific visuals that align with your presentation's theme. Once you've found the right image or icon, simply drag and drop it into your slide.
  • Incorporating Videos : To add a video, switch to the "Media" tab, where you can either upload your video or embed one from popular platforms like YouTube. Videos are excellent for breaking up the monotony of text-heavy slides. Plus, they can provide a dynamic illustration of your points.
  • Implementing Voiceovers: Adding voiceovers to your slides can deliver a personalized touch and cater to auditory learners. In Visme, you can record your voice directly onto a slide or upload pre-recorded audio files. This allows for a more interactive and accessible presentation.

Easily create professional voiceovers and transform your written content into speech using Visme's AI text-to-speech generator . Simply type in or paste your text to generate high-quality speech that enhances presentations and makes them more accessible and engaging to a wider audience.

Read this article about creating multimedia presentations using Visme, or watch the video below to learn more.

Step: Download, Share and Present

Once your interactive presentation is ready, Visme allows you to publish it in multiple ways.

Click on the "Download" button on the upper right corner of the dashboard, choose "Present Offile," and click on "HTML5". Downloading your presentation in HTML5 lets you keep all the interactive and animation features.

Additionally, you can download the presentation in PPTX, JPG, PNG and PDF formats.

Visme also gives you the option to export the presentation directly to your learning management system (LMS) in xAPI and SCORM format.

Click on the "Share" button next to the download button to publish the presentation on social media, share it via a private or public link or embed it on your website with a code snippet.

And the best part? You can present your interactive presentation directly from Visme, so you don't have to leave the app and use all the features of the presentation software on the go. Visme's presenter studio tool comes with various practical features to enhance your ability to deliver presentations confidently.

You can use the presenter notes to keep track of key points you want to cover without cluttering your slides.

With the option to record yourself, you can create personalized asynchronous presentations. This feature is perfect for participants who cannot join live sessions, allowing them to watch the presentation at their own pace while still experiencing a face-to-face connection.

After sharing the presentation, use Visme's advanced analytics features to understand the audience engagement. It collects data, including average time spent, unique visits, total views and even visitor's IPs. This feedback can help refine your presentations, ensuring they effectively capture and retain audience interest. It's especially helpful when you are delivering the presentation virtually.

Q1. What is an interactive presentation tool?

An interactive presentation tool is software that allows you to create presentations with interactive elements like quizzes, polls, and clickable links. Visme is one example of an interactive presentation tool.

Q2. How can I make my presentation more interactive and fun?

You can make your presentation more interactive and fun by incorporating g quizzes, polls, games, storytelling, multimedia and other interactive elements. visuals. Visme offers many features that can help you create interactive presentations.

Q3. How can I make my PowerPoint presentation interactive?

You can make your PowerPoint presentation interactive by using tools like Visme that makes it easy for you to infuse animations and interactive assets embed quizzes, polls and videos or link text and objects to ing to external websites and resources and much more

Q4. How to present creatively without PowerPoint?

There are many ways to present creatively without PowerPoint. You can use various interactive presentation tools like Visme, which offers a wide range of templates, features, and integrations to help you create and deliver engaging presentations.

Put Together Interactive & Beautiful Presentations with Visme

As we've seen, interactive presentations aren't just a trend; they're a powerful tool to combat declining attention spans and make your message memorable. You can turn passive listeners into active participants using interactive elements like clickable buttons, hover effects, menus, polls, videos, maps and QR codes.

With its user-friendly interface, millions of visual assets, and wealth of features like a presenter studio, interactive features and collaboration tools, Visme empowers you to craft interactive presentations that leave a lasting impact.

No design experience? No problem. Choose an interactive presentation template from the Visme library and use the design ideas and step-by-step tutorial explained in this article to create your interactive presentation in minutes.

Create a free account in Visme and start your journey towards more engaging presentations today.

Create beautiful presentations faster with Visme.

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About the Author

Raja Antony Mandal is a Content Writer at Visme. He can quickly adapt to different writing styles, possess strong research skills, and know SEO fundamentals. Raja wants to share valuable information with his audience by telling captivating stories in his articles. He wants to travel and party a lot on the weekends, but his guitar, drum set, and volleyball court don’t let him.

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Business meetings in United Kingdom

The following article is about business meetings etiquette in the United Kingdom (UK).

It refers to the importance of Business meetings; business meeting planning, negotiation process, meeting protocol, how to run a business meeting, business meals, tips…

Business etiquette is essentially about building relationships with others such as colleagues, clients or customers.  

Business meetings in UK

Business meetings remain an intrinsic feature of corporate life in the United Kingdom. They vary in their nature and content, but are seen as a key element of business communications.

Senior managers and directors will often have personal assistants who plan their diaries and meetings to fit into their working day. It is often necessary to plan a long time ahead when arranging meetings with senior executives, as diaries tend to be booked up well in advance.

It is good practice to ensure that agendas are circulated in advance of any meeting, to enable everyone to be fully prepared. Locations of meetings, attendance lists, and any required equipment, e.g. computer and projection equipment need to be planned in advance. Meetings should be structured carefully so they keep to time, follow the agenda, and are chaired effectively with minutes taken by an appropriate person.

The use of technology has extended its influence into the world of meetings; video conferencing and conference calls mean that managers do not have to travel too far to attend a meeting. This saves the organisation costs in travel and time, but does not allow face-to-face personal contact, which some cultures may find unsatisfactory. Any contributions to meetings should be thought through to ensure that what is said is of value to the meeting and to the organisation as a whole.

In the UK, it is expected that any action items arising from the meeting are documented, and circulated to all attendees. A person should be nominated, usually the person chairing the meeting, to review the action items from the previous meeting, to ensure that progress has been made as expected and any matters arising are dealt with. At formal meetings, minutes may be taken by a secretary and circulated afterwards.

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Importance of Business meetings in UK

Business meetings etiquette UK

Business meetings in the United Kingdom 

It is good practice to make meeting appointments at least a few days in advance. After arrival in the country, you should always confirm the details of any meeting by telephone or email and ask for directions to the meeting venue, if these details are not provided or are unclear. Although the British have a reputation for respecting rules and for time-keeping, their cultural awareness provides some degree of tolerance when dealing with foreigners. You do not need to panic if something goes wrong during your stay and interferes with your schedule. This is simply a matter of keeping all the affected parties informed and telephoning to cancel or reschedule your appointments. The chances are that any business contact will understand and be more than willing to help you.

The most suitable time to arrange a business meeting is probably about 10am., particularly in the initial stages of negotiations. It is unlikely that a first meeting would take place over a meal, however this depends on the parties involved and the context of the meeting. In the United Kingdom, you should not attempt to approach a business partner unannounced.

When meeting someone for the first time, most managers will value some advance information about the company you represent. This will enable them to establish some basic details about your company, which will save time at the meeting and increase your credibility. It is also useful for you, if visiting a company in the UK for the first time, to find out some information about that company so that you can understand more about their business culture, interests and where there may be opportunities and synergies that can be leveraged.

Recognising that meetings take up a lot of time and are often not very productive, some UK companies have introduced a meetings policy. If you are new to a company, it is advisable to familiarise yourself with all company policies as quickly as possible. A few companies in the UK have adopted some US and Japanese practices in restricting meetings to a very brief time, to ensure that managers keep focussed on what needs to be discussed. One leading supermarket for example, removed all the chairs from its meeting room; because attendees had to stand, this kept the meetings short and focussed. This is rare, but it is worth checking to see what the format, content and style of a meeting will be, so that you are adequately prepared, mentally as well as physically.

Business meeting Planning in UK

Organisations differ, but in the main there will be a secretary or Personal Assistant (PA) who controls the diary of the manager you are visiting. The best way to set up a meeting is to arrange it with this person, and then call the day before to confirm your attendance. You are advised to check in advance if any resources or equipment you require are available, to prevent delays or embarrassment at the meeting.

Meetings can be confirmed via email and the majority of UK organisations use this method. The agenda and names of the attendees are often circulated in advance of the meeting. Business meetings in the United Kingdom 

Whilst many managers do work longer than the official 9am to 5.30pm, it is rare for meetings to be held outside this time. Normally, the time executives spend in their offices outside of these hours is set aside for them to catch up on work and correspondence they have not been able to get on top of during the day.

Punctuality is expected and appreciated in the UK, but no one really minds if you arrive a few minutes late for a one-to-one meeting, provided there is a good reason e.g. traffic. Obviously, if more people are involved, there is a greater likelihood that someone will have another engagement to attend. Business meetings in the United Kingdom 

Finally, it should be remembered that the transport network in the UK can frequently cause delays, which means you should always allow additional travelling time, especially when travelling to an important meeting. Local radio stations provide detailed travel information throughout the day, so if you get stuck in traffic, it is advisable to tune into a local station and telephone the person you are meeting if you are going to be late. This will enable the meeting chairperson to decide whether to wait, or whether to start the meeting as planned and give your apologies. Please beware that use of a mobile phone is not legal whilst driving. So, you should park in a safe place to make or answer any phone calls or use hands free kit.

Negotiation Process in UK

It is advisable to send a senior manager to discuss business issues in the UK rather than a junior employee. This stems from a certain degree of distrust of young managers that is still rooted in British culture. This does not necessarily mean that British managers find young people to be incompetent. Some senior managers may have relatively few formal qualifications and may traditionally value experience and expertise as indicators of success. Moreover, sending senior individuals provides more credibility and a sense of authority, which is essential for successful business negotiations. However, these attitudes are gradually changing and it is probable that in modern companies and young industries such as Information Technology, these findings may not necessarily hold true.

Although discrimination on the basis of sex, race, age and other protected characteristics is unlawful in the United Kingdom under the Equality Act 2010, it is still possible to come across an “unreconstructed manager”. This varies depending on the industry and location of the company you are visiting, with knowledge-based companies often being more liberal compared to traditional manufacturing organisations. If you encounter prejudice or discrimination in your dealings with a British manager, you should maintain a professional demeanour and seek advice or instructions from your own company or an agent that you may be working with in the UK. Business meetings in the United Kingdom 

During the negotiation process, it is necessary to keep in mind that British business professionals often approach their work in a detached and emotionless way. They will tend to look for objective facts and solid evidence, so emotional persuasion techniques are usually a waste of time. Personal bonds also seem to have little relevance for business in the UK, which differs from other European countries. Aggressive selling techniques such as derogatory remarks about the competition, on the other hand, will probably have very little positive influence on your business partners and may actually be counterproductive.

Similarly, any facial expressions tend to be kept to a minimum, thus making it difficult to guess the thoughts and opinions of British negotiators. This behaviour is not suspicious or mistrustful; it is just the typical professional approach.

Also, it is advisable to be aware of the hierarchical structure of the particular organisation with which you are dealing. In the UK, it is common for companies to declare that they value teamwork and democracy even though, in practice, the senior manager is the person who makes the final decision.

Meeting protocol in UK

The traditional greeting among British managers is a light but firm handshake accompanied by a polite greeting.

In general, British people are more reserved than continental Europeans and you should refrain from physical contact apart from the initial handshake. Smiling, on the other hand, particularly at the initial stage of an encounter is considered  an expression of positive intentions. It is also worth mentioning that it is not  normal practice to shake hands with or greet everyone on entering a room full of people.

Sometimes at the start of a meeting, with many attendees, the chairperson will arrange to go around the table, with each person introducing themselves, with their name and job title, and if external to the organisation, the company they represent.

How to run a business meeting in UK

When running a meeting, the most important factor to be aware of is the planning and preparation necessary to ensure the meeting achieves its objectives. Hence, the agenda for the meeting should stipulate clearly who is invited, the meeting location, date, time and what is expected to be discussed. Individual communications with attendees might be necessary to explain the expected format of the content. Increasingly, meetings are placing emphasise on shorter presentations and give more focus to discussion and question and answer type activities. Although the agenda is usually followed, people are not stopped if they digress and are allowed to explore related matters in detail. It is not uncommon that meetings finish with an agreement for another follow up meeting with decisions on the current meeting’s main objectives not having been made.

It is important to ensure that all required attendees are aware of the meeting, and of any necessary work they may need to do in advance. Attendees are always expected to confirm their attendance and may sometimes put forward a replacement delegate, if they are unable to attend themselves.

It is also important to ensure a meeting location is appropriate, that the room has all the required facilities, and enough space for the numbers likely to attend. If you are responsible for the meeting, it is advisable to arrive early to check the room layout, chairs, desk or tables etc. If people arrive to find a shortage of chairs, it will delay the start of the meeting and cause unnecessary disruption.

If a meeting includes non-English speaking attendees, it may be necessary to ensure that an interpreter is available, which should be arranged several weeks ahead of the meeting. Any presentations that have been completed and sent in advance may need to be checked and pre-loaded onto the computer that will be used for the meeting or duplicated for distribution in print.

Some organisations prefer PowerPoint presentations and meeting documents to be circulated in advance of the meeting, so that all attendees are able to review any materials that will need to be discussed. This often increases the efficiency of the meeting, freeing up more time for valuable debate and discussion and helping to advance business goals.

It is courteous in the UK to allow other people to speak, and not to interrupt them while they do. It is also useful to obtain feedback after the meeting and establish what the attendees thought of the content and the discussion. It is considered helpful to acknowledge others’ points and, if necessary, agree to disagree; but at no time should you lose your temper or let your behaviour become overly animated.

  • Crossing cultural boundaries

Follow up letter after meeting with client in UK

The minutes of any formal meeting will usually be circulated for comment and approval after the meeting has concluded. Actions for any decisions that were taken, including the attribution of responsibilities and deadlines applicable will normally be included in the minutes of group meetings and should always be reviewed. In one-to-one meetings, individuals are normally responsible for making their own record of any important points of discussion and action items.

It is important that action items are followed up and completed within the timescales agreed in order to maintain credibility and prove that the responsibility was well-placed. Many executives will be impressed by a prompt follow up of actions agreed at the meeting. Business meetings in the United Kingdom 

It is perfectly acceptable to make a telephone call to the attendees of the meeting before the next meeting, to follow up on the progress of any action items or clarify any questions that may have arisen.

It is generally normal practice for managers to brief their teams on the outcomes of the meetings they have attended, unless these are subject to confidentiality. It is good to ensure that open communication channels exist within teams, and if you are joining such a team you should expect this approach.

The other area that can be followed up after a meeting is any learning that has emerged from the meeting. Any items discussed that were not fully understood should be researched before any future meeting. This will help to improve confidence and motivation within your team.

Business meals in UK

It is becoming increasingly common for business referral networking to take place in the context of a working lunch or an evening meal. Through the use of social media networks such as LinkedIn and Eventbrite, it is possible to find numerous local business groups and networking opportunities.

Britain has some of the most prominent and expensive restaurants in the world, particularly in London and other major cities. Most towns and cities offer a variety of cuisines, particularly Italian and French inspired restaurant chains, as well as the multinational chains of fast food establishments. Larger cities will often host a choice of Chinese, Indian, Middle Eastern, American, Thai, and Japanese restaurants with multicultural cities like Manchester and London being able to cater for the most demanding of tastes. In recent years, British food culture has seen the increasing popularity of “gastro pubs”, where high quality restaurant food is served in a more casual public house environment, often with a good selection of drinks and real ales served on the premises. Business meetings in the United Kingdom 

Probably the most famous national dish is Fish & Chips, typically battered cod, haddock or pollock with a portion of chipped potatoes, deep fried and sprinkled with salt and vinegar. This dish is available from numerous local fast food shops selling take-away meals. In England, another very traditional dish is the Sunday Roast, most often this is a joint of beef, roasted in the oven with potatoes and served with Yorkshire pudding, mixed seasonal vegetables and gravy. Most pubs, hotels and brasserie-style restaurants offer a carvery roast dinner on Sundays as a comparatively inexpensive menu option. In Scotland, a very traditional dish would be boiled Haggis served with mashed potatoes and turnips; and in Wales you would find Cawl, a rich stew made with Welsh lamb, leeks, parsnips, swede, potatoes and carrots. Generally, every region has its own speciality dishes and it is one of the most pleasant experiences to discover the various tastes that are available. Business meetings in the United Kingdom 

In the UK, meals with work colleagues are more often the subject of social or festive gatherings than formal opportunities to discuss business and may include spouses or partners, depending on the occasion.  Therefore, it is acceptable to use any such events as an opportunity for informal discussions and the development of social bonds.

It is important to take note of the exact time of the meal and understand the various terms that may be used to refer to any proposed meal:

  • Breakfast is the first meal of the day and may be served up until 11.30am;
  • Brunch is a mid-morning meal which features breakfast and lunch menu items;
  • Lunch or luncheon is the midday meal and can be served anywhere from 11.30am to 2.30pm;
  • Tea will frequently refer to a late afternoon meal, somewhere between 3pm and 6pm; Business meetings in the United Kingdom 
  • Dinner predominantly describes the main evening meal, traditionally served before 8pm, although the exact time will vary for convenience and personal preference;
  • Supper is often a light evening meal, served up until 11pm at night.

Confusion around meal times is rife and, in fact, the British will also use some of the words interchangeably with meanings often influenced by local dialects. For example, a fish supper in Scotland is actually a very large portion of fish and chips, which can be eaten at any time of day. The words dinner and lunch are reversed in some areas in which case tea replaces the word dinner which simply refers to the main hot meal of the day. Also, different food names can have different meanings depending on which area of the country you are in. If in doubt, it is advisable to ask a local person for clarification.

Generally, British managers are very willing to discuss business matters over a meal, where the intention is clear beforehand. The golden rule is to follow the lead of your host since people will inevitably differ in terms of their business entertaining practice. Over the last few decades, the practice of inviting business colleagues into your home has diminished considerably and the vast majority of business meals take place in restaurants, pubs or cafes.

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Business meeting tips in UK

It is good practice to start a business meeting with an informal conversation about a general topic. This will help to ‘break the ice’ and make the participants feel comfortable.

For any external meetings with new contacts or companies, ensure you bring enough business cards and materials about your company. The ideal time for handing out business cards will depend on the context of the meeting, but generally this will be at the beginning of the meeting.

Negotiations are usually open and flexible and the British will favour a collaborative win/win approach to agreements.

Remember to respect people’s personal space and always maintain a respectful distance.

Do make direct eye contact with your British business partner, but use some discretion so as not to stare and be considered impolite or rude.

Watch out for subtle communication that may be disguised as seemingly humorous or sarcastic remarks, not that there are always hidden meanings to such remarks.

When entering a building for the first time, a doorman, receptionist or personal assistant (PA) are often the first people you encounter. A ‘Good morning/afternoon’ greeting and then explaining who you are there to see will suffice.  You will probably be asked to sign a visitors’ book, in accordance with fire safety regulations for most business premises. Depending on the security procedures of the company you are visiting, you may also need to be issued with a visitor pass and be escorted onto the premises.

If you are asked to wait a short while for the person you are there to see, this time may be used to chat informally. With strangers, the British tend to make small talk on fairly inconsequential topics like the weather, commenting on whether it is raining, or brilliant sunshine outside for example.

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nhs england merseyside

NHS England (Merseyside)

Jul 10, 2014

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NHS England (Merseyside). Area Team Structure. August 2013. Executive Office. Clare Duggan Area Team Director. Business Office Jo Richardson–Business Office Manager Julie Shaw-Senior Admin Support Rachael Cromby- Admin Assistant. Medical. John Hussey Medical Director.

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NHS England (Merseyside) Area Team Structure August 2013

Executive Office Clare Duggan Area Team Director Business Office Jo Richardson–Business Office Manager Julie Shaw-Senior Admin Support Rachael Cromby- Admin Assistant

Medical John Hussey Medical Director Sally Cahill Senior AdminSupport Kath Moore, Trish Abbott, Adit Jain, Nigel Tong Deputy Medical Director (Revalidation) Nikki Allen Assistant Director (Clinical Strategy) Julie Head Admin Assistant Chris Marnell GP Appraisal & Revalidation Support Assistant Admin Assistant Maureen Hunter, Fiona Boyle, Linda Cullen Programme Manager Dawn Randles, Rachel Sloan Paul Ashcroft Project Officer

Nursing and Quality Gaynor Hales Nurse Director Senior Admin Support Michelle Creed Deputy Director (Patient Experience) Margaret Johnson-McDevitt Deputy Director (Quality Assurance) Anne-Marie Dibble Admin Assistant Christine Griffith-Evans Quality and Safety Manager Michelle Cox Patient Experience Manager Peter Groggins Patient Safety Lead James Connor Patient Experience Lead

Finance Phil Wadeson Director of Finance Heidi O’Neill Senior Admin Support Admin Support Sheila Lynch Head of Finance John Adams Asst Head of Finance (Primary Care) Stephen Smith Asst Head of Finance (Corporate) Ian Hogg Finance Manager Anne Downey Finance Manager Accountant Linda Morris Accountant Tony Spear Finance Assistant Phil Lewis Financial Analyst Trudi Hirsch Finance Assistant

Assurance and Delivery Director of Operations and Delivery Team Johanna Reilly Ops and Delivery Director Gareth Jones Senior Admin Support Leigh Thompson-Greatrex Head of Assurance/ Delivery Steve Corrigan Head of EPRR Gemma Ingham Admin Assistant Nicky Ambrose-Miney Trish Clitheroe Assurance and Delivery Manager Liz Farrington & Nicola Daly Assurance & Delivery Project Officers .

Commissioning Tony Leo Commissioning Director Linda Turton Senior Admin Support Julie Kelly Head of Public Health Commissioning Tom Knight Head of Primary Care Clinical Leadership Team Rose Moran, Jean Rogers, Alan Cummings Contract Managers Karen Maughan Public Health Commissioning Manager Screening & Immunisation Team See separate chart Sharon Howard, Karen Hampson, Emma Knox, Jacqui Pye, Janet Hughes Primary Care Support David Scannell, Kirk Benyon, Jacqui Jasper, Hilary Grant Assistant Contract Managers Lara Ashton Public Health Programme Manager Neil Gaye Public Health Programme Contracts Manager Lynn Welsh Support Team Admin Support Karyn Wells Helen Fessey, Abigail Phillips Support Team Admin Assistant Val McNeill Support Team Admin Assistant

Daniel Seddon Screening and Immunisation Lead Screening and Immunisation Marie Coughlan Screening and Immunisation Lead Pauline Jones Screening and Immunisation Manager Michelle Falconer Claire Elliott Screening and Immunisation Coordinators Wendy Storey Julie Byrne Jennie Piet Jennifer Rogers Screening and Immunisation Coordinators

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