The art and the skill of making presentations are critical. Whether you are a salaried employee or a business person, you will have to make presentations or pitch decks used within or outside the company. Your presentations should leave a mark on your audience. And hence, you should create interactive and engaging presentations for your audience.
It would be best to keep in mind several things before making the presentation. There are several things that you can do to make your presentations interactive.
Ways to create an interactive presentation
There are several things that you can do to make your presentation interactive. Some of these things are mentioned below:
Start with an icebreaker
To build a connection with your audience and make them excited about your presentation. You can start with an ice breaker. This way, they will get to know the essence of the presentation, and you will get to know your audience a little better. The icebreaker will depend upon the number of people you have as your audience. If the group is small, you can have a small interaction with everyone present in the room. However, you will only get a chance to interact with a few with a large crowd. You can either ask them the direction in which they want the presentation to run, or you can start with a fun game to get everybody’s attention.
Make use of video
The power of video is immense. You can use at least one or two video clips in the presentation to make it much more exciting. You can use a slideshow maker to create a visually appealing presentation. You can also make an exciting video presentation using a video maker. Talking is essential when presenting, but it might be an excellent choice to display an external perspective while making a presentation. Instead of putting an original video, you can also embed a YouTube link to the presentation. Videos will increase the engagement of your presentation. Therefore, you should use a video editor to make your presentation intriguing.
Make a non-linear presentation.
You’re putting together a non-linear presentation when you build links between slides so that you can navigate anywhere within your presentation. You don’t go from slide one to two and follow a sequence. Instead, you’re making your presentation more dynamic by allowing you and your audience to jump around it. You can make a table of contents page that links to the first slides in each section. If you embed your presentation, your audience will navigate in their own time. It also provides your presentation with a unique edge from the norm, and it might keep your audience guessing about what’s coming next.
Q & A session
Are you worried about engaging better with your audience? A Q&A session will help you with this. Most presenters schedule a Q&A session at the end of the presentation. You can either keep it at the end or keep answering the questions as and when you present. You can easily create a few slides throughout your presentation where you ask your audience questions. Ask your audience what they think before moving on to the next part.
Make it less daunting than a pop quiz. A simple question can have a significant impact. You can also take small breaks during your presentation to allow the audience to ask you questions. This is a fantastic moment to ask if you had them write down a few things they wanted to make sure they learned from you at the start of the presentation.
Carry some props along
Bringing props to help you show and visually explain your tale can be a terrific approach to keep people’s attention and attention spans engaged. When choosing props to help tell your story, the primary thing to remember is that they must be appropriate. Don’t bring along complicated props that are interesting but would require a lot of work to integrate with your material.
Instead, bring props that will pique your audience’s interest while also making sense in light of the information you’re giving. During his TED Talk on Mosquitos, Malaria, and Education, Bill Gates released a swarm of real mosquitos into the audience.
Try out Storytelling
Telling a story is an irrefutable approach for engaging your audience in your presentation. Your speech does not have to be dry, even if your topic includes many data, facts, and figures. There are numerous approaches to effectively incorporating stories into your presentation. A strong story may help you create an immersive experience for your audience by drawing them in and making them feel like they’re a part of your presentation. It appeals to their emotions, causing them to cling to your words and, as a result, making your presentation far more memorable.
Use Audio Narrative
You don’t need to speak the entire time. Taking a break and pre-recording parts of your slides can be beneficial. This is a wonderful method to use for an embedded presentation as well. Including audio in an embedded slideshow is a terrific technique to make a presentation more engaging. To make slides stand out, you can add music or sound effects. Alternatively, you can include an audio narrative that goes into greater detail regarding your slide topic than your slide design permits.
Add a small poll
Polling your audience is another excellent approach to getting them interested in your presentation. Please give them a few options to choose from and see which one is the most popular. You may even utilize polling software to have your audience submit their responses through your smartphone and watch the results appear on your screen in real-time. Inquire about your audience’s favorite sports team, ice cream flavor preferences (vanilla vs. chocolate), and more. This is a terrific way to do icebreakers and have some mindless fun during your presentation. You can, of course, include polls that are related to your presentation topic.
Start a small discussion.
Consider including conversation questions in your presentation, depending on your audience. You can divide your audience into small groups to debate your questions or have them talk to their neighbor about it momentarily. Seminar presentations are ideal for posing discussion questions, and this approach can also work well if you’re presenting to a large group of people seated at tables.
Post a discussion question on the board and invite your audience to go around their table with their responses.
Make use of transitions and animations.
There are many options for animating your slides, each one more interesting than the last. Different parts of your presentations can be animated. You may also make seamless transitions between slides by allowing each element to glide in independently.
Conclusion
There are several ways in which you can make your presentation exciting. The best way to go about it is to engage with your audience. Ask questions and keep your audience hooked to your presentation till the end.
