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How To Create a Project Presentation: A Guide for Impactful Content

Corporate, academic, and business meetings share one common factor: successfully delivering project presentations. This is one skill professionals should harness in terms of articulating ideas, presenting plans, and sharing outcomes through an effective project presentation.

In this fast-paced reality where new tools and frameworks make us question the human factor value, we believe there’s much to be said about how working towards building presentation skills can make a difference, especially for making a project stand out from the crowd and have a lasting impact on stakeholders. We can no longer talk about simply disclosing information, the manner in which the narrative is built, how data is introduced, and several other factors that speak of your expertise in the subject.

This article will explore the art of project presentation, giving insights to presenters to deliver a memorable project plan presentation. Whether you are new to this experience or a seasoned presenter, this article promises to give you valuable information on how to build and present a project presentation that resonates with your target audience and will convert into your expected results for the project. Let’s get started.

Table of Contents

• Who is the audience of a project presentation?

Executive Summary

Project overview, the project process model, the project scope, the project resources, the project roadmap, the project activities plan, the project risks, quality control, project execution and monitoring.

• The Project Team

What Is a Project Presentation?

A project presentation is a business activity that brings together stakeholders and team members to oversee a project from execution to completion. During a project presentation, one or two people present a document or slide deck with an overview of all the project’s details.

During a project presentation, the project manager highlights key data about the project initiation and planning activities, like the project scope, requirements gathering, a deliverable list, timelines, and milestones.

The first instance of a project presentation is right before the execution of the project itself. Then, during the project process life cycle, you present it again with timely updates and news about the progress.

Who is the audience of a project presentation? 

A project-related audience is made up of stakeholders – all individuals and entities that affect or are affected by the project’s existence.

Discuss the project presentation with team members that’ll work on the project so they know what’s at stake and what’s expected of them. They’ll need information like requirements, the roadmap, the work breakdown structure, and deliverables.

Stakeholders

Present your project to the stakeholders that can authorize resources and expenditures. Show them how the project will offer the solutions they want under the conditions they impose in a set amount of time. 

Stakeholders want to know details like project scope, budget breakdowns, timing calculations, risk assessments, and how you plan to confront these risks and be ready for changes. 

The Structure of a Project Presentation

Project presentations follow a standard structure covering all critical elements. Follow this guideline to ensure that you cover everything with the slides, the speech, and the discussion.

In the next section, we describe a project presentation structure you can build with SlideModel templates or working with our AI PowerPoint generator . As you will see, most sections in the structure are summaries or overviews of project management practices completed during initiation and planning. 

At the start of your presentation, add an executive summary slide . This section is meant to welcome the viewer to the presentation and give an idea of what’s to come. To differentiate your executive summary from the project overview that comes right after it, use the opportunity to place the project into context. 

In an executive summary , show how this particular project fits into the overall strategy for the company or the section it belongs to. If, for example, your project is about TikTok Marketing, offer information as to how it fits in the overall marketing strategy.

Continue the presentation with a project overview to show the audience what to expect. This section covers one slide or a combination of slides depending on the layout. The project overview slide serves as the introduction to a project presentation and what’s inside.

Include these items:

• An Introduction with a brief background about the project. 
• A short explanation of the project’s objectives and completion goals.
• A quick overview of the timeline with start and end dates.

The project life cycle is the series of phases that a project goes through from its inception to its completion. The project process model is the group of knowledge areas, processes, and their relationships that will guide the activities along the project lifecycle. The next slide should display the chosen project process model and explain how it’ll be carried out along the different lifecycle phases. Project process models examples include Waterfall, Scrum, and V Model for software development, and Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN) and Swimlane for general business-related projects.

Process models are important for the team to understand execution processes. Stakeholders need to see the process model to understand the systematic process of activities and how long they will take. 

Use one slide for the model, show only high-level components, and offer details during the presentation if the audience asks for them.

The scope is a crucial element of any project and needs its own section in the presentation. The scoping process begins with requirements gathering and includes the creation of a work breakdown structure , an analysis of what’s in and out of scope, plus validation and scope management plans. 

One or two slides are enough to highlight key scope details in a dashboard-style layout mirroring the information on your project scope statement. Preferably, place the scope slides towards the start of the project presentation close to the process model and project resources.

Every project needs resources, and that assessment must be included in the project presentation as well. In a general sense, all resources are what make up the overall budget for the project. In turn, you’ll need to show a budget breakdown that shows high-level resources.

Like many aspects of a project presentation, what you include depends on the industry you’re working for. Construction projects use constructors, materials, machinery, etc. Software projects use programmers, designers, software licenses, computers, etc.

Time is the main resource of any project. During project planning, the project management team estimates the required effort needed to complete the defined scope. Using the Project Process Model, Scope, and Resources, a plan is built. Present a roadmap to highlight the expected time for project completion and where each milestone falls along that line.

Roadmaps can be constructed with an infinite variety of visual layouts, from highly creative and illustrative to structured formats resembling spreadsheets and tables with color-coded roadmaps across the cells. Use one slide to show the roadmap highlighting time estimates, constraints, and projections. For updated project presentations, mark where the project is on the roadmap at that particular moment in time.

Every phase of the roadmap is broken down into action plans . Action plans list activities, their duration, allocated resources (human, material, and financial), and the relationship between activities.

Present your project activities plan with a Gantt Chart and a Costs Report. The Gantt Chart will show the activities to execute, how long they will take, and who (person or team) will be responsible for them. The costs reports will show how much the execution of activities will cost.

During the presentation, you’ll spend the most time on this section, as this is when and where your entire plan is outlined. To show more detail than the roadmap overview, use a few slides to show specific sections of the main Gantt chart and show key activities per phase or milestone.

All projects present risks, and to control them, they must be identified, assessed, evaluated, and mitigated . Visualize your risk assessment with a risk matrix and include it in the project presentation. 

Use this slide to explain to stakeholders how you plan to mitigate the identified risks. Share with team members what’s expected of them in order to keep the risks under control. Risk management is a critical component of project management and something stakeholders will always be looking at.

Controlling the quality of project deliverables is critical for positive project outcomes and continued success with the deliverable. This process is called quality control or quality assurance.

The project process model includes which quality control techniques the team will use and when. Some quality assurance (QA) techniques include statistical process control (SPC), Six Sigma, ISO 9000, and Total Quality Management (TQM). Use one slide to visualize the process and your plan to execute it.

Once the project starts, the project plan is a living entity and evolves over time. This section will need to be regularly updated with progress reports, performance KPIs, and status updates.

Across these slides, explain how activities will be monitored and deliverable outcomes measured. Show exactly how you will determine if the project is on course or has deviations. Visualize all execution activities with a Gantt chart to show the current progress. Use big numbers and data points to highlight performance metrics. Use a comparison slide to visualize the completeness percentage vs. planned progress and budget consumption vs. planned budget.

Explain all monitoring activities for the execution phase using a calendar or schedule that shows on what days activities will take place and who is involved.

The Project Team 

When presenting a project, include a stakeholder map to describe the management team, the sponsors, the main stakeholders, and the implementation team or teams. Depending on the size of the project, this will be an org chart or multiple org charts across a few slides.

Why is it important to present the project team to the stakeholders and vice versa? So that everyone involved knows the other parties and their responsibilities.

Another use for the team slide or slides is to present the next person who will speak during the project presentation. This gives the audience some background on that person’s role in the project.

Case Study – Project Presentation Example

Using the structure we present above, we outlined a case study of a realistic project and how the project manager puts together the project presentation using SlideModel templates. The project presentation example is based on a complex project of building a bridge (Cline Avenue Bridge). For the educational purpose of this article, we are not delivering all the elements of the project presentation, as it is out of scope. Still, we illustrate the more representative slides of each section, show how to prepare a PowerPoint Presentation for a project and how simple it is to adapt the templates to the content that needs to be presented. As a disclaimer, all information we present is an adaptation and reinterpretation of the real project, modified by SlideModel to fit the use case learning goals. This information and presentation should not be considered a source of information related to the Cline Avenue Bridge Project.

In this slide, the presenter summarises the project highlights in a project charter style. The Project Manager can extend this introduction all over the project lifecycle, and the speech can jump from different knowledge areas without the need to change slides or get deeper into details. Specifically, in the Cline Bridge Project, the objective is narrated, the location is just mentioned and linked to a map for further details, and a set of important facts are presented (Building Information Modelling Process, Budget, Duration, Sponsor, and Constructor). Key Highlights of the final deliverable are listed (Segmental Bridge, Material Concrete, 1.7 miles of length and 46 feet of width)

Process Model

The Process Model slide illustrates the framework for the project lifecycle, processes, planning, and execution. In this slide, the Project Manager will describe the model and how it is tailored to the specifics of the project. In this case, for the development and construction of the Cline Bridge, the builder has defined the use of BIM (Building Information Modelling) as the process model. During this slide, the presenter can describe the lifecycle phases (Design, Production, Construction, Operation, and Planning) and drill down one level over the knowledge practices involved. For example, the initial stage consists of “Design”, which has two main knowledge areas, Conceptual Design, and Detailed Design. The project manager is able to explain this definition without the need to outline detailed processes and activities within them.

The Scope section of the presentation generally involves several slides, as the content layout is a list of “requirements.” Based on this fact, a table layout is suggested to make good use of space. It is important to avoid abusing the “list” and present the group of requirements rather than specific requirements. Otherwise, the project manager ends up transcribing the requirements document.

In this project presentation example, we present 10 groups of requirements traversing different stages of the project lifecycle. 

• Design Standards: Bridge design must comply with local, national, and international design standards, including relevant engineering and safety codes
• Load Capacity: The bridge must be designed to safely carry a specific maximum load, which would include the weight of the bridge itself, traffic, pedestrians, wind, and other factors.
• Seismic Design: The design must account for seismic loads. 
• Aesthetic Design: The bridge must be designed to meet certain aesthetic criteria aligned with the artists and architects.
• Accessibility and Use Requirements: Requirements for pedestrian walkways, bike lanes, vehicle lanes, load restrictions for vehicles, clearance heights for boats if over a waterway, etc.
• Regulatory Approvals: The project must secure all necessary permits and approvals from relevant local and national regulatory bodies.
• Environmental Impact: The project must take steps to minimize its environmental impact during construction and the operation of the bridge, including implementing erosion and sediment controls.
• Materials Simulation: Materials should comply with regulations and usage expectations for current and future expected requirements.
• Site Preparation: The project must include preparation of the construction site, including any necessary land clearing or grading.
• Foundations Construction: Foundations will need to support materials weight and traffic expected for the next 30 years.
• Site Acquisition: Acquire site and terrain for building and logistics.

Building a bridge involves a high level of resource usage. In an executive meeting of a project presentation, the recommendation is to structure this section as a Financial table with only one level of detail. Further details are delegated to specific resources and cost analysis presentations.

The resources list presented is:

• Professional Services
• Construction Labour
• Quality Assurance
• Contingency
• Waste Disposal and Cleanup
• Subcontractors

In order to break the style of table after table during the project presentation, we suggest using visual elements as icons and colors metaphorically related to each of the elements listed.

Project Roadmap

As explained earlier in the article, the project roadmap serves to offer a comprehensive overview of the significant milestones that will happen over the course of time. Given the magnitude of a bridge construction project and its prolonged duration, it is advisable, particularly for such extensive endeavours, to present a roadmap that aligns milestones with corresponding lifecycle phases in a discernible manner. This approach enables the audience to mentally envision the sequential progression of the construction process.

Aligned with previous slides, in the example we created a roadmap with the following high level milestones, and sub componentes:

• Project Budgeting and Financing
• Land Purchase & Renting
• Conceptual Design
• Detailed Design
• Access Routes
• Waste Disposal
• Simulations
• Materials Tests
• Seismic Tests
• Fabrication
• Preparation of Modular Pieces
• Build and Assembly
• Test under Acceptance Criteria
• Stress Test
• Operation and Maintenance

As you can see, the Project Manager decided over a sequential roadmap, presented with little detail in timings, with start and end dates to picture dimension over the diagram.

Action Plan

In the bridge construction project of the example, there will be plenty of activity plans. All along the project several of these slides will be created and updated. The most suitable option for presentation tasks, durations, precedence relationship and resource allocation is the Gantt Chart Template. We present the first Quarter of the project, over the Conceptual Design Activities. 

As displayed in the PowerPoint Slide , the subtitle clarifies the number of slides that will be used for this purpose.

The activities presented are:

• Site Analysis
• Feasibility Analysis
• Design Concepts
• BIM Model Creation
• Model Revision
• Environmental Impact
• Present Design

Project Risks

Risk management is an iterative process all over the project life cycle. When presenting your projects, the risks will vary depending on the progress over the roadmap. For this specific example we decided to present the risks being discussed during the Ideation stage, where the developer is exchanging risks with contractors and the company that will build the bridge.

Our suggested layout for this kind of information is a simple table, where the risks are clearly readable and visible, while the description is a hint for discussion rather than an in depth explanation.

It is very important to classify the presented risks, at least with two dimensions; “Impact” and “Probability”. This will generate quality conversations around them. 

Outlined Risks during the Initiation Phase:

• Design Errors
• Construction Delays
• Budget Overruns
• Regulatory Changes
• Site Conditions
• Equipment Failures
• Health and Safety Incidents

As the reader can spot, the risks outlined, are very high level, and each of them will trigger specific Risk Analysis Reports.

The quality control section of the project presentation may vary depending on the quality process adopted. For large scale companies with a uniform portfolio of projects , it is common to see a continuous improvement quality model, which iteratively builds quality over the different projects (for example software companies) For construction companies like the example, the situation is not different, and the quality control model is aligned with the specific building process model. In this specific case, the project manager is presenting the quality control process to be applied over the BIM model and the Quality Control process to be followed for the physical construction of the bridge:

Execution and Monitoring

During the project, several status meetings will be carried out. During the project presentation the manager can establish the pattern to be used along the project.

For this example, we set a basic progress dashboard where the project manager can present : 

• The current timeline
• Top 5 issues
• Current Burndown
• Top 5 risks.

The art of project presentation goes beyond listing data in random slides. A project presentation is a powerful tool to align stakeholders and foster an environment of trust and collaboration over factual information.

With a structured approach, all members involved in the project design and execution can understand the direction that’s being taken and the importance behind certain decisions. We hope these insights can turn your project into a powerful presentation that inspires and deliver results.

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Project Management, Project Planning Filed under Business

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How to Make Effective Impactful Presentations (Tips & Tools)

Learn how to make a good presentation great - step-by-step with examples. Learn the principles, guidelines & qualities needed to prepare captivating slides.

Dominika Krukowska

12 minute read

Short answer

Short answer: how to make a good presentation.

Start with a surprising statement, a bold promise, or a mystery

Provide context with a bit of background information

Structure your presentation within a story framework

Make every word count, and use as few as possible

Use visuals only to support your presentation text

Use interactive design to make your audience active participants

End by telling your audience what they can do with what they’ve learned

Boring presentations are instantly forgotten. How’s yours?

Lifeless presentations can spell doom for your message, leaving your audience disengaged and your goals unreached.

The price of a mediocre presentation is steep; missed opportunities, unimpressed prospects, and a bad rep.

In a world where everyone has grown to expect a good story, a boring presentation will be instantly forgotten. Like a drop in the ocean.

But not all is lost.

This post will teach you how presentation pros create compelling narratives and leverage the latest tech tools to command attention, drive a powerful message, and get shared like gossip.

Let’s get started!

How to prepare a presentation?

The successful presenter understands the value of small details and thorough preparation like the seasoned chef knows the importance of quality ingredients and careful technique for serving a 5 star dish

But where do you start?

Step-by-step guide for preparing a presentation:

1. Define your objective

Every presentation needs a clear goal. Are you looking to persuade, educate, or motivate? Perhaps you aim to showcase a product, or share insights about a recent project.

Defining your objective early on will guide your content creation process, helping you to focus your message and structure your presentation effectively. Think of your objective as the North Star guiding your presentation journey.

2. Analyze your audience

Next up, who are you talking to? Your audience should shape your presentation as much as your objective does. Understanding their needs, interests, and background will enable you to tailor your message to resonate with them.

Are they experts in your field, or are they novices looking for an introduction? What questions might they have? The more you know about your audience, the more compelling your presentation will be.

3. Research your topic

Once you've defined your objective and analyzed your audience, it's time to delve deep into your topic. Comprehensive research lays the groundwork for a robust, credible presentation.

Don't just scratch the surface – explore different perspectives, recent developments, and key statistics. This will not only enhance your understanding but also equip you with a wealth of information to answer any questions your audience might have.

4. Choose the right delivery format

Finally, consider the best format to deliver your message.

The right format can make all the difference in how your message is received, so choose wisely!

PowerPoint presentations are classic and easy to work with. But PowerPoint and Google slides are not so versatile in terms of their content experience. They're static, packed with information, and all look alike.

Our own presentation maker offers interactive, personalized, and multimedia content experience.

Data from our research of over 100K presentation sessions shows that audiences engage with Storydoc presentations 103% better than PowerPoint.

How to create an effective presentation?

There’s part art and part science in creating high-engagement high-impact presentations.

An effective presentation is the painstaking result of well-organized content, visuals that support and elevate your message, simplifying complex information, and personalizing wherever possible.

I wrote this post to teach you how to do all these, and a few things more.

Ready to learn? Let's dive in!

How to organize your presentation content?

Crafting a compelling presentation is like writing a page-turner.

You need to captivate your audience, maintain their interest, and guide them effortlessly through your narrative.

But how do you transform a heap of information into a well-structured presentation you can’t stop reading? There’s a structure you can follow.

3-step process for organizing a magnetic presentation:

1. Prioritize content

Your presentation should immediately capture interest and demonstrate relevance before moving on to establish understanding .

A) Build interest:

Begin with a strong hook that grabs your audience's attention. This could be an intriguing statistic, a powerful image , or an engaging question. It should stir curiosity and make your audience eager to hear more.

B) Establish relevance:

Once you have their attention it's time to establish why your presentation matters to your audience.

Address your audience's main concerns. Make sure your content directly speaks to these pain points, and address them in order of importance.

2. Build anticipation

A great presentation is like getting a new car – it builds anticipation, takes you on a thrilling ride, and ends with you wanting to share the experience with all your friends.

Start with a compelling problem your audience relates to and follow up with a promise of an amazing way they can solve it. This problem-solution dynamic creates a suspense that keeps your audience glued to your presentation.

3. Use a story framework

Finally, use a story framework to give your presentation structure and flow.

Begin with a big idea that underpins your presentation. Then delve into the problem, showcasing why it needs attention. Present your solution, painting a vision of a better future for your audience.

Weave in concrete examples of how your solution changes lives.

Tell the story of WHO you helped, WHAT the situation was before and after your solution, WHERE and WHEN it happened, WHY it worked and HOW it made them feel.

If you’re writing a business presentation you should follow this with an execution plan that outlines how the solution will be implemented.

Finally, close with clear next steps, guiding your audience on what they should do after the presentation to bring meaningful change into their lives.

Our recommended story framework:

How to design your presentation?

A good presentation is more than just making it look pretty ; it's about communicating your message effectively and creating a lasting impression.

Good presentation design grabs attention, and leads it to where it’s needed most. It takes your hand and leads you through the easiest and most pleasant path to understanding.

Good presentation design supports your message rather than steals the spotlight. Good design is narrated design.

What is narrated design (Scrollytelling)?

Scrollytelling, where "scroll" meets "storytelling", is an interactive content experience that guides readers through a narrative journey with a simple scroll. It connects text, images, videos, and animations into integrated “scenes” where content is both shown and narrated.

Scrollytelling breaks complex content into digestible chunks and gives the reader control over pace. It has been scientifically shown to enhance engagement, understandability and memorability.

Scrollytelling came up as a central thing when Itai Amoza, our Founder and CEO was building the foundations for Storydoc.

He partnered with one of the world’s leading visualization scientists , prof. Steven Franconeri , to help him bring to Storydoc the means to reduce the complexity, friction, and information overload so characteristic of business presentations.

Scrollytelling is part of the solutions that came up, which led to specialized storytelling slides like our narrator slide (in the example below).

An example of Storydoc scrollytelling:

How to design presentation visuals to support your story

Presentation visuals can be unsung heroes or sloppy distractions.

Visuals can bring your message to life, make complex concepts easy to understand, and engage your audience in ways that words alone cannot. Or… they can sit there looking all pretty and distract you from what’s really going on.

4 elements of great presentation visuals:

Support your message: Your visuals should support your text, highlight your main message, and align with your objective. They should reinforce your points and help your audience understand your message.

Represent your audience: The best visuals are relatable. They should resonate with your target audience and reflect their world of associations. Use images and graphics that your audience can identify with – this can enhance their engagement and make your presentation more memorable. Equally important is using clean images - an effective way to do this is by using tools that allow you to remove your image backgrounds . By eliminating distractions and focusing on your subject, you create images that are more impactful and, therefore, can potentially increase audience engagement.

Introduce your product, outcomes, and clients: Wherever possible, use visuals to demonstrate your product, illustrate outcomes, and represent your clients. This can remove doubt and misunderstanding by letting your audience see (and make obvious) what words sometimes struggle to describe.

Follow your branding guidelines: Your presentation is an extension of your brand, so your visuals should conform to your branding guidelines. Consistent use of colors, fonts, and styles not only enhances brand recognition but also creates a cohesive, professional look.

Here’s an example of a well-designed presentation:

How to communicate complex information?

Did you ever have to read a presentation where you felt like you're lost in a maze of jargon, data, and complex concepts?

Are you giving others this same experience?

Communicating complex information is a common challenge in presentations. But there are ways you can simplify your presentation and reengage your audience.

Here’s how you can get complex information across:

1. Use interactive content

Interactive content is your best friend when it comes to simplifying complex information and getting deeply engaged with your content.

It gets the readers more involved in your presentation by letting them play an active part; like choosing the content route they wish to take and controlling the pace.

It keeps your presentation textually lean - giving readers the choice to expand more details on demand (in tabs, live graphs, sliders, accordions, and calculators).

Beyond that, live graphs can illustrate trends, animations can demonstrate processes, and videos can bring concepts to life.

Calculators, questionnaires, and chatbots provide personalized and specific answers to readers as part of your presentation, without them having to get in touch with you or your team.

Elavating your presentations from static to interactive has been tied to increasing the number of people who read your presentation in full by 41% !

Making interactive used to be hard, but now you can just use Storydoc. Go make your first interactive presentation. It’s easy as pie.

2. Show don’t tell

A picture is worth a thousand words. Because no one will read a presentation with a thousand words, do everyone a favor and use images.

Images can be super effective at communicating complex information and save you a lot of needless text.

In fact, visual representation of data and concepts can often convey what words cannot. Use diagrams, infographics, and images to illustrate your points and simplify the complex.

The goal is to create a visual narrative that complements your verbal one.

3. Narrate your content

Storytelling is another powerful tool for communicating complex concepts.

Whether it's through text to speech AI, video bubbles, or a scrollytelling narrator slide, narrating your content can help guide your audience through the complexity.

By giving your information a narrative structure, you can make it more digestible, engaging, and memorable.

According to Sales Hacker’s data, people remember up to 10% of numbers and 25% of images they see. When you center your presentation around a story, this rises to 60-70% .

4. Use examples and allegories

Examples and allegories help unravel the complexity of ideas.

They scaffold your message with concepts we already know and understand, and can easily imagine in our mind. This makes them less new and intimidating and more familiar.

Critically, the real secret lies in selecting examples that are not just familiar but also deeply relevant—those are the ones that will truly ring with your listeners.

If you tailor the allegory to your audience's world, it is guaranteed to lead to an “aha” moment.

5. Open a line of communication

Finally, invite dialogue. This could be through a chatbot or an option to book a meeting for further discussion. This not only helps clarify any confusion but also encourages engagement and deepens understanding.

For example, finishing your presentation with an interactive calendar to book a meeting instead of a generic “Thank you” slide has proven to boost conversion rate by 27% !

How to personalize your presentation?

Imagine attending a party where the host doesn't remember your name or anything about you. Not a great experience, right? The same holds true for presentations.

In a sea of generic content, personalization can be a lifeline that connects you to your audience on a deeper level. It’s also the single most important predictor of success, getting 68% more people to read your presentation in full .

But how do you add that personal touch?

1. Address reader by name

Just as you wouldn't start a conversation without a greeting, don't start your presentation without acknowledging your audience.

Using your audience's name can make your presentation feel like a personal conversation rather than a generic monologue. It's a simple yet powerful way to engage your audience from the get-go.

2. Use their company logo

Including your audience's company logo in your presentation can make them feel seen and valued. It shows that you've taken the time to tailor your presentation to them, enhancing its relevance and appeal.

Plus, it's a subtle way to reinforce that your message is specifically designed to address their needs and challenges.

3. Add a personal message (video or text)

A personal message can go a long way in building a connection with your audience.

It could be a video message from you, expressing your enthusiasm for the opportunity to present to them, or a text message highlighting why the presentation matters to them.

This personal touch can make your audience feel special and more invested in your presentation.

4. Personalize your Call-to-Action

Finally, cap off your presentation with a call to action that speaks directly to your audience.

Swap out the generic 'Contact us' with something that gets to the heart of their needs, something like, 'Let's roll up our sleeves and tackle your [specific issue] at [their company].'

By tailoring your call to action, you show your audience you've truly got their back, that you're not just here to talk, but to make a real, positive impact on their world.

Here’s an example of a personalized slide:

How to measure the effectiveness of your presentation

Imagine if you could peek into your audience's mind, understand what resonated, what fell flat, and what drove them to action?

Presentation analytics is essential in order to guide you on how to fine-tune it for maximum impact.

But how do you get your hands on presentation analytics?

Any presentation you create with Storydoc comes with an out-of-the-box analytics suite , ready to track and provide insights.

We give you 100% visibility into how people engage with your presentations and send you real-time engagement alerts.

Here’s a video explaining how you can track performance with our analytics panel:

4 critical presentation engagement metrics to keep track of

1. Reading time

Storydoc gives you the precise time prospects spend reading your presentation so you can quickly figure out what's hitting the target and what's not.

Are they soaking up every word or just quickly skimming through? This can help you shape your content to hit the bullseye.

NOTE: Keep in mind that reading time alone might not show you a full picture. A better way is to use a smart engagement score that brings together different metrics like time spent and depth of reading. You can get this kind of total score in Storydoc.

2. Reading completion

Another basic metric we track is how many people read your content from start to finish.

This metric is a strong sign of the prospect’s interest and your content quality. It shows you if they're finding the information relevant, but also worth sticking with till the end.

3. Next step conversion rate

This one tracks how many people take the next step after they check out your presentation. This could be filling out a form, setting up a meeting, or downloading more files.

For business presentations, measuring this can show how well your presentation is pushing people further down the sales funnel.

At the top of your analytics dashboard, you can find a tab that shows you how many people clicked on your CTA divided by presentation, date, and location. If you scroll down to the list of readers, next to each person you can also see whether they clicked on the CTA or not.

Here's what it looks like:

4. Number of shares

This metric is particularly important for B2B sales teams . As more people are getting involved in buying decisions, this measure helps you see if and when your content is being passed around inside your prospect’s company.

On the analytics dashboard, under each presentation version, you can find detailed information on how many people read it. So, the higher the number, the more your presentation has been shared internally.

We'll notify you when your presentation has been shared, and who opened it, so you can time your follow-up perfectly to your buyer’s readiness to advance further.

Here's where you can find this information:

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How to make a great presentation

Stressed about an upcoming presentation? These talks are full of helpful tips on how to get up in front of an audience and make a lasting impression.

The secret structure of great talks

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How to present a project and impress your audience: Top 6 tips

Get your team on prezi – watch this on demand video.

Michael Lee July 03, 2019

Picture this: You’ve psyched yourself up before your big presentation, mentally going through your notes to go out there and impress your audience with your killer project, when doubt creeps in. What if you mess up? What if you put the audience to sleep? Should you have spent more time practicing? Whether you’re presenting a presentation to hundreds of people at a conference or to a small group of individuals, many presenters wonder how to present their important projects, and they feel nervous before going in front of an audience.

Don’t worry about how to present a presentation any longer. However high or low the stakes are for delivering your next project presentation, these six tips will build your confidence, guide you on how to present well, and equip you to engage your audience.

1. Establish your credibility

Your material won’t carry much weight and you won’t impress your audience if you can’t convince them that you know your stuff. You may know that you’re qualified and experienced, but your audience may not. And even if you do have some credibility already, you still need to maintain it throughout your presentation.

Establishing your credibility starts the second you enter the room. So, you should make sure that you do the following:

• Dress appropriately for the audience and the situation so that your wardrobe doesn’t distract from you or your presentation.
• Convey confidence in your body language by standing up straight, looking your audience in the eye, and avoiding tics like wringing your hands or clicking your pen.
• Early in your presentation, establish your credibility by explaining what qualifies you in presenting your project and participating in this discussion.
• Polish every aspect of your presentation beforehand, from sourcing high-quality visuals to practicing how to present your verbal delivery. 

By taking the time to prepare and communicate your qualifications, you will be able to demonstrate credibility and appear trustworthy in front of your audience.

2. Make the most of space

How to give a captivating presentation? Fight the urge to stand still. Moving around a stage, classroom, or conference room will make you appear more in control of the situation and more confident in your presentation. Also, it will keep your audience engaged by making your presentation more dynamic. At the same time, this doesn’t mean that you should pace incessantly — too much movement can be distracting. You can practice in front of a mirror to see how much movement will be enough for a good presentation flow without overdoing it.

Remember, your body language also tells a story even if you are not talking. If you want to appear more confident on stage, discover 9 secrets of confident body language .

3. Don’t be afraid of silence

It’s tempting to fill any gaps of silence by speaking constantly, but doing this means you aren’t giving your audience enough time to internalize what you’re presenting. Talking too much and too quickly can also betray your nervousness. Allowing for some silence, on the other hand, will help your audience absorb and retain more information. Also, taking pauses will help you organize your thoughts and calm yourself down if you are feeling anxious.

While it may take some trial and error to properly gauge how much silence is too much, you should always include some quiet moments in your presentation. Pause after presenting a big problem or your unique solution. Let the weight of that significance rest on your audience. Allow some of your presentation visuals to speak for themselves when you show a meaningful image or important graph. With practice, silence can become an important ally in impressing your audience. Not only you will appear more confident on stage but you will also feel more collected when presenting.

4. Don’t dwell on mistakes

Mistakes happen. Laptops freeze, equipment fails, or you might forget that line that you practiced thirty times in front of the mirror. Your audience, however, is less likely to judge you based on your mistakes and more likely to evaluate how you recover. If you stumble over your words or your presentation glitches, don’t dwell on them . And remember, the audience is on your side. Whenever a technical glitch occurs, simply address the situation with a positive or humorous line to relieve the tension in the room.

What you want to do in any scenario is push through and continue. This also means that you shouldn’t rely on your technology so heavily that everything falls apart when something doesn’t work as you hoped it would. If you want to feel even more prepared, you can even practice how to react in different situations. Think about a few phrases you can say or what you can do in case your slides are not showing. The more prepared you will be, the more relaxed you will feel during the presentation.

5. Own the visual element

Visual elements can often make or break a presentation. They either make your project findings stand out or fade into the background. Present a presentation using an interactive presentation tool like Prezi. It can make your abstract ideas concrete by synthesizing and displaying images, ideas, data, and more. But whenever you bring any visual element into a presentation, remember this: Presentation content should be supplemental to your spoken material, not the main act. You shouldn’t be standing with your back facing half the audience, reading your presentation verbatim and hoping your audience doesn’t fall asleep. 

To help you use visuals to enhance your presentation and message, you’ll want to make the most of all Prezi has to offer. Convert your original PowerPoint slides into a dynamic Prezi presentation that gives you personalized control over how you present. Use Prezi’s conversational presenting format to allow your audience to guide the presentation and jump straight to only the most relevant topics. Apply consistent styles, fonts, and colors to give your presentation a sense of cohesion. Use only high-quality images . A poorly designed and messy visual design will damage your credibility and distract you from your message.

6. Hook your audience quickly

You won’t be able to impress your audience if they’re drifting off to sleep halfway through your presentation. You need to engage your audience from the start and maintain that attention throughout your project presentation. Think of the beginning of your presentation as the first page of a book. After that first line or that first paragraph, would your audience keep reading? Hook your audience by presenting the problem your discussion will attempt to solve or by sharing a personal anecdote. You can also start with a shocking statistic or a rhetorical question. Tie your discussion to current events or to other important issues surrounding your broader conversation.

Once you’ve hooked your audience, maintain their attention by engaging in a dialogue with them . If it’s appropriate for the situation, ask questions and get your audience to interact with you. Give them a prompt that they can discuss with those around them. Leave time for questions. If you can make your audience feel like they are part of your presentation, you’ll better maintain their engagement and your message is more likely to stick.

Don’t let stress about how to present a presentation keep you from impressing your audience. Combine these tips with a high-quality Prezi presentation and you’ll engage people, drive your message home, and be more confident the next time you’re asked to present.

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How To Deliver a Project Presentation Like a Pro

Gary Froniewski

Use this guide to wow your audience with a project presentation that’s both engaging and effective..

Planning a project from beginning to end is already a huge endeavor, but what about presenting it to stakeholders or clients to get their support?

You have to be informative and engaging all while delivering your presentation as concisely as possible—that, or you risk losing the attention of your audience (and potentially their buy-in).

To that end, it’s imperative to cover the most valuable aspects of your project plan and do so in a way that resonates with your specific audience. Below we’ll share what an effective project presentation entails and outline a step-by-step process to delivering a creative, show stopping one of your own.

/ What is a project presentation?

A project presentation is a presentation designed to convey the details of a new project to stakeholders or clients. This includes information such as the goals of the project, the overall project plan, and the specific phases of the project. Effective project presentations are meant to be persuasive, informative, and engaging.

Steps for delivering a project presentation

Delivering a successful project presentation can be intimidating, but—with some preparation—it doesn’t have to be. Breaking the presentation down into its component parts to map out details and rehearse ahead of time will leave you feeling confident and ready when it’s time to step up to the podium.

Step #1: Set SMART goals

Setting SMART goals means setting goals that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound. In the context of project management, SMART goals will help you go beyond merely stating your final objective and instead outline how you’ll get there.

For example, let’s say the aim of your project is to increase customer retention. That’s a worthy goal, but what actions will you take to achieve it? By how much do you want to increase retention? On what channels will this take place and over what timeframe?

Here’s how SMART goal setting can help answer some of these questions.

While increasing your customer retention is a worthy goal in and of itself, a SMART version of that goal would include more detail e.g., “Increasing customer retention through improvements to our website’s user experience.”

Making your goal measurable ensures you have key performance indicators (KPIs) that you’re tracking towards. This allows you to map all your actions back to increasing those KPIs which, if selected properly, will feed back into your now-specific goal.

Examples include:

Increasing website traffic by 30%

Achieving a 25% bounce rate

Attracting 500 email signups from home page calls to action

Making sure your goals are attainable is an important aspect of SMART goal setting as it ensures you’re working towards something you can actually achieve. This helps you better track progress along the way and avoids wasting time and effort on unrealistic objectives.

For instance, it’s much more attainable to say you will grow your website’s traffic 30% through user experience improvements than it is to say your website will become number one in your vertical or industry.

The first goal is a metric to track towards whereas the second goal is a pie in the sky ideal that may be possible but isn’t the most useful for goal setting.

Do your project goals ladder up to your organizational goals? This question is especially important if you’re seeking buy-in from internal stakeholders. You need to be able to demonstrate that what you’re doing will contribute to their interests and, more importantly, the business’ at large.

Revisiting our example, a time-bound goal would be to “increase website traffic by 30% year over year through user experience improvements, targeting a 3% uptick in traffic each month.”

This is a good SMART goal because it states what you’re trying to accomplish, how you’re going to do it, over what time frame, and it also builds in a micro goal to shoot for over the course of the overall project. This micro goal—if you notice—is also slightly more aggressive than simply dividing your yearly target by the number of months.

Give priority to important individual tasks within your project plan to be even more specific in your goal setting. This will give folks working on the project milestones to work towards and help them prioritize effectively.

Step #2: Lay out your project plan

Now that you’ve set SMART goals, the next step in presenting your project is to determine how you’ll lay out your project plan. This plan will take the form of the three main sections of your presentation:

Introduction and thesis statement

Conclusion and key takeaways

This will allow you to clearly communicate the overall goal of the project in the beginning, preferably with a hook that captivates your audience. Following this with a snapshot of your main points will let your audience move into the body of your presentation interested in what you have to say and aware of the key takeaways right from the beginning.

You’ll follow this with the bulk of the presentation dedicated to details e.g., micro goals, the project scope and methodology, milestones, deliverables, the schedule, and things like necessary resources and budget estimates.

Your conclusion will restate your main goal and also reoffer the key takeaways that encapsulate the most important and compelling parts of your presentation. If the goal is to earn stakeholder buy-in or approval from a client, this final step is crucial. You want your audience to leave with the sense they know exactly what you’re trying to do and what it will accomplish for them.

Utilize visual aids like charts, infographics, and even gifs throughout your presentation to support the key points and keep your audience engaged. Visuals are also a great way to add clarity and reinforce what you say verbally.

Step #3: Introduce cross-team dependencies

In a complex project, things often need to happen in a certain order to pave the way for subsequent tasks. One way to help determine the most optimal order is to map out your project’s critical dependencies. While there are various types of dependencies, we’ll focus on cross-team dependencies here.

A cross-team dependency is the relationship between work created by different functions that determines the order work tasks must be performed i.e., tasks that need to be completed for other tasks to become possible. Examples include developing and creating assets before they can be posted to social media channels or writing web copy prior to a site being published.

The reason this is important to be aware of from the outset is that it helps stakeholders better understand the project timeline, allows contributors to appropriately prioritize tasks, and establishes a dialogue between key players of the project before it gets started in earnest.

Ladder these cross-team dependent tasks back up to the SMART goals you set and align them within your project plan as well. This lets people know how their role, team, and department will work together to contribute to the success of the overall project.

Step #4: Review project phases

Having laid out your project plan and determined critical team dependencies, you can now review the phases of your project and map out how you’ll cover them in your presentation.

These phases include the following:

Initiating: The bulk of your work so far has been in the project initiation phase, including determining SMART goals and identifying dependencies. This also refers to details like project scope and clarifying budget and time constraints.

Planning: The planning phase covers the “how” of your project. As part of your presentation it’s important to outline project milestones, a proposed project timeline, and when and how stakeholders will communicate during the project.

Executing: This phase covers how your project will be executed e.g., ongoing costs, incorporating feedback, and communicating with team members. This is where tools like a Gantt chart come in handy (which we’ll cover shortly).

Closing: This is when you’ll track and report results then conduct an after-action assessment to see how your project performed against your goals. This phase will likely receive the least amount of time during your presentation.

It’s not necessary to cover each of these phases explicitly as part of your presentation, but it is important to discuss the elements that will help clarify details, answer questions, and relay information that’s relevant to your audience.

Focus on the Initiating and Planning phases of your project during the presentation. Also be prepared to answer questions around the Executing phase, which we’ll cover below.

Step #5: Leave time for Q&A

Lastly, make sure to leave time for questions from your audience at the end of your presentation. You’ll have covered a lot of key details, and—while the way you’ve laid out the presentation ensures you shared everything relevant (right?)—there will likely still be clarifying questions.

Try to anticipate these questions and have answers prepared or at least be ready to address them with next steps you’ll take to determine the answers. If you’ve done a good job, people will be excited to engage with you on these details.

Make a bulleted list of potential questions and answers which you can break up by phase of the project or by stakeholder/team. Have these ready during your presentation and make sure to note new questions that arise for follow-up.

Creative ways to present a project

Just as important as the content of your presentation—perhaps even more so—is the way you present it. Here are some of the more creative and effective ways to visualize your project presentation.

Gantt chart

A Gantt chart is a type of bar chart that helps visualize a project schedule, including elements like dependencies, the current status of the schedule, and how task timelines overlap with one another. Activities are listed in a column on the left side of the chart and along the top of the chart is a suitable time frame for completion [ 1 ] .

While this is perhaps the most recognized way to display a project timeline, you may or may not have all the elements ready by the time your presentation is set to occur. If you do, however, this is an informative and visually appealing way to relay your project plan.

An example of a Gantt chart from Instagantt ( Source )

A simple and elegant approach to slide deck creation is using Guy Kawasaki’s 10/20/30 approach i.e., 10 slides over 20 minutes with a font that’s at least 30 points [ 2 ] . This method ensures you’re not overloading your audience with information while presenting it in a way that’s easy to view and understand. Make sure to leverage visuals to support your text as well.

Presentation software

Lastly, presentation software is an excellent option to consider especially if your presentation will be delivered remotely. Many solutions include tools to pin the presenter’s camera, present content of any type, or highlight and draw attention to on-screen elements in real time.

Many presentation tools also feature practice modes which allow you to rehearse your presentation ahead of time, recording and timing the result for review. This is especially important if you’re speaking in front of a large group or have a lot of information to cover in a short amount of time. 

An example of presentation software from Reactiv SUITE ( Source )

Capterra tools & tips: Putting it all together to deliver a stellar project presentation

Following these five steps and choosing an engaging presentation method that works for you will nearly guarantee that your project presentation is well received by your stakeholders or clients. Armed with the actionable tips at the end of each step to get you started, you’re now poised to create and deliver a project presentation that’s sure to earn you the buy-in you need.

Interested to learn more about how to project manage like a pro? Visit the Capterra blog regularly for new content or get started here:

What Is Agile Project Management? An Expert Guide

Top 7 Project Management Tools To Unlock Time and Efficiency in 2022

How To Build and Implement a Project Transparency Plan in 4 Simple Steps

Note: The screenshots of applications included in this article are examples to show a feature in context and are not intended as endorsements or recommendations.

What is a Gantt Chart? , Gantt

The 10/20/30 Rule of PowerPoint , Guy Kawasaki

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About the author.

Gary Froniewski is a Content Writer at Capterra, covering all things digital marketing, with a focus on emerging trends in experiential marketing. A recipient of multiple AMD Spotlight Awards for flagship product launch campaigns, he has a wealth of experience creating compelling copy to support Fortune 500 companies and small businesses alike. In his spare time he loves to enjoy food experiences, play tennis and disc golf, and explore nature in his home base of Austin, TX.

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Project Presentations: How to Prepare and Deliver a Project Presentation

Can anything make a project manager’s heart sink faster than being told that they need to give a project presentation to the board of directors? The pressure. The responsibility. Sure, you’re happy that the directors of the company trust you enough that they want your input in the project, but having to present in front of these powerful players is making your stress levels spike.

If you haven’t come across these presentation requests from senior managers yet, you will! These scenarios are common on projects, especially projects that introduce a new product or involve organizational change. But don’t feel overwhelmed. Giving project presentations may feel scary, but you can plan and prepare for them just like any other meeting.

What Is a Project Presentation?

A project presentation is an opportunity for you to explain your project processes and deliverables to key stakeholders. These can be informal, like a quick update via reports with a few individuals, or formal. Formal project presentations often require proper meeting times, thought-out slide decks, goal review and more. We’ll spend most of our time discussing how to prepare and deliver a formal project presentation.

A formal project presentation requires good data. Project management software can provide you with the dashboards and reports you need to supplement your points and progress updates. ProjectManager has real-time dashboards that you can share with stakeholders, and eight different in-depth project reports that you can make with just a few clicks. Get started for free today!

Why Is a Project Presentation So Important?

A project presentation is your opportunity to convey the importance of the work you and your team have been doing. If you’re unable to articulate your progress and achievements, key stakeholders won’t understand why money, time and resources are being spent on your project.

When you think of it like that, it’s no wonder why people spend so much time preparing for their project presentations. Read on to see how you can knock your next presentation out of the park.

How to Prepare for a Project Presentation

Preparing for a project presentation can be more important than you actual delivery. That’s because good preparation can set you up for success on the big day. Let’s go through some preparation techniques you can do for your project presentation.

1. Create a Calendar Invite for Your Project Presentation

You can’t just expect people to turn up – they need to know that there is an important event that requires their attendance, so get it in their diaries. People plan their meetings and calendar appointments sometimes quite far in advance, giving ample warning. Schedule the presentation as soon as you can, and check with the individuals (or their assistants) if you don’t get a reply about their availability.

If you have been invited to someone else’s meeting to talk about your project, make sure it is in your planner and book some time to plan for it in advance. If you don’t, you risk running out of time to prepare your material.

2. Select a Format for Your Presentation

How are you going to get your message across? If you’ve scheduled a meeting it’s likely that you are expecting to do a formal presentation. That’s fine, but how? Will you use slides or flip charts or mirror your iPad on a monitor? Do you expect the audience to participate in any part of the presentation? Can you speak without notes or would it be better to have some pointers with you on the day?

You should also consider where you will be giving the presentation. For example, a format that is suitable for a small room and a limited audience, such as a loosely-structured project update with a couple of slides, is not going to be appropriate for a room full of stakeholders, laid out like a lecture theatre with you at a lectern at the front.

3. Practice Your Project Management Presentation

Giving presentations is a skill. Practice, practice, practice. Before your big project presentation, volunteer to do some smaller ones, like staff briefings or shorter updates at team meetings. You want to feel comfortable both standing up in front of the room and with the material. Run through your presentation at home or in an empty meeting room so that you remember where the slide transitions are. Practice using the projector and a clicker to move the slides forward. Write out your flip charts several times so that it becomes second nature.

Practice and training will make your delivery much more polished and professional and give your audience a far better experience.

4. Write Big So Your Presentation Is Legible

Whether you are using slides or flip charts, write big or use big fonts. It is often difficult to see what is on the screen, even in a small room – and that means your message is not getting across. And it’s an excuse for audience members to check their phones instead of listening to you.

A good tip is to print out your slides and put them on the floor. If you can still read them clearly from a standing position, then the text is big enough. If you can’t read the words or you have to bend down to read them, make the font size larger!

5. Have a Backup Plan for Your Presentation

Projectors break, meeting rooms don’t have conference phones in, pens run out just at the critical moment. Plan for everything to go wrong. Your presentation audience is made up of busy people and they don’t want to sit there watching you fiddle with the technology. Get it all working before they arrive, and if it doesn’t work when you get going, make sure that you have a contingency plan (like a printout of your slides) so that you can carry on anyway.

How to Give a Project Presentation

When the fateful day arrives, there are some important things to keep in mind when giving your project presentation. Follow these best practices and you’ll portray your project and your team in the best possible light.

1. Speak Clearly and Don’t Rely on Jargon

Presentations depend on clarity and good communication . If you bog down your presentation with jargon and convulated reasoning, you’re going to lose your audience. Make sure that you use language that your audience will understand, so they can follow along with all of the key points you need to make.

Remember, not everyone in that meeting is going to understand all the intricasies of your project, in fact, none of them likely will. So speak slowly, clearly and ensure that you communicate.

2. Stick to What Matters and Use Data

When giving your project presentation, don’t lose sight of the original goals and requirements of the project. Your stakeholders agreed on certain goals at the beginning, how are you trending towards reaching those goals? Sometimes it’s easy to focus on setbacks or difficulties, or things that you may find fascinating. However, it’s best to recenter on critical business objectives.

It’s important to use data to supplement your project presentation as you address key goals and initiatives. But don’t use too much data! People will get lost in the numbers and stop listening to what you have to say. It’s a delicate balance.

3. Tell a Story

You have probably sat through a fair few presentations in your time, and I expect you’ve tried to stop yourself from nodding off in some of them. Project status updates can be boring. If the subject matter isn’t dull, often the speaker is. Don’t let that be you.

One way to keep the attention of the audience is to structure your presentation in the most interesting fashion. Consider what they will find interesting (and it won’t be the same as what you find interesting). Telling the story of your project is a good idea. Think about a start, a middle and an end to your presentation. Perhaps follow the lifecycle from the perspective of a customer.

Focus on the benefits and not the project management process. If you don’t know if your presentation material makes sense, run it past a friend or family member who doesn’t know anything about your project. If they don’t fall asleep, it’s OK!

4. Ask for Feedback on Your Presentation

When your presentation is over, ask for feedback. You could do this directly at the end of the session before people leave the room, or a couple of days later. It’s good to get some feedback as it helps you work on what to improve for next time.

Ask people to give you their impressions both of your presentation skills and also of the presentation content. You could find that the content was really good but you lacked confidence delivering it, or conversely that you were an engaging presenter but the material was not relevant to them. All this is useful stuff to know and it will help you improve your presentation skills for next time.

Project Management Presentations Take Time to Master

Giving presentations isn’t an everyday occurrence on projects but it is likely that you will have to give one or two during the project lifecycle – more if your project involves a lot of workshops or user sessions.

Don’t panic – presentation skills are something that you can learn and you will get better with practice! Once you have cracked it, you’ll feel confident delivering presentations and you’ll find that it gets easier to prepare for them in the future.

The scheduling features of our software can be used to book your presentations on the team calendar, which can be easily seen on the project dashboard. With it you have the ability to share agendas and slides after the presentation with the online document library. Then you can carry on the discussion after the meeting by using the great chat tool. Try the software from ProjectManager free for 30 days and see how helpful it really is.

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How to Give a Stunning Project Presentation

April 3, 2019 by Bernie Roseke, P.Eng., PMP 2 Comments

Many projects require a presentation, whether at the beginning, end, or somewhere in the middle.  Sometimes it is given to the managers or executives, sometimes to the project team , and sometimes to stakeholders who have a specific interest in the project.

Project presentations can be very nerve racking and difficult for many people, but that doesn’t mean they have to be difficult.  With practice and some basic guiding principles, you can give a stunning project presentation that will knock their socks off.  I’ve given many project presentations, and I’m going to share my secrets with you.

Present the Problem and Solution

• Repeat the main point 3 times
• Include an analogy or story
• Keep slides short
• Include pictures and Diagrams
• Connect with the audience

Many audience members assume that you know what you’re talking about, and most of the time you do.  But somehow, if the presenter doesn’t include the topic of the presentation directly, the audience doesn’t want to decide what it is for themselves.

It’s similar to a sales pitch in that it’s the presenter’s job to keep the audience engaged.  If you wish to maximize the communication of the message, you need to state it directly.

Include an Analogy or Story

• An analogy is a comparison to a similar real life thing, for example, This product works like a rocket ship taking off to the moon.  It takes a bit of preparation time which might seem a bit daunting at times only to have a very quick experience that over relatively quickly, but the experience is worth every second in the end.  I’ve become a true believer in the immense power of analogy.  Analogies engage audiences in milliseconds and give them something to remember the presentation by.  I’ve incorporated analogies in my writing at every opportunity, and the results have been truly amazing.  Many project presentations come in groups, that is, they are one out of many.  In this case, the presentation with an analogy is the one that will be remembered by the audience.
• A story is an experience that relates to the topic being presented, for example, Last year I had the privilege of working with sick kids at the hospital.  These kids needed life saving medical care, and the doctors were fantastic.  It made me realize that this product really has the potential to impact people, and maybe even save lives.  A story is a personal experience, either yours or somebody else’s.  They work just like an analogy by engaging the audience and giving them something to remember the project by.  But they have the potential to drag on when the audience starts to feel like it’s not about them.  The key to pulling off a successful story is to keep it short and relevant.  If the audience can’t connect it to the project, they will lose interest.

Ideas for analogies are surprisingly easy to find with internet searches.  Personal story ideas require brainstorming and thinking about the relationship between the topic and real world experiences.

Repeat the Main Point 3 Times

• Tell them what you’re going to say
• Tell them what you just said

In most presentations, this takes the form of an introduction, main body, and conclusion.  But all three parts need to spell out the main point in a prominent place, clearly and succinctly.  You want to make sure the audience doesn’t need to think, that people can be daydreaming about what they’re going to be doing that evening but they’ll perk up and get hit with a short but prominent main conclusion that they won’t forget.

In most presentations, audiences are not in a position where they want to exercise their thought muscles.  Similar to a sales presentation, they don’t want to think for themselves, they figure it’s the presenters job to tell them what to think.  Hence, they forget what they are told very quickly.

Speaking of which, did you notice the analogy?  I’ll bet that if you remember nothing else from this article, you’ll remember that the audience doesn’t want to exercise their thought muscles.

Keep Slides Short

Many presentations contain long winded verbiage that requires long form reading while the presenter is talking.  I see this time and time again in presentations that I attend, and I’ve even done this myself when it seemed like there was no other way to get the point across.  But in hindsight this is a waste of good presentation time.  Nobody is going to read long paragraphs.  In fact, nobody is going to read long sentences either.

The idea is simple.  When writing presentation slides, keep bullet points under two lines of text.  Any more and it should be said verbally or placed into the next bullet.

Include Pictures and Diagrams

This idea is self explanatory.  Make sure no more than about half of the presentation slides contain only written words.

Connect with the Audience

The previous 5 bullets contained advice for good presentation slides and planning, but what are some ideas to deliver the presentation in a stunning way?

There are a few secrets, but the key to all of them is connecting with the audience.

Remember first that the audience wants to hear your presentation.  They wouldn’t be there if they didn’t.  However, most people don’t have the attention span to stay engaged for an entire presentation unless they have a very high interest in the subject matter.  They will move in and out of attention, remembering only the most interesting (not necessarily important) parts.

Here are a few pointers:

• Use Outline notes Don’t read from a script.  Although it is permissible to read for some of the time, extensive reading from a written script disconnects from the audience and loses the message because people stop listening.
• Talk to one person I’ve found it helpful to pick one person in the audience and deliver the presentation to them.  Don’t look only at them, of course, but let it sink in that you are not so much talking to a larger audience as you are giving many presentations to individual people, simultaneously.
• Don’t let down the most interested person in the audience Here’s another tip I’ve used in my presentations as well as my musical performances.  There’s guaranteed to be at least one person in the audience who loves what you’re saying and wants to learn all about it.  So wouldn’t it be a huge disappointment if you let them down?  Let all your presentation anxiety submit to the desire to make sure that that one person who really wants to know your information isn’t disappointed.  I mean, why are you even talking to everyone else, that doesn’t care, anyway?

Those are my secrets for stunning presentations!  Let me know how it goes and what other tips you have in the comments section below.  I’d love to hear from you!

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About Bernie Roseke, P.Eng., PMP

Bernie Roseke, P.Eng., PMP, is the president of Roseke Engineering . As a bridge engineer and project manager, he manages projects ranging from small, local bridges to multi-million dollar projects. He is also the technical brains behind ProjectEngineer , the online project management system for engineers. He is a licensed professional engineer, certified project manager, and six sigma black belt. He lives in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, with his wife and two kids.

Awesome post! I instantly shared this with my presentation writing service and they found your content quite in-depth and informative. Do share some similar knowledgeable content in the near future. Cheers!

Brilliant and effective tips! Your tips are very effective and I am going to make use of every tip spelled out here. Thanks for the knowledge and I pray that you share more of such with the public.

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How to Structure your Presentation, with Examples

August 3, 2018 - Dom Barnard

For many people the thought of delivering a presentation is a daunting task and brings about a  great deal of nerves . However, if you take some time to understand how effective presentations are structured and then apply this structure to your own presentation, you’ll appear much more confident and relaxed.

Here is our complete guide for structuring your presentation, with examples at the end of the article to demonstrate these points.

Why is structuring a presentation so important?

If you’ve ever sat through a great presentation, you’ll have left feeling either inspired or informed on a given topic. This isn’t because the speaker was the most knowledgeable or motivating person in the world. Instead, it’s because they know how to structure presentations – they have crafted their message in a logical and simple way that has allowed the audience can keep up with them and take away key messages.

Research has supported this, with studies showing that audiences retain structured information  40% more accurately  than unstructured information.

In fact, not only is structuring a presentation important for the benefit of the audience’s understanding, it’s also important for you as the speaker. A good structure helps you remain calm, stay on topic, and avoid any awkward silences.

What will affect your presentation structure?

Generally speaking, there is a natural flow that any decent presentation will follow which we will go into shortly. However, you should be aware that all presentation structures will be different in their own unique way and this will be due to a number of factors, including:

• Whether you need to deliver any demonstrations
• How  knowledgeable the audience  already is on the given subject
• How much interaction you want from the audience
• Any time constraints there are for your talk
• What setting you are in
• Your ability to use any kinds of visual assistance

Before choosing the presentation’s structure answer these questions first:

• What is your presentation’s aim?
• Who are the audience?
• What are the main points your audience should remember afterwards?

When reading the points below, think critically about what things may cause your presentation structure to be slightly different. You can add in certain elements and add more focus to certain moments if that works better for your speech.

What is the typical presentation structure?

This is the usual flow of a presentation, which covers all the vital sections and is a good starting point for yours. It allows your audience to easily follow along and sets out a solid structure you can add your content to.

1. Greet the audience and introduce yourself

Before you start delivering your talk, introduce yourself to the audience and clarify who you are and your relevant expertise. This does not need to be long or incredibly detailed, but will help build an immediate relationship between you and the audience. It gives you the chance to briefly clarify your expertise and why you are worth listening to. This will help establish your ethos so the audience will trust you more and think you’re credible.

Read our tips on  How to Start a Presentation Effectively

2. Introduction

In the introduction you need to explain the subject and purpose of your presentation whilst gaining the audience’s interest and confidence. It’s sometimes helpful to think of your introduction as funnel-shaped to help filter down your topic:

• Introduce your general topic
• Explain your topic area
• State the issues/challenges in this area you will be exploring
• State your presentation’s purpose – this is the basis of your presentation so ensure that you provide a statement explaining how the topic will be treated, for example, “I will argue that…” or maybe you will “compare”, “analyse”, “evaluate”, “describe” etc.
• Provide a statement of what you’re hoping the outcome of the presentation will be, for example, “I’m hoping this will be provide you with…”
• Show a preview of the organisation of your presentation

In this section also explain:

• The length of the talk.
• Signal whether you want audience interaction – some presenters prefer the audience to ask questions throughout whereas others allocate a specific section for this.
• If it applies, inform the audience whether to take notes or whether you will be providing handouts.

The way you structure your introduction can depend on the amount of time you have been given to present: a  sales pitch  may consist of a quick presentation so you may begin with your conclusion and then provide the evidence. Conversely, a speaker presenting their idea for change in the world would be better suited to start with the evidence and then conclude what this means for the audience.

Keep in mind that the main aim of the introduction is to grab the audience’s attention and connect with them.

3. The main body of your talk

The main body of your talk needs to meet the promises you made in the introduction. Depending on the nature of your presentation, clearly segment the different topics you will be discussing, and then work your way through them one at a time – it’s important for everything to be organised logically for the audience to fully understand. There are many different ways to organise your main points, such as, by priority, theme, chronologically etc.

• Main points should be addressed one by one with supporting evidence and examples.
• Before moving on to the next point you should provide a mini-summary.
• Links should be clearly stated between ideas and you must make it clear when you’re moving onto the next point.
• Allow time for people to take relevant notes and stick to the topics you have prepared beforehand rather than straying too far off topic.

When planning your presentation write a list of main points you want to make and ask yourself “What I am telling the audience? What should they understand from this?” refining your answers this way will help you produce clear messages.

4. Conclusion

In presentations the conclusion is frequently underdeveloped and lacks purpose which is a shame as it’s the best place to reinforce your messages. Typically, your presentation has a specific goal – that could be to convert a number of the audience members into customers, lead to a certain number of enquiries to make people knowledgeable on specific key points, or to motivate them towards a shared goal.

Regardless of what that goal is, be sure to summarise your main points and their implications. This clarifies the overall purpose of your talk and reinforces your reason for being there.

Follow these steps:

• Signal that it’s nearly the end of your presentation, for example, “As we wrap up/as we wind down the talk…”
• Restate the topic and purpose of your presentation – “In this speech I wanted to compare…”
• Summarise the main points, including their implications and conclusions
• Indicate what is next/a call to action/a thought-provoking takeaway
• Move on to the last section

5. Thank the audience and invite questions

Conclude your talk by thanking the audience for their time and invite them to  ask any questions  they may have. As mentioned earlier, personal circumstances will affect the structure of your presentation.

Many presenters prefer to make the Q&A session the key part of their talk and try to speed through the main body of the presentation. This is totally fine, but it is still best to focus on delivering some sort of initial presentation to set the tone and topics for discussion in the Q&A.

Other common presentation structures

The above was a description of a basic presentation, here are some more specific presentation layouts:

Demonstration

Use the demonstration structure when you have something useful to show. This is usually used when you want to show how a product works. Steve Jobs frequently used this technique in his presentations.

• Explain why the product is valuable.
• Describe why the product is necessary.
• Explain what problems it can solve for the audience.
• Demonstrate the product  to support what you’ve been saying.
• Make suggestions of other things it can do to make the audience curious.

Problem-solution

This structure is particularly useful in persuading the audience.

• Briefly frame the issue.
• Go into the issue in detail showing why it ‘s such a problem. Use logos and pathos for this – the logical and emotional appeals.
• Provide the solution and explain why this would also help the audience.
• Call to action – something you want the audience to do which is straightforward and pertinent to the solution.

Storytelling

As well as incorporating  stories in your presentation , you can organise your whole presentation as a story. There are lots of different type of story structures you can use – a popular choice is the monomyth – the hero’s journey. In a monomyth, a hero goes on a difficult journey or takes on a challenge – they move from the familiar into the unknown. After facing obstacles and ultimately succeeding the hero returns home, transformed and with newfound wisdom.

Storytelling for Business Success  webinar , where well-know storyteller Javier Bernad shares strategies for crafting compelling narratives.

Another popular choice for using a story to structure your presentation is in media ras (in the middle of thing). In this type of story you launch right into the action by providing a snippet/teaser of what’s happening and then you start explaining the events that led to that event. This is engaging because you’re starting your story at the most exciting part which will make the audience curious – they’ll want to know how you got there.

• Great storytelling: Examples from Alibaba Founder, Jack Ma

Remaining method

The remaining method structure is good for situations where you’re presenting your perspective on a controversial topic which has split people’s opinions.

• Go into the issue in detail showing why it’s such a problem – use logos and pathos.
• Rebut your opponents’ solutions  – explain why their solutions could be useful because the audience will see this as fair and will therefore think you’re trustworthy, and then explain why you think these solutions are not valid.
• After you’ve presented all the alternatives provide your solution, the remaining solution. This is very persuasive because it looks like the winning idea, especially with the audience believing that you’re fair and trustworthy.

Transitions

When delivering presentations it’s important for your words and ideas to flow so your audience can understand how everything links together and why it’s all relevant. This can be done  using speech transitions  which are words and phrases that allow you to smoothly move from one point to another so that your speech flows and your presentation is unified.

Transitions can be one word, a phrase or a full sentence – there are many different forms, here are some examples:

Moving from the introduction to the first point

Signify to the audience that you will now begin discussing the first main point:

• Now that you’re aware of the overview, let’s begin with…
• First, let’s begin with…
• I will first cover…
• My first point covers…
• To get started, let’s look at…

Shifting between similar points

Move from one point to a similar one:

• In the same way…
• Likewise…
• Equally…
• This is similar to…
• Similarly…

Internal summaries

Internal summarising consists of summarising before moving on to the next point. You must inform the audience:

• What part of the presentation you covered – “In the first part of this speech we’ve covered…”
• What the key points were – “Precisely how…”
• How this links in with the overall presentation – “So that’s the context…”
• What you’re moving on to – “Now I’d like to move on to the second part of presentation which looks at…”

Physical movement

You can move your body and your standing location when you transition to another point. The audience find it easier to follow your presentation and movement will increase their interest.

A common technique for incorporating movement into your presentation is to:

• Start your introduction by standing in the centre of the stage.
• For your first point you stand on the left side of the stage.
• You discuss your second point from the centre again.
• You stand on the right side of the stage for your third point.
• The conclusion occurs in the centre.

Key slides for your presentation

Slides are a useful tool for most presentations: they can greatly assist in the delivery of your message and help the audience follow along with what you are saying. Key slides include:

• An intro slide outlining your ideas
• A  summary slide  with core points to remember
• High quality image slides to supplement what you are saying

There are some presenters who choose not to use slides at all, though this is more of a rarity. Slides can be a powerful tool if used properly, but the problem is that many fail to do just that. Here are some golden rules to follow when using slides in a presentation:

• Don’t over fill them  – your slides are there to assist your speech, rather than be the focal point. They should have as little information as possible, to avoid distracting people from your talk.
• A picture says a thousand words  – instead of filling a slide with text, instead, focus on one or two images or diagrams to help support and explain the point you are discussing at that time.
• Make them readable  – depending on the size of your audience, some may not be able to see small text or images, so make everything large enough to fill the space.
• Don’t rush through slides  – give the audience enough time to digest each slide.

Guy Kawasaki, an entrepreneur and author, suggests that slideshows should follow a  10-20-30 rule :

• There should be a maximum of 10 slides – people rarely remember more than one concept afterwards so there’s no point overwhelming them with unnecessary information.
• The presentation should last no longer than 20 minutes as this will leave time for questions and discussion.
• The font size should be a minimum of 30pt because the audience reads faster than you talk so less information on the slides means that there is less chance of the audience being distracted.

Here are some additional resources for slide design:

• 7 design tips for effective, beautiful PowerPoint presentations
• 11 design tips for beautiful presentations
• 10 tips on how to make slides that communicate your idea

Group Presentations

Group presentations are structured in the same way as presentations with one speaker but usually require more rehearsal and practices.  Clean transitioning between speakers  is very important in producing a presentation that flows well. One way of doing this consists of:

• Briefly recap on what you covered in your section: “So that was a brief introduction on what health anxiety is and how it can affect somebody”
• Introduce the next speaker in the team and explain what they will discuss: “Now Elnaz will talk about the prevalence of health anxiety.”
• Then end by looking at the next speaker, gesturing towards them and saying their name: “Elnaz”.
• The next speaker should acknowledge this with a quick: “Thank you Joe.”

From this example you can see how the different sections of the presentations link which makes it easier for the audience to follow and remain engaged.

Example of great presentation structure and delivery

Having examples of great presentations will help inspire your own structures, here are a few such examples, each unique and inspiring in their own way.

How Google Works – by Eric Schmidt

This presentation by ex-Google CEO  Eric Schmidt  demonstrates some of the most important lessons he and his team have learnt with regards to working with some of the most talented individuals they hired. The simplistic yet cohesive style of all of the slides is something to be appreciated. They are relatively straightforward, yet add power and clarity to the narrative of the presentation.

Start with why – by Simon Sinek

Since being released in 2009, this presentation has been viewed almost four million times all around the world. The message itself is very powerful, however, it’s not an idea that hasn’t been heard before. What makes this presentation so powerful is the simple message he is getting across, and the straightforward and understandable manner in which he delivers it. Also note that he doesn’t use any slides, just a whiteboard where he creates a simple diagram of his opinion.

The Wisdom of a Third Grade Dropout – by Rick Rigsby

Here’s an example of a presentation given by a relatively unknown individual looking to inspire the next generation of graduates. Rick’s presentation is unique in many ways compared to the two above. Notably, he uses no visual prompts and includes a great deal of humour.

However, what is similar is the structure he uses. He first introduces his message that the wisest man he knew was a third-grade dropout. He then proceeds to deliver his main body of argument, and in the end, concludes with his message. This powerful speech keeps the viewer engaged throughout, through a mixture of heart-warming sentiment, powerful life advice and engaging humour.

As you can see from the examples above, and as it has been expressed throughout, a great presentation structure means analysing the core message of your presentation. Decide on a key message you want to impart the audience with, and then craft an engaging way of delivering it.

By preparing a solid structure, and  practising your talk  beforehand, you can walk into the presentation with confidence and deliver a meaningful message to an interested audience.

It’s important for a presentation to be well-structured so it can have the most impact on your audience. An unstructured presentation can be difficult to follow and even frustrating to listen to. The heart of your speech are your main points supported by evidence and your transitions should assist the movement between points and clarify how everything is linked.

Research suggests that the audience remember the first and last things you say so your introduction and conclusion are vital for reinforcing your points. Essentially, ensure you spend the time structuring your presentation and addressing all of the sections.

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How to give a good presentation that captivates any audience

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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.

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. 

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.

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.

Elevate your communication skills

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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.

6 presentation skills and how to improve them

How to write a speech that your audience remembers, how to make a presentation interactive and exciting, reading the room gives you an edge — no matter who you're talking to, tell a story they can't ignore these 10 tips will teach you how, 3 stand-out professional bio examples to inspire your own, your guide to what storytelling is and how to be a good storyteller, 18 effective strategies to improve your communication skills, writing an elevator pitch about yourself: a how-to plus tips, similar articles, 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), how the minto pyramid principle can enhance your communication skills, 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 Start a Presentation: 15 Ways to Set the Stage

By Krystle Wong , Jul 25, 2023

The opening moments of your presentation hold immense power – it’s your opportunity to make a lasting impression and captivate your audience. 

A strong presentation start acts as a beacon, cutting through the noise and instantly capturing the attention of your listeners. With so much content vying for their focus, a captivating opening ensures that your message stands out and resonates with your audience.

Whether you’re a startup business owner pitching a brilliant idea, a seasoned presenter delivering a persuasive talk or an expert sharing your experience, the start of your presentation can make all the difference. But don’t fret — I’ve got you covered with 15 electrifying ways to kickstart your presentation. 

The presentation introduction examples in this article cover everything from self-introduction to how to start a group presentation, building anticipation that leaves the audience eager to delve into the depths of your topic.

Click to jump ahead:

How to start a presentation introduction

15 ways to start a presentation and captivate your audience, common mistakes to avoid in the opening of a presentation, faqs on how to start a presentation, captivate the audience from the get-go.

Presentations can be scary, I know. But even if stage fright hits, you can always fall back on a simple strategy.

Just take a deep breath, introduce yourself and briefly explain the topic of your presentation.

To grab attention at the start, try this opening line: Hello everyone. I am so glad you could join me today. I’m very excited about today’s topic. I’m [Your Name] and I’ll be talking about [Presentation Topic]. Raise your hand if you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by [Challenge related to your topic]. Many of us might have faced challenges with [Challenge related to your topic]. Today, we’ll explore some strategies that’ll help us [Solution that you’re presenting].

Regardless of your mode of presentation , crafting an engaging introduction sets the stage for a memorable presentation.

Let’s dive into some key tips for how to start a presentation speech to help you nail the art of starting with a bang:

Understand your audience

The key to an engaging introduction is to know your audience inside out and give your audience what they want. Tailor your opening to resonate with their specific interests, needs and expectations. Consider what will captivate them and how you can make your presentation relevant to their lives or work.

Use a compelling hook

Grab the audience’s attention from the get-go with a compelling hook. Whether it’s a thought-provoking question, a surprising fact or a gripping story, a powerful opening will immediately pique their curiosity and keep them invested in what you have to say.

State your purpose

Be crystal clear about your subject matter and the purpose of your presentation. In just a few sentences, communicate the main objectives and the value your audience will gain from listening to you. Let them know upfront what to expect and they’ll be more likely to stay engaged throughout.

Introduce yourself and your team

Give a self introduction about who you are such as your job title to establish credibility and rapport with the audience.

Some creative ways to introduce yourself in a presentation would be by sharing a brief and engaging personal story that connects to your topic or the theme of your presentation. This approach instantly makes you relatable and captures the audience’s attention.

Now, let’s talk about — how to introduce team members in a presentation. Before introducing each team member, briefly explain their role or contribution to the project or presentation. This gives the audience an understanding of their relevance and expertise.

Group presentations are also a breeze with the help of Venngage. Our in-editor collaboration tools allow you to edit presentations side by side in real-time. That way, you can seamlessly hare your design with the team for input and make sure everyone is on track. 

Maintain enthusiasm

Enthusiasm is contagious! Keep the energy levels up throughout your introduction, conveying a positive and upbeat tone. A vibrant and welcoming atmosphere sets the stage for an exciting presentation and keeps the audience eager to hear more.

Before you think about how to present a topic, think about how to design impactful slides that can leave a lasting impression on the audience. Here are 120+ presentation ideas , design tips, and examples to help you create an awesome slide deck for your next presentation.

Captivating your audience from the get-go is the key to a successful presentation. Whether you’re a seasoned speaker or a novice taking the stage for the first time, the opening of your presentation sets the tone for the entire talk. 

So, let’s get ready to dive into the 15 most creative ways to start a presentation. I promise you these presentation introduction ideas will captivate your audience, leaving them hanging on your every word.

Grab-attention immediately

Ask a thought-provoking question.

Get the audience’s wheels turning by throwing them a thought-provoking question right out of the gate. Make them ponder, wonder and engage their critical thinking muscles from the very start.

Share a surprising statistic or fact

Brace yourself for some wide eyes and dropped jaws! Open your presentation with a jaw-dropping statistic or a mind-blowing fact that’s directly related to your topic. Nothing captures attention like a good ol’ dose of shock and awe.

State a bold statement or challenge

Ready to shake things up? Kick off with a bold and daring statement that sets the stage for your presentation’s epic journey. Boldness has a way of making ears perk up and eyes widen in anticipation!

Engage with a poll or interactive activity

Turn the audience from passive listeners to active participants by kicking off with a fun poll or interactive activity. Get them on their feet, or rather — their fingertips, right from the start!

Venngage’s user-friendly drag-and-drop editor allows you to easily transform your slides into an interactive presentation . Create clickable buttons or navigation elements within your presentation to guide your audience to different sections or external resources. 

Enhance engagement by incorporating videos or audio clips directly into your presentation. Venngage supports video and audio embedding, which can add depth to your content.

Begin with an opening phrase that captures attention

Use opening phrases that can help you create a strong connection with your audience and make them eager to hear more about what you have to say. Remember to be confident, enthusiastic and authentic in your delivery to maximize the impact of your presentation.

Here are some effective presentation starting words and phrases that can help you grab your audience’s attention and set the stage for a captivating presentation:

• “Imagine…”
• “Picture this…”
• “Did you know that…”
• “Have you ever wondered…”
• “In this presentation, we’ll explore…”
• “Let’s dive right in and discover…”
• “I’m excited to share with you…”
• “I have a confession to make…”
• “I want to start by telling you a story…”
• “Before we begin, let’s consider…”
• “Have you ever faced the challenge of…”
• “We all know that…”
• “This is a topic close to my heart because…”
• “Over the next [minutes/hours], we’ll cover…”
• “I invite you to journey with me through…”

Build connection and credibility

Begin with a personal connection .

Share a real-life experience or a special connection to the topic at hand. This simple act of opening up creates an instant bond with the audience, turning them into your biggest cheerleaders.

Having the team share their personal experiences is also a good group presentation introduction approach. Team members can share their own stories that are related to the topic to create an emotional connection with your audience. 

Tell a relevant story

Start your presentation with a riveting story that hooks your audience and relates to your main message. Stories have a magical way of captivating hearts and minds. Organize your slides in a clear and sequential manner and use visuals that complement your narrative and evoke emotions to engage the audience.

With Venngage, you have access to a vast library of high-quality and captivating stock photography, offering thousands of options to enrich your presentations. The best part? It’s entirely free! Elevate your visual storytelling with stunning images that complement your content, captivate your audience and add a professional touch to your presentation. 

Use a powerful quote

Sometimes, all you need is some wise words to work wonders. Begin with a powerful quote from a legendary figure that perfectly fits your presentation’s theme — a dose of inspiration sets the stage for an epic journey.

Build anticipation

Provide a brief outline.

Here’s a good introduction for presentation example if you’re giving a speech at a conference. For longer presentations or conferences with multiple speakers especially, providing an outline helps the audience stay focused on the key takeaways. That way, you can better manage your time and ensure that you cover all the key points without rushing or running out of time.

Pose a problem and offer a solution

A great idea on how to start a business presentation is to start by presenting a problem and offering a well-thought-out solution. By addressing their pain points and showcasing your solution, you’ll capture their interest and set the stage for a compelling and successful presentation.

Back up your solution with data, research, or case studies that demonstrate its effectiveness. This can also be a good reporting introduction example that adds credibility to your proposal.

Preparing a pitch deck can be a daunting task but fret not. This guide on the 30+ best pitch deck tips and examples has everything you need to bring on new business partners and win new client contracts. Alternatively, you can also get started by customizing one of our professional pitch deck templates for free. 

Incite curiosity in the audience

Utilize visuals or props.

Capture your audience’s gaze by whipping out captivating visuals or props that add an exciting touch to your subject. A well-placed prop or a stunning visual can make your presentation pop like a fireworks show!

That said, you maybe wondering — how can I make my presentation more attractive.  A well-designed presentation background instantly captures the audience’s attention and creates a positive first impression. Here are 15 presentation background examples to keep the audience awake to help you get inspired. 

Use humor or wit

Sprinkle some humor and wit to spice things up. Cracking a clever joke or throwing in a witty remark can break the ice and create a positively charged atmosphere. If you’re cracking your head on how to start a group presentation, humor is a great way to start a presentation speech. 

Get your team members involved in the fun to create a collaborative and enjoyable experience for everyone. Laughter is the perfect way to break the ice and set a positive tone for your presentation!

Invoke emotion

Get those heartstrings tugging! Start with a heartfelt story or example that stirs up emotions and connects with your audience on a personal level. Emotion is the secret sauce to a memorable presentation.

Aside from getting creative with your introduction, a well-crafted and creative presentation can boost your confidence as a presenter. Browse our catalog of creative presentation templates and get started right away!

Use a dramatic pause

A great group presentation example is to start with a powerful moment of silence, like a magician about to reveal their greatest trick. After introducing your team, allow a brief moment of silence. Hold the pause for a few seconds, making it feel deliberate and purposeful. This builds anticipation and curiosity among the audience.

Pique their interest

Share a fun fact or anecdote.

Time for a little fun and games! Kick-off with a lighthearted or fascinating fact that’ll make the audience go, “Wow, really? Tell me more!” A sprinkle of amusement sets the stage for an entertaining ride.

While an introduction for a presentation sets the tone for your speech, a good slide complements your spoken words, helping the audience better understand and remember your message. Check out these 12 best presentation software for 2023 that can aid your next presentation. 

The opening moments of a presentation can make or break your entire talk. It’s your chance to grab your audience’s attention, set the tone, and lay the foundation for a successful presentation. However, there are some common pitfalls that speakers often fall into when starting their presentations. 

Starting with Apologies

It might be tempting to start with a preemptive apology, especially if you’re feeling nervous or unsure about your presentation. However, beginning with unnecessary apologies or self-deprecating remarks sets a negative tone right from the start. Instead of exuding confidence and credibility, you’re unintentionally undermining yourself and your message. 

Reading from Slides

One of the most common blunders in the opening of a PowerPoint presentation is reading directly from your slides or script. While it’s crucial to have a well-structured outline, reciting word-for-word can lead to disengagement and boredom among your audience. Maintain eye contact and connect with your listeners as you speak. Your slides should complement your words, not replace them.

Overwhelming with Information

In the excitement to impress, some presenters bombard their audience with too much information right at the beginning.

Instead of overloading the audience with a sea of data, statistics or technical details that can quickly lead to confusion and disinterest, visualize your data with the help of Venngage. Choose an infographic template that best suits the type of data you want to visualize. Venngage offers a variety of pre-designed templates for charts, graphs, infographics and more.

Ignoring the Audience

It’s easy to get caught up in the content and forget about the people in front of you. Don’t overlook the importance of acknowledging the audience and building a connection with them. Greet them warmly, make eye contact and maintain body language to show genuine interest in their presence. Engage the audience early on by asking a show of hands question or encourage audience participation. 

Lack of Clarity

Your audience should know exactly what to expect from your presentation. Starting with a vague or unclear opening leaves them guessing about the purpose and direction of your talk. Clearly communicate the topic and objectives of your presentation right from the beginning. This sets the stage for a focused and coherent message that resonates with your audience.

Simplicity makes it easier for the audience to understand and retain the information presented. Check out our gallery of simple presentation templates to keep your opening concise and relevant. 

Skipping the Hook

The opening of your presentation is the perfect opportunity to hook your audience’s attention and keep them engaged. However, some presenters overlook this crucial aspect and dive straight into the content without any intrigue. Craft an attention-grabbing hook that sparks curiosity, poses a thought-provoking question or shares an interesting fact. A compelling opening is like the key that unlocks your audience’s receptivity to the rest of your presentation.

Now that you’ve got the gist of how to introduce a presentation, further brush up your speech with these tips on how to make a persuasive presentation and how to improve your presentation skills to create an engaging presentation . 

How can I overcome nervousness at the beginning of a presentation?

To overcome nervousness at the beginning of a presentation, take deep breaths, practice beforehand, and focus on connecting with your audience rather than worrying about yourself.

How long should the opening of a presentation be?

The opening of a presentation should typically be brief, lasting around 1 to 3 minutes, to grab the audience’s attention and set the tone for the rest of the talk.

Should I memorize my presentation’s opening lines?

While it’s helpful to know your opening lines, it’s better to understand the key points and flow naturally to maintain authenticity and flexibility during the presentation.

Should I use slides during the opening of my presentation?

Using slides sparingly during the opening can enhance the message, but avoid overwhelming the audience with too much information early on.

How do I transition smoothly from the opening to the main content of my presentation?

Transition smoothly from the opening to the main content by providing a clear and concise outline of what’s to come, signaling the shift and maintaining a logical flow between topics.

Just as a captivating opening draws your audience in, creating a well-crafted presentation closing has the power to leave a lasting impression. Wrap up in style with these 10 ways to end a presentation .

Presenting virtually? Check out these tips on how to ace your next online presentation . 

Captivating your audience from the very beginning is crucial for a successful presentation. The first few moments of your talk can set the tone and determine whether your audience remains engaged throughout or loses interest. 

Start with a compelling opening that grabs their attention. You can use a thought-provoking question, a surprising statistic or a powerful quote to pique their curiosity. Alternatively, storytelling can be a potent tool to draw them into your narrative. It’s essential to establish a personal connection early on, whether by sharing a relatable experience or expressing empathy towards their needs and interests.

Lastly, be mindful of your body language and vocal delivery. A confident and engaging speaker can captivate an audience, so make eye contact, use appropriate gestures and vary your tone to convey passion and sincerity.

In conclusion, captivating your audience from the very beginning requires thoughtful preparation, engaging content and a confident delivery. With Venngage’s customizable templates, you can adapt your presentation to suit the preferences and interests of your specific audience, ensuring maximum engagement. Go on and get started today!

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What It Takes to Give a Great Presentation

• Carmine Gallo

Five tips to set yourself apart.

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

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

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

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How to present a project? Ultimate Guide

Project success belongs to the way you adapt to present it. If you present your project in an effective way that you grab the intention of your client and take him/her to an agreement but if you create blunders and skip important points that you need to discuss while presenting your project .

Importance of properly presented project. 

Presenting a project effectively is crucial for several reasons. It can significantly impact the project's success and your ability to communicate its value to stakeholders. However, here we have some key reasons why you must present your project correctly:

• Proper presentation helps ensure that your audience understands the project's objectives, scope, and goals. It reduces ambiguity and confusion.
• Project presentation will align all stakeholders, ensuring that everyone is on the same page regarding the project's purpose, deliverables, and timelines. This alignment will ultimately lead to project success. 
• An engaging presentation can capture your audience's attention and keep them interested throughout. So, you can expect better feedback, buy-in, and support for the project. 
• Effective project presentations provide the necessary information for decision-makers to make better choices. Whether it's approving project funding, adjusting the scope , or making strategic decisions, clear project presentations are essential for everything. 
• By presenting your project properly, Stakeholders will know who is responsible for what. It will ultimately help to prevent misunderstandings and finger-pointing. 
• Presenting the project can also help identify potential risks and issues early on. Stakeholders may raise concerns or offer insights that can help you address problems before they become major roadblocks.
• Project presentation helps in resource allocation . It allows stakeholders to see the project's resource requirements, helping them allocate personnel, budget, and other resources accordingly.

In short, presenting a project correctly is not just about creating a visually appealing slide. It is also about conveying information and aligning stakeholders. You must ensure that everyone involved has a clear understanding of the purpose, progress, and potential challenges of the project. Therefore, effective project presentation is a skill that you must learn. 

A complete guide on how to present a project?

Do not panic, and be confident about the content and visuals you have prepared to present your project. You should have command of all the information about your project, and you should also know each word you have included in your presentation so that you can explain it deliberately and confidently. You should follow some important steps to present your project:

First of all, know the goals of your project.

You should know the goals of the project you are doing as a project manager or being an owner of the project. First, you should discuss the project and fix its goals by having a warm call-up meeting with your teammates and the owner of the company or the client for whom you are doing the project. It is important when it comes to how to present a project.

Goal setting and owning are most important to make a project successful. It is the winning spot you set to win the race. If you do not do this, it means you do not have directions for where you will go, and all your efforts are useless.

Explain the goal of your project.

After setting the goals, you need to convince the audience by sharing the goals of your project in a way that they could have a better understanding of it. You can explain your project by

• Verbally presentation
• Documentations

If you explain the goals very well, you have done half of the work .

Organize the steps on a paper to present your project

After setting and explaining the goals of your project, you need to convince the audience or your client by explaining the ways to achieve these goals that seem. For that purpose, you should prepare well. You should make a layout of your presentation in which all the steps are organized and explained.

It will provide you with backbone support in presenting the project in an organized and ordered way. This organization will help you remember all key points and give you confidence about what you are saying. You know its meaning.

Prepare a rough sketch of the words you are going to speak

It is just like writing a speech. The delivery of words plays an important role in convincing the audience. If you know how to play the game of words well, you will easily take the audience to your platform. Therefore, before speaking in front of a crowd, keep in mind that you will be judged based on the words you deliver.

So, prepare for speaking and know the meaning of every word you have included. It can prove your strength or your weakness. It all depends on your preparation.

A healthy discussion with your team

When you work with your team, the pressure of work is minimized, and the moral support of your team also encourages you to give your best. While presenting your project, make your team ready to collaborate with you; you can divide the presentation into chunks and share it with your team members asking them to explain that specific part.

Team collaboration encourages success step-wise with the best quality in a short time as the work is divided and you are not burdened. Have trust in your team and get unique ideas by having a healthy discussion with them. Show value to others' ideas by considering and appreciating them.

Prepare your team-mate on standby if there appears to be a need to get their services while presenting the project. They provide you support to answer some critical questions asked by the client if you have pre- planned with your team members . You should keep this in mind when you are talking about how to present a project.

Prepare a presentation on PowerPoint

Another effective way to present the project is to put your ideas on the slides and mention the most important content about them. You can use the images to clarify the concept of your presentation and its purpose, as the images also describe the stories behind them. The images you use for visual description should be very clear and easy to understand.

Several tools in a presentation can help you present your project in the form of image illustration. You can play these slides automatically by setting the time duration. Do practice over these slides after fixing the duration for playing the.

You can present your project not only in the form of words or images but also through videos or graphics. The message you want to convey should not be lengthy or complicated. It should be simple and perfectly visible. Video audio presentation can be of more advantage in this regard.

Create some humor for the audience

If you talk a lot and change slide after slide, this will cause boredom among the audience. Here, you need to engage the audience while conveying your serious message in such a way that it seems entertaining. You can relate the bullet points or images with funny day-to-day activities to create humor, or you can also add some funny pictures or illusions to make fun of during heavy, serious discussions.

You will indirectly and silently decently engage the audience. If you do so, you will not feel the need to ask or make a request to the people to listen to you. They will do so willingly . It is an art, and if you know how to do it without realizing the audience you are doing this intentionally, you are a successful speaker.

In this way you will easily grab the attention of the client of your audience, they will love to listen and understand you, and even they will wait and expect the next bouncer from your side.

Adopt a confident body language.

It is human nature that we feel hesitant when we address a crowd who is sitting to judge us and ready to argue with us when it is our first time. But slowly, you will learn to deal with such a situation.

No matter if you are a beginner, you do not need to get worried. Just stay confident that you have prepared your presentation and practiced as well, and you can answer every query raised by the audience.

Focus on your body language; avoid doing the things that reveal your nervousness, like pressing your hands and playing with a pen by producing the sound of a tick-tock. It looks so odd and leaves a bad impression on your audience.

Make sure you have presented all the aspects.

Keep a checklist with you on paper or a computer slide and check with it whether you have explained important parts of your project, your client must know about them, or one of them is left by mistake. If it is left, it is okay; make a turn and explain it in a way that it seems you did not explain it before to maintain the surprising effect of your project.

I will say again that practice is the key to making your project presentation successful and completed within the expected or allocated time limit.  It is important when you come up with the question of how to present a project.

Present everything without getting nervous. 

Project presentation can sometimes be a real headache, even for pros. However, when you are presenting your project presentation, you must explain everything you have prepared without getting nervous. 

It would be better to keep these steps in mind to make the most out of this experience:

• You must keep your presentation concise, but don't forget to cover any of the essential points. 
• When you are presenting your presentation, you can take a quick pause to gather your thoughts. Slowing your breathing will certainly calm your nerves. 
• Take notes of what you will cover in your project presentation. It will help us to look more confident in the presentation room. 
• Above all, practicing your project presentation more can also make you feel less nervous. For perfect results, it is always better to practice throughout the time. 

Answer the relevant questions

When you present your project, there will be many questions among the audience that are mostly related to the project type, but some of them will ask such questions just to confuse you or let your morals down. Here, you need to play the mind game; do not let these questions disturb you, but answer them with patience whether you know the answer or not.

If you do not answer, simply tell them you do not know about it but want to know and ask for an explanation in the sense to add up your knowledge. If these questions are shits just to disturb you, they will not be thrown towards you next time.

You must be prepared for your question-answer session during and after your project presentation. It is because your audience may ask you some difficult or tricky questions. Regardless of what you have been asked for, it is always important to take proper time and answer their questions with the information they are looking for. 

Wrap up with a project

After discussing every aspect of the project with the client in detail, answering the queries, and getting suggestions, you need to end the session by wrapping up the project presentation in the form of a summary and giving a short review. In this way, all important parts of the projects will be recalled and finalized.

Common mistakes to avoid in project presentations 

When presenting a project, avoiding common mistakes is essential for ensuring clarity, engagement, and effectiveness. So, here are the common mistakes that you must avoid in your project presentation:

• Lack of Preparation

Inadequate project presentation can affect you in multiple ways. For example, you may stumble over your words during the presentation, lose your thought process while explaining some concepts, or even don’t have your project material ready to present. 

Effective preparation is key to a satisfied audience. Therefore, you should also focus on preparing your project presentation. The process involves researching your topic thoroughly, creating a structured outline, and practicing your presentation multiple times to build confidence and fluency. 

• Information overloading

When it comes to presenting a project, people usually make the mistake of overwhelming their audience with the overload of information. They add excessive data, statistics, and technical details of the project that may be hard to digest for the audience. 

The best practice here is to focus on adding the most important and relevant information only to your project presentation. Additionally, you can also add some statistics to support your key points. The best practice to simplify complex or technical project information is adding visuals in your presentation. 

• Not clearing your project purpose. 

Without clear objectives, your audience may leave the presentation unsure. It is because they don’t get what actions they should take, the scope of the project , or what they will get from the project. 

You should overcome this problem by stating the purpose of your project early on. Moreover, it would be better to outline what you want to achieve with this project and what others will get from it. 

• Poorly designed visuals 

Visuals in your project presentation should complement your spoken words. The visuals in the presentation should not distract your audience from what you are saying. 

Remember that cluttered or confusing slides can lead to disengagement.

You must keep slides simple, with clear headings, bullet points, and visuals that reinforce your message. Use a consistent design template and appropriately designed visuals for improved engagement. 

• Skipping the introduction 

An engaging introduction sets the tone for your presentation. It gives you an opportunity to capture the attention of your audience and increase it consistently.

For this, you have to craft a compelling opening, such as a relevant story, a surprising fact, or a provocative question. These practices will certainly help you to draw your audience in. 

• Not defining the problem statement. 

Failing to clearly define the problem your project addresses can leave your audience wondering why the project is necessary. As a presenter, you must provide a concise and relatable problem statement early on. It should demonstrate the relevance and importance of your project. 

• Poor storytelling 

Stories help make your presentation memorable and relatable. They add a human element to your content. Therefore, it would be better to incorporate relevant anecdotes, case studies, or real-world examples into your project presentation. These will help you to illustrate your points and connect with your audience emotionally.

• Disorganized presentation structure 

A disorganized presentation structure can confuse. Even your audience will find it difficult to follow your thoughts. So, you must create logical sections with clear sections, transitions, and signposts. These will help you to guide your audience through your content seamlessly.

Final thoughts

If you are new to project management and do not know how to present a project to your client or the crowd of the audience, please do not be worried and panic at all. It is not a big deal. You can do it by maintaining your confidence level, organizing the order of steps you are going to discuss, practicing and being tricky about grabbing the attention of the audience.

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How To Make A Presentation: A Comprehensive Guide

Are you tired of mediocre presentations that leave your audience bored and uninterested?

Presentations are a crucial aspect of communication in the modern world, whether in the workplace, school, or social settings. The purpose of a presentation is to convey information and ideas engagingly and persuasively, but building a presentation can be challenging. That’s why we’ve created this comprehensive guide on how to make a presentation.

In this guide, you’ll discover critical principles and techniques for creating a presentation that captivates your audience and leave a lasting impression. From understanding your audience and developing a clear structure to using visuals and multimedia to enhance your message, we’ll take you through every step of the presentation-making process.

This blog will teach you how to make a presentation, whether you’re a professional presenter or just starting out.

So saddle up, and let’s get started on your path to being a master presenter.

Introduction

The introduction of your presentation is your first chance to impact your audience. It assists you in engaging your audience and setting the tone for the remainder of your presentation. Here are some tips for an effective introduction:

Purpose of the Presentation

Declare the purpose of your presentation, why it is necessary, and what you expect to accomplish. This will help your audience understand the significance of your message and why they should listen.

Overview of Key Points

Provide an overview of your key points , what you will discuss, and what the audience can expect. This will give your audience a clear idea of the content of your presentation and make it easier for them to follow along.

Preparation

Preparation is vital to ensuring the success of your presentation. A well-prepared presentation can leave an impact on your audience and assist you in achieving your objectives. Here are some tips to help you prepare effectively:

Research Topic and Gather Information

If you want to learn how to make a good PowerPoint presentation , research is the key. Thoroughly research your topic and collect all necessary information to support your main points. This will give you the confidence to present your information effectively and answer any questions from your audience.

Choose Appropriate Visual Aids

Choose appropriate visual aids, such as PowerPoint graphics , images, or videos, to enhance your presentation and support your key points. Ensure that your visual aids are professional, clear, and easy to understand.

Plan the Structure and Flow of the Presentation

To guarantee that your message is appropriately presented, prepare the structure and flow of your presentation. Start with an attention-grabbing introduction, state your key points clearly, and conclude with a memorable closing statement .

Rehearse the Presentation

Rehearse your presentation to ensure that you are familiar with the material and confident in your delivery. Practice before a family member or a friend to get feedback and make changes.

Body of the Presentation

The body of your presentation is where you deliver the heart of your message. It is the opportunity to engage your audience, provide clear and concise information, and support your key points. Here are some tips for an effective body of your presentation:

Start with an Attention Grabber

Start with an attention-grabbing statement, question, or story to engage your audience and capture their attention. This helps establish the tone for the remainder of your presentation and keeps your audience engaged.

Clearly State Key Points and Support them with Examples

Clearly state your key points and support them with relevant examples, data, or visual aids. This will help reinforce your message and ensure your audience understands your information.

Use Visual Aids Effectively to Enhance Understanding

If you want to learn how to make a presentation interesting, use visual aids, such as slides, images, or videos. It can enhance understanding and support your key points. Ensure that your visual aids are clear, easy to understand, and professional.

Engage the Audience with Interactive Elements

Engage your audience with interactive elements, such as questions, activities, or polls, to keep them interested and involved in your presentation.

Maintain a Professional Demeanor and Pace

Maintain a professional demeanor and pace throughout your presentation. Maintain intense eye contact with your listeners and speak clearly.

Conclude with a Summary of Key Points and a Strong Closing Statement

Conclude your presentation by summarizing your key points and a strong closing statement. This will assist in reinforcing your message and create a lasting effect on your audience.

One of the most important aspects of how to give an effective presentation is the delivery of your presentation.

The delivery of a presentation is critical to its success. It is how you communicate with your audience and bring your message to life. Here are some public speaking tips for presenting effectively:

Project Confidence and Energy

Project confidence and energy when delivering your presentation. Speak clearly, use appropriate gestures, and maintain good eye contact with your audience. This will help to engage your audience and create a positive impression.

Maintain Eye Contact and Engage with the Audience

To learn how to make a presentation interactive , you must maintain eye contact with your audience and engage them in your presentation. This will help create a connection and ensure that your audience pays attention.

Use Appropriate Body Language

Use appropriate body languages, such as gestures and facial expressions, to enhance your message and create a positive impression.

Address Any Technical Issues Before Starting

Address any technical issues, such as problems with audio or visual aids, before starting your presentation. This will ensure that your delivery is smooth and professional.

The conclusion is the final section of your presentation and is your opportunity to leave a lasting impression on your audience. For more conclusion slides check out our library.

Here are some tips for a strong conclusion:

Summarize Key Points

Summarize your important points to remind your audience of your presentation’s core idea. This will assist in emphasizing your message and guarantee that your audience understands it clearly.

Address Any Remaining Questions from the Audience

Address any remaining questions from the audience. This will ensure that all of their concerns are addressed and that your audience leaves with a clear understanding of your message.

End on a Memorable Note

End your presentation on a memorable note. This could be a quote , a final thought, or a call to action. Something that your audience will remember long after the presentation is over.

After your presentation, it is essential to evaluate your performance and make improvements for future presentations. Here are some follow-up tips:

Evaluate the Presentation

Examine your presentation to see what went well and what may be enhanced for future presentations. Ask for feedback from your audience and use it to make improvements.

Share Presentation Materials

Share your presentation materials with your audience if requested. This will allow them to review your message and information later.

Provide Feedback to Others

Provide feedback to others involved in the presentation, such as co-presenters or support staff. By doing so, they will be able to perform better and provide even greater presentations in the future.

Wrapping It Up

Creating an effective presentation is a combination of art and science. It requires a deep understanding of your audience, a clear structure, and the use of visuals and multimedia to enhance your message. With the knowledge gained from this comprehensive guide, you now have the ability to make good presentations that are next level, and that can captivate your audience.

Remember that providing information, interacting with your audience, and creating a lasting impression are all important components of a successful presentation. So, embrace your creativity, be confident, and have fun with your presentations! The more you practice, the better you will get, and you will soon be renowned as the master presenter in your industry.

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How Bears plan to fund Chicago stadium project, and how much it will cost taxpayers

Getting down to the bottom line for a potential bears stadium project in chicago, by alex shapiro • published 6 hours ago.

The Bears announced how they plan to fund a potential new stadium project in Chicago, and how much they believe it will cost.

Bears COO and executive vice president of stadium development Karen Murphy said in a presentation on Wednesday that the team expects the entire stadium project to cost $4.7 billion: $3.2 for the stadium itself and just over $300 million for the infrastructure required to open it, then $1.2 billion for two other phases of development.

Watch NBC Chicago local news and weather for free 24/7

Last month, the team confirmed it would contribute $2 billion dollars to fund the majority of the project. On Wednesday, a slide in the presentation clarified that number would be closer to $2.025 billion dollars. After that, the team would look to an NFL stadium program for a $300 million loan. That leaves a $900 million gap for the stadium financing itself. The Bears plan has them looking to a bond mechanism in the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority program to make up the difference.

Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter here.

The Bears said a 2% hotel tax that is already in place for the ISFA should be able to make up the $900 million they need from public funds.

There wasn’t a clear answer as to where the team would get the $300 million for the infrastructure, however. Murphy said the team is still working with the state and looking into different funding sources.

More on Bears Stadium

Friends of the Parks responds to Bears' new stadium proposal

7 big takeaways from the Chicago Bears new stadium proposal

If the team gets the public funding needed to open the stadium, they said there will be two more phases of development requiring public money: one to maximize infrastructure for the stadium and surrounding campus totaling $510 million, and another phase for “optional infrastructure to enhance the campus, improve circulation, and maximize public economic benefits,” totaling $665 million. Add up all three phases plus the IFSA funding, and it's nearly $2.4 billion in public money.

Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson said on Wednesday that the Bears’ new plan to build a stadium in Chicago will not raise taxes on city residents.

“I’m going to repeat that one more time to make sure that everybody gets it,” Johnson said after the announcement. “This project will result in no new taxes on the residents of Chicago.”

It's still not clear where some of the funding will come from. Additionally, the Bears indicated they could potentially look for city money as well as state and federal dollars.

The Bears bought 326 acres of land in Arlington Heights last year, and previously announced plans to build a new stadium there. But contentious negotiations about property taxes in the suburbs have become an obstacle for that plan. Earlier this year the team said it was switching its focus away from Arlington Heights back to the city.

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April 22, 2024

Making history: brightline west breaks ground on america’s first high-speed rail project connecting las vegas to southern california  , officials hammer the first spike commemorating the groundbreaking for brightline west.

LAS VEGAS (April 22, 2024)  – Today, Brightline West officially broke ground on the nation's first true high-speed rail system which will connect Las Vegas to Southern California. The 218-mile system will be constructed in the middle of the I-15 and is based on Brightline’s vision to connect city pairs that are too short to fly and too far to drive. Hailed as the greenest form of transportation in the world, Brightline West will run zero emission, fully electric trains capable of speeds of 200 miles per hour. Brightline West is a watershed project for high-speed rail in America and will establish the foundation for the creation of a new industry and supply chain. The project was recently awarded $3 billion in funding from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill. The rest of the project will be privately funded and has received a total allocation of $3.5 billion in private activity bonds from USDOT.

The groundbreaking included remarks from U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Brightline Founder Wes Edens, Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, Sen. Jacky Rosen, Senior Advisor to President Biden Steve Benjamin and Vince Saavedra of the Southern Nevada Building Trades. In addition, Nevada Reps. Dina Titus, Susie Lee and Steve Horsford and California Reps. Pete Aguilar and Norma Torres made remarks and joined the celebration. More than 600 people, including union representatives, project supporters and other state and local officials from California and Nevada, attended the event.

“People have been dreaming of high-speed rail in America for decades – and now, with billions of dollars of support made possible by President Biden’s historic infrastructure law, it’s finally happening,” said Secretary Buttigieg. “Partnering with state leaders and Brightline West, we’re writing a new chapter in our country’s transportation story that includes thousands of union jobs, new connections to better economic opportunity, less congestion on the roads, and less pollution in the air.”

“This is a historic project and a proud moment where we break ground on America’s first high-speed rail system and lay the foundation for a new industry,” said Wes Edens, Brightline founder. “Today is long overdue, but the blueprint we’ve created with Brightline will allow us to repeat this model in other city pairs around the country.”

CONSTRUCTION OF BRIGHTLINE WEST

Brightline West's rail system will span 218 miles and reach speeds of 200 mph. The route, which has full environmental clearance, will run within the median of the I-15 highway with zero grade crossings. The system will have stops in Las Vegas, Nev., as well as Victor Valley, Hesperia and Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.

The privately led infrastructure project is one of the largest in the nation and will be constructed and operated by union labor. It will use 700,000 concrete rail ties, 2.2 million tons of ballast, and 63,000 tons of 100% American steel rail during construction. Upon completion, it will include 322 miles of overhead lines to power the trains and will include 3.4 million square feet of retaining walls. The project covers more than 160 structures including viaducts and bridges. Brightline West will be fully Buy America Compliant.

STATIONS AND FACILITIES

Brightline West will connect Southern California and Las Vegas in two hours or almost half the time as driving. The Las Vegas Station will be located near the iconic Las Vegas Strip, on a 110-acre property north of Blue Diamond Road between I-15 and Las Vegas Boulevard. The site provides convenient access to the Harry Reid International Airport, the Las Vegas Convention Center and the Raiders’ Allegiant Stadium. The station is approximately 80,000 square feet plus parking.

The Victor Valley Station in Apple Valley will be located on a 300-acre parcel southeast of Dale Evans Parkway and the I-15 interchange. The station is intended to offer a future connection to the High Desert Corridor and California High Speed Rail. The Victor Valley Station is approximately 20,000 square feet plus parking.

The Rancho Cucamonga Station will be located on a 5-acre property at the northwest corner of Milliken Avenue and Azusa Court near Ontario International Airport. The station will be co-located with existing multi-modal transportation options including California Metrolink, for seamless connectivity to Downtown Los Angeles and other locations in Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside Counties. The Rancho Cucamonga Station is approximately 80,000 square feet plus parking.

The Hesperia Station will be located within the I-15 median at the I-15/Joshua Street interchange and will function primarily as a local rail service for residents in the High Desert on select southbound morning and northbound evening weekday trains.

The Vehicle Maintenance Facility (VMF) is a 200,000-square-foot building located on 238 acres in Sloan, Nev., and will be the base for daily maintenance and staging of trains. This site will also serve as one of two hubs for the maintenance of way operations and the operations control center. More than 100 permanent employees will report on a daily basis once operations begin and will serve as train crews, corridor maintenance crews, or operations control center teammates. A second maintenance of way facility will be located adjacent to the Apple Valley station.

The Las Vegas and Southern California travel market is one of the nation’s most attractive corridors with over 50 million trips between the region each year. Additionally, Las Vegas continues to attract visitors from around the world, with 4.7 million international travelers flying into the destination. The city dubs itself on being the world’s No. 1 meeting destination, welcoming nearly 6 million people to the Las Vegas Convention Center last year.

In California, approximately 17 million Southern California residents are within 25 miles of the Brightline West station sites. Studies show that one out of every three visits to Las Vegas come from Southern California.

ECONOMIC & ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS

Brightline West's $12 billion infrastructure investment will create over $10 billion in economic impact for Nevada and California and will generate more than 35,000 jobs, including 10,000 direct union construction roles and 1,000 permanent operations and maintenance positions. The investment also includes over $800 million in improvements to the I-15 corridor and involves agreements with several unions for skilled labor. The project supports Nevada and California's climate goals by offering a no-emission mobility option that reduces greenhouse gasses by over 400,000 tons of CO2 annually – reducing vehicle miles traveled by more than 700 million each year and the equivalent of 16,000 short-haul flights. The company will also construct three wildlife overpasses, in partnership with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and Caltrans for the safe passage of native species, primarily the bighorn sheep.

BRIGHTLINE FLORIDA

Brightline’s first rail system in Florida connecting Miami to Orlando began initial service between its South Florida stations in 2018. In September 2023, Brightline’s Orlando station opened at Orlando International Airport, connecting South Florida to Central Florida. The company has plans to expand its system with future stops in Tampa, Florida’s Space Coast in Cocoa and the Treasure Coast in Stuart.

BRIGHTLINE WEST

ABOUT BRIGHTLINE WEST

Brightline is the only private provider of modern, eco-friendly, intercity passenger rail service in America – offering a guest-first experience designed to reinvent train travel and take cars off the road by connecting city pairs and congested corridors that are too short to fly and too long to drive. Brightline West will connect Las Vegas and Southern California with the first true high-speed passenger rail system in the nation. The 218-mile, all-electric rail service will include a flagship station in Las Vegas, with additional stations in Victor Valley and Rancho Cucamonga. At speeds up to 200 miles per hour, trains will take passengers from Las Vegas to Rancho Cucamonga in about two hours, twice as fast as the normal drive time.

Brightline is currently operating its first passenger rail system connecting Central and South Florida with stations in Miami, Aventura, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, and Orlando, with future stations coming to Stuart and Cocoa. For more information, visit  www.brightlinewest.com  and follow on  LinkedIn ,  X ,  Instagram  and  Facebook .

QUOTE SHEET

“Through this visionary partnership, we are going to create thousands of jobs, bring critical transportation infrastructure to the West, and create an innovative, fast, and sustainable transportation solution. Nevada looks forward to partnering with Brightline on this historic project.”  - Governor Joe Lombardo, Nevada

“Today, not only are we breaking ground on a historic high-speed rail project here in Nevada, we are breaking ground on thousands of good paying American jobs, union jobs.”  - Steve Benjamin, Senior Advisor to the President and Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement

“For decades, Nevadans heard about the promise of high-speed rail in our state, and I’m proud to have led the charge to secure the funding to make it a reality. Today’s groundbreaking is the beginning of a new era for southern Nevada -- creating thousands of good-paying union jobs, bringing in billions of dollars of economic development, enhancing tourism to the state, reducing traffic, and creating a more efficient and cleaner way to travel. This is a monumental step, and I’m glad to have worked across the aisle to make this project come true.”  - Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV)

“Having high-speed rail in Las Vegas will electrify our economy in Southern Nevada, and I’m thrilled to celebrate this milestone today. This project is on track to create tens of thousands of good-paying union jobs while cutting down traffic on I-15, and I’ll keep working with the Biden Administration to get this done as quickly as possible and continue delivering easier and cleaner transportation options for everyone in Nevada.”  - Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV)

“Today’s groundbreaking is a historic step in modernizing rail service in the United States. Californians driving between the Los Angeles region and Las Vegas often face heavy traffic, causing emissions that pollute the air in surrounding communities. The Brightline West Project will provide travelers with more options—helping Californians and visitors alike get to their final destination without facing gridlock on the road.”  - Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.)

"High-speed rail in the Southwest has been a dream as far back as the nineties when Governor Bob Miller appointed me to the California-Nevada Super Speed Train Commission. As a senior Member of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, I am honored to have helped write the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and secure $3 billion to turn that dream into a reality which will generate millions of dollars in tax revenue, reduce carbon emissions by easing traffic on Interstate 15, and create thousands of good-paying union jobs. I am proud to stand with advocates and transportation leaders as we break ground on the Brightline West project and look forward to welcoming high-speed passenger rail to Southern Nevada."  - Congresswoman Dina Titus (NV-1)

“For decades, high-speed rail was just a dream in southern Nevada – but now, I’m beyond proud that we finally made it a reality. I worked across the aisle to help negotiate, craft, and ultimately pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law because I knew it would kickstart transformative projects like Brightline West that will stand the test of time. Together, we’re cutting down on traffic, boosting our tourism economy, and creating thousands of good-paying union jobs.”  - Congresswoman Susie Lee (NV-3)

“I am proud to join Brightline West for the groundbreaking of this monumental project for Southern Nevada and the southwestern United States. By connecting Las Vegas to Southern California via high-speed rail, we will boost tourism, reduce congestion on the I-15 corridor, and create jobs. The impact on our local economy and the people of the Silver State will be tremendous. In my conversations with Secretary Buttigieg, Brightline West, and our Nevada labor leaders, I know that local workers and our Nevada small businesses will benefit from this transformational investment. This will be the nation's first true high-speed rail system, blazing a new path forward for our nation’s rail infrastructure, and we hope it will serve as a blueprint for fostering greater regional connections for many other cities across the country.  - Congressman Steven Horsford (NV-4)

“Brightline West’s groundbreaking today marks the construction of a dynamic high-speed rail system that will link Las Vegas, Hesperia, and Apple Valley to Rancho Cucamonga’s Metrolink Station, creating new jobs and fostering economic growth in California’s 23rd Congressional District. This convenient alternative to driving will reduce the number of cars on the road, decreasing emissions and reducing congestion in our High Desert communities. This is an exciting step and I look forward to the completion of this project.”  - Congressman Jay Obernolte (CA-23)

"Today's groundbreaking on the Brightline West high-speed rail project marks an incredible milestone in the Biden-Harris Administration's commitment to fulfilling the promise of high-speed rail and emissions-free transportation across the country. As a longtime supporter of this project, I helped pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which has already invested over $3 billion to support the completion of this project. By increasing transportation options, spurring job creation and new economic opportunities, and improving our environment through cutting over 400,000 tons of carbon pollution each year, this project will be transformative to my district and all of Southern California for generations—particularly in and around the last stop in Rancho Cucamonga. With the goal of being operational in time for Los Angeles to host the Summer Olympic Games in 2028, I look forward to Brightline West facilitating travel for the millions visiting our region and elevating our 21st-century connectivity on the global stage."  - Congresswoman Judy Chu (CA-28)

"As the Member of Congress that represents the City of Rancho Cucamonga and a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development, it is my honor to participate in breaking ground on one of the most highly anticipated high-speed rail projects in the country. We gathered today thanks to the Biden Administration's leadership, which enacted the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act to fund vital projects like this and transform our economy. The Brightline project is a stellar illustration of the power of successful public-private partnerships. Thanks to all the labor unions, Tribes, and wildlife advocates for their hard work, which brought this project to life. The bright line is fully electric and has zero emissions, which is excellent for our environment. I am eagerly anticipating the completion of this project in my district and look forward to seeing everyone there."  - Congresswoman Norma J. Torres (CA-35)

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Vending machine founders get $1.5 million 'Shark Tank' offer—despite a business model Mark Cuban called 'a huge mistake'

Dan Braido, Audley Wilson and Andy Siegel are the co-founders of RoboBurger, which makes vending machines that dispense customized burgers — a concept they call "the future of fast food."

Their path toward that possible future got off to a rocky start on Friday's episode of ABC's " Shark Tank ," after the show's investor judges criticized the Jersey City, New Jersey-based company's presentation and argued over its business model.

Kevin O'Leary called the presentation "chaotic," and initially declined to make an offer, after the co-founders struggled to explain the specifics of how the company could eventually become profitable.

"How do I make money? All the rest doesn't matter," O'Leary said.

Yet by the end of the episode, O'Leary teamed up with a guest judge, Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin, to offer the RoboBurger founders $1.5 million. Here's how they came around to the idea and "did a 180," as Rubin termed it.

Seeking $1.5 million despite no profits

The trio of founders brought a vending machine for the judges to try. It churned out a "rethermalized" burger patty on a toasted bun, with cheese and condiments, in around four minutes. The burgers have sold for between $5.99 and $6.99 apiece, the founders said.

"'Rethermalized' is a fancy word for 'reheated,'" noted Mark Cuban — though Braido, the company's CTO, said the pre-cooked patties are grilled in the machine to form a crust and ensure the meat is "fried in its own juices."

The sample burgers were tasty, the Sharks agreed. Then, the founders made their request: a $1.5 million investment in exchange for a 5% stake in the company, implying a $30 million valuation for a business that hadn't turned a profit yet.

"Whoa!" several of the investors said in unison.

RoboBurger brings in revenue by leasing the machines out for $3,000 per month, or selling them outright, said Siegel, the company's CMO. The buyers and lessees are responsible for keeping the machines stocked with ingredients. (RoboBurger didn't immediately respond to CNBC's request for clarification on its sale prices.)

At the time of filming, RoboBurger had been in "beta testing" for 18 months, with more than 12,000 burgers sold, the founders said. They projected $1.4 million in annual revenue by the end of the calendar year — but an overall annual loss of $700,000, they added.

The company needed funding to scale up its production process — "to get these machines out there at a faster rate and continue to grow," said Wilson, RoboBurger's CEO.

'A very high-risk project'

Robotics is a highly competitive industry, and its technology can quickly become outdated, Cuban noted. He called vending machines "hard capital assets that cost a lot of money" to produce and maintain, and suggested that RoboBurger would be better off making "a licensing play."

"Because you're driven by the physical location and the physical leasing, I think that's a huge mistake," Cuban explained, declining to make an offer.

Rubin also expressed doubts about the business model — specifically, whether tens of thousands of people would be willing to pay $3,000 per month, plus food costs.

"This is a big idea, and for that, I commend you guys. I just don't think you have the business model right," said Rubin. "But I think this could be very successful ... If it actually works, it could be massive. It could be a multibillion-dollar business."

Instead of an equity investment, Rubin suggested an alternative form of funding: a loan. He offered $1.5 million, with "market rate" interest payments and a 10% stake in the company as conditions.

"I think this is a very high-risk project [with] a very low probability of working. What you heard here was a lot of skepticism," he noted.

Barbara Corcoran chimed in to call Rubin's offer "greedy." But O'Leary warmed up to what he called "a very Mr. Wonderful structure," and offered to split the cost of the $1.5 million loan with Rubin.

Rubin agreed. The RoboBurger founders negotiated O'Leary and Rubin down to a 9% stake before saying yes, and expressed their excitement to partner with "two Sharks we would love to work with."

Explaining his decision to return to negotiations after previously dropping out, Rubin explained: "Sometimes in business, you do a 180 [degree turn]. I just did a 180 on myself."

Disclosure: CNBC owns the exclusive off-network cable rights to "Shark Tank."

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California Air Resources Board

Implementation workgroup: public meeting for the california e-bike incentive project.

The California E-Bike Incentive Project aims to provide rebates to reduce the purchase price for e-bikes to low-income consumers throughout California, specifically in disadvantaged and low-income communities. This project is designed to help Californians reduce their vehicle miles traveled by lowering barriers to e-bike ownership, as well as to educate Californians about bicycle safety and support local businesses.

• Presentation (coming soon)