presentation practice tips

Your Path to Perfect: Guide to Rehearsing a Presentation

by Janice Tomich

• Presentation Planning & Public Speaking Skills

Would you be surprised to hear that practicing a presentation is as important as the words you actually share? And that you should spend as much time rehearsing your speech as you did creating your presentation?

The presenters you admire—the ones that seem so at ease with their effortless delivery—appear polished because of the amount of time they invest in practicing their presentation skills.

Their natural delivery might lull you into thinking they’ve spent little time practicing.

But nothing could be further from the truth.

I’m a professional presentation coach , and I’ve guided over 1000 clients in the process of writing, practicing, and delivering presentations and keynote addresses .

Here are the tips and advice I give my clients on how to effectively rehearse for an upcoming presentation.

Table of Contents

How Much Should you Practice your Presentation Delivery?

As you practice, you’ll find that your presentation will evolve. It will become a more effective presentation as you make tweaks and adjustments. This evolution is likely to take more time than you anticipate.

To ensure you’ve given yourself lots of time to be stage ready, work backwards from the day you will be delivering your presentation, and then schedule in presentation practice time, with practices starting at least two weeks before you plan to walk on stage.

Don’t practice your presentation in the theatre of your mind. It’s only by actually articulating the words out loud that you will understand the messaging that works and the messaging that doesn’t.

I tell my clients they should practice until they get sick of hearing their own voice—that once that happens they’ll know they have practiced enough. They look at me in disbelief, because they usually want the hard numbers.

But there isn’t a prescriptive or magic number of hours your need to practice. It’s a knowing…knowing that you intuitively can speak to all of your content fluidly and you can transition from concept to concept with ease.

I do understand that most people want to know how many hours to schedule into their calendar, so the number that many professional speaking coaches quote is that for a one hour presentation you’ll need 30 hours of practice.

Yes, 30 hours of practice!

However, as I mentioned above, it’s not about a prescriptive amount of time but rather that you must ensure you are practiced enough to deliver your presentation with confidence. The longer the speech the more time you’ll need to practice. New presentations (ones which are not an adaptation of a previous one) also require more practice time. New public speakers often need more practice than seasoned ones, because experienced speakers know what to expect and how to adjust if things don’t go according to plan. New speakers are still honing their presentation skills.

You should also know that professional public speakers tend to spend more time practicing than business professionals. After all, a professional public speaker has a whole career and income around speaking. They need to deliver top-tier presentations that will influence and engage their audiences, and they treat presentation practice like the professionals they are.

“I was preparing for four presentations and although already comfortable with speaking in front of an audience, I was looking to hone my skills. We worked through all of the presentations together and I felt confident and prepared as I delivered them. “

​​​​Deanna Sparling Director of Operations – Barberstock System

Tips for Effective Presentation Practice

1. don’t memorize your speech.

My first rule of thumb is not to be tempted to memorize your presentation word for word. Audiences can tell when a speaker has memorized their presentation. It’s obvious because there is a flavour of performance art—the delivery is a bit disassociated from the words.

Memorized presentations sound robotic because it’s hard to instil passion in them—they lose their fresh, conversational vibe.

Rote memorization also sets you up for a big problem. Forget one word and you’ll look like a deer in headlights and be grappling for what to speak to next.

2. Pull Out the Key Concepts of the Presentation

Instead of memorizing your speech, follow these guidelines instead:

• Practice your full script once or twice out loud.
• Gather a stack of note cards.
• Scan through your presentation and write down key concepts – one concept per card.
• Do a few practice run throughs (again, out loud) expanding from the key points on your cards.

You’ll be surprised at how much you know and remember using this technique.

Many speakers have a hard time letting go of their notes. Notes are like a pacifier. When my clients toss them, I know it’s one of the toughest leaps of faith they need to take.

What’s the benefit to tossing your notes? You’ll sound natural, at ease, and confident.

3. Use Visual Cueing to Help You Remember Your Key Points

One of my very first clients was scheduled to deliver at a conference with a few months to prepare. Sadly, the previous year she had been in a massive car wreck and suffered a brain stem injury that affected her memory. First we worked together on the content, and then I created a method to help her deliver her words.

We used the key concepts technique above, but for each key concept, we associated it with a visual aid—an image which aligned to each key concept. For each concept we used an image that would trigger its meaning. Some of the images made no sense to me but it was the right trigger for her.

She practiced from these visual vies and once she had made a solid connection she memorized the images in order. It wasn’t easy—it took a lot of work. And she pulled it off beautifully.

I tell this story to demonstrate the real value in aligning concepts with visual cues. When I practice presentations, I’m usually in my living room. In a clockwise motion I attach each key concept to a piece of furniture … chair, credenza, couch, etc. I practice with each piece of furniture triggering my memory and then riff off of the key concepts.

Some clients find this too discombobulating. For some, having to retrieve the images conjured up from their home while standing on a stage is too confusing. For those clients, I recommend they use their own body from the top of their head to the tip of their toes as visual markers, assigning one key message per body part.

If you’re lost and unsure about how to make your presentation compelling, I can help.

4. Only Practice the Parts of the Speech You Trip Over

As my requests to speak at events grew, I soon realized that practicing a presentation from start to finish each time was time consuming. Many new public speakers fall into this trap as well. A better approach, once you have your presentation in good shape, is to only practice the parts which challenge you. This technique does double duty. It saves lots of time, and it also prevents over learning/memorizing.

And while you’re practicing…

5. Record Yourself Rehearsing Your Presentation

Many people shy away from recording themselves and then critiquing the playbacks. Once I got out of my own way, I realized how valuable video and audio recordings are. My clients say the same thing. Watching a video or audio recording of your own speech is one of the richest possible forms of public speaking feedback .

The trick is to remove your ego. Put your critiquing hat though you’re watching or listening to someone you don’t know.

Review Your Presentation Recordings and Answer These Self-Critique Questions

• Does your opening hook your audience in within the first 30 seconds?
• Have you established a solid through line? Is it obvious during your entire presentation?
• Is your content persuasive? Have you established common ground and then inched your audience along to influence them?
• Does each concept flow well into the next? Are the transitions smooth?
• Is your audience inspired by your close? What will they do because of your presentation?
• Are you using the full power of your voice and mannerisms that communicate engaging body language?
• Are you relying on too many filler words?
• Did you pace your content well—will your audience be able to easily follow your arguments?
• Do you appear relaxed? Are you presenting confidently ?

Once you answer these questions, take note of the problems you’ve identified and apply them to your next practice round. It’s doing the hard work and learning these nuances that support masterful delivery during your actual presentation.

Body Language: Practicing Gestures

When you practice and deliver your presentation with passion, confidence, and conviction as you would do as a speaker for TED Talk, your gestures and body language will naturally be in tune with your words.

There may be a few gestures you want to use for emphasis but to memorize each gesture will have you looking stilted and awkward.

Knowing When You Are Ready to Present

Your first practices should be on your own until you are confident in your content and how you’ll deliver it.

Once you’re in a solid place, I recommend practicing in front of colleagues that have lots of public speaking experience. Better yet, work with me —I’m a communication specialist and public speaking coach who has worked with over 1000 clients to get them prepared to stand behind a podium or on stage.

But don’t work until the last minute. It’s important to block concentrated scheduled presentation practice time … and also have rest time to integrate the learning.

“To join the stars, do less. But do the work with absolute, intense, and hard focus. And when you’re done, be done, and go enjoy the rest of the day.” Amir Afianian

An overburdened mind is not capable of efficiently learning a presentation (cramming for exams in uni didn’t work either.)

If you are up against a time crunch, I recommend you at least practice and learn the start of your presentation and conclusion of your presentation . Embed to memory the logical flow of your key points and from there, as time permits, practice ‘riffing’ off your points.

I’ve never delivered a presentation or had a client report back after a presentation saying they wished they’d practiced less.

The passion for your craft or industry shines through when you invest the time in practicing your presentation that shines a light on you as a professional public speaker.

Do You Need Help With Your Next Presentation?

Developing and creating a presentation on your own without professional feedback is challenging. If you’re stuck on how to clearly communicate your message, book a 1-hour presentation strategy session with me. I’ll help you get on track to deliver a presentation that is interesting, exciting, and engaging.

If you need support to create a presentation from a few scribbled notes on a napkin, I can help you with that too -> Prepare For Your Upcoming Presentation, Speech, or Talk .

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How-To Geek

How to practice your presentations with powerpoint's presenter coach.

Rehearsing presentations gets easier with PowerPoint.

Quick Links

How the presenter coach helps you with your presentations, what you'll need, how to launch the presenter coach in powerpoint, reading your rehearsal report.

Microsoft PowerPoint now has a Presenter Coach to let you rehearse your presentations before going to the audience. This coach gives you a detailed report telling you how well you did and suggesting areas for improvement. Here's how to use it.

Consider the Presenter Coach in PowerPoint as a trusted friend who listens to you practice performing  your presentations . This coach reviews your entire presentation and creates a report detailing your performance.

For example, it will grade you on how fast you speak and how much you use filler words like "um" and "ah." It will also inform you of words you might want to avoid and encourage you not to simply read the words on your slides aloud.

Basically, if you need a second opinion on your presenting style, this is a great way to get it.

Related: 8 Tips to Make the Best PowerPoint Presentations

To use the Presenter Coach in PowerPoint, you must have:

• a Microsoft account or a Microsoft 365 work or school account
• a working internet connection
• a microphone (so that PowerPoint can listen to what you're saying)

Also, the Presenter Coach only works if you use the English language in PowerPoint. Other languages are not yet supported as of April 2021.

PowerPoint's Presenter Coach works for any presentation. You can use it with your commercial, educational, and even family presentations.

To start using this feature, open your presentation with PowerPoint.

In the PowerPoint window, click the "Slide Show" tab on the ribbon at the top of the window.

If you don't see the Slide Show tab, you're probably in Slide Master View. Close this view by selecting "Slide Master" at the top and then clicking "Close Master View."

In the Slide Show tab, click "Rehearse with Coach" to open PowerPoint's Presenter Coach.

Your presentation will open in fullscreen mode. To activate the Presenter Coach, click "Start Rehearsing" in the bottom-right corner of your window. Optionally, enable "Show real-time feedback" if you want the coach to give you tips while you're still presenting.

Now, begin your presentation like you normally would. If you enabled the real-time feedback option, you'll see some tips appear in the bottom-right corner of your window.

Press "Esc" when you're done presenting to exit fullscreen mode. PowerPoint will now open your rehearsal report.

It's important to read and analyze the Presenter Coach's report properly. This will help you find areas for improvement and see whether you're doing well.

The report will vanish as soon as you close the report window. To save the report, take a screenshot of it.

Here's what each section in the report tells you about your presentation:

• Summary : Summary tells you the amount of time you spent practicing your presentation. It also shows the number of slides you rehearsed.
• Fillers : In the Fillers section, you'll see the filler words (umm, ah) that you used during your presentation. Using these filler words makes you sound less confident, and you should try to avoid using them.
• Sensitive Phrases : Sensitive Phrases highlights culturally sensitive phrases that you used in your presentation, which you might want to avoid. It considers the following areas sensitive: disability, age, gender, race, sexual orientation, mental health, geopolitical topics, and profanity.
• Pace : The Pace section tells you the pace of your presentation. If you were too fast or too slow, you'll find that information here.
• Originality : Microsoft suggests that you avoid reading out the text written in your presentation slides, as this makes your presentation boring. Instead, you should use original content in your speech. The Originality section informs you if you only read the text from your slides.

Now that you know where you need to improve, click the "Rehearse Again" button at the top of the report to re-present your presentation. When you're done, PowerPoint will make another report detailing your new presentation performance.

Related: How to Add Music to Your PowerPoint Presentation

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14 effective presentation tips to impress your audience

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

Anete Ezera July 15, 2022

An effective presentation can communicate key ideas and opinions, save time, and contribute to your overall success as a business, but good presentation skills don’t come naturally to everyone. In this blog post, you’ll find 14 effective presentation tips you can implement in your next presentation to make it a success. 

Whether you’re preparing for an important presentation at work or school, or you’re looking for ways to generally improve your presentation skills, you’ll find these presentation tips useful. We’ve gathered a list to help you impress your audience from the get-go. You’ll find tips for creating and presenting your slides, talking in front of an audience, and other effective presentation techniques to help you stand out. 

Most common presentation mistakes

Before we list our top effective presentation tips, let’s explore the most common presentation mistakes. If you’ve made one or more mistakes in this list, you’re not alone. Most people have made at least one mistake. However, what’s important is to be aware of these errors and try avoiding them next time.

#1 A poor start

One of the most common mistakes people make is undermining the importance of the first few minutes or seconds of their presentation. 

Let’s say you’ve practiced your key talking points meticulously and gone over your slides a million times, but when you’re in the spotlight and need to say your first line, do you know exactly what to say to wow the audience? 

The start of your presentation is crucial. Not only because how you start sets the tone for the rest of your presentation, but also because people generally require around 8 seconds to decide whether they find the subject interesting enough to keep listening. Starting your presentation with a captivating intro is even more important than you think. To ensure you start off right, read our guide on how to start your presentation . 

#2 Lack of preparation

Yes, even though it’s clear that you should prepare before giving a presentation, it’s still a common mistake amongst presenters. Preparing content and talking points is an obvious start, but there are other steps that you might be overlooking.

Before you even join a meeting or walk into a room where you’re going to present, consider the technical requirements and get familiar with the equipment. If you’re presenting online, make sure to test-run your presentation and the visual aids you’re going to use. The last thing you want is a broken video link, poor audio, or a weak connection when you’re presenting. 

Also, consider the questions your audience might want to ask you about the topic. Think about how you’d answer those questions, or do even further research to really impress the audience with your answers. 

Explore other ways to prepare for a presentation to feel even more confident when presenting.

#3 Losing track of time

It’s great to feel passionate about your topic. However, you’ll have to consider your audience’s level of interest and knowledge. Some details might seem fascinating to you, and you’d like to talk about them for hours, but for your audience, too much information will drain their energy and lose their attention. 

Therefore, make sure to keep track of time. Also, consider your audience’s interests. A concise presentation is always better than a long one with a ton of information. Plus, you’ll have a higher chance of keeping your audience’s attention throughout the presentation. 

Effective presentation tips

Now that we’ve looked at some of the most common presentation mistakes – let’s dive into effective presentation tips that’ll help you excel in future presentations. 

#1 Tell a story

Stories connect, inspire, and empower people. Telling a story can entice action, help understand an idea, and make people feel connected to the storyteller. It’s also one of the most effective presentation tips. A study by organizational psychologist Peg Neuhauser found that a well-told story is easier to remember than facts, which makes it a highly effective learning technique. 

With that in mind, telling a story when you’re presenting can engage your audience and make it a more memorable experience. You can either share a personal story or a historical event, just make sure to have a clear connection between the story and the topic you’re presenting. 

#2 Work on your body language

Body language can make a huge difference in how your presentation is perceived. It’s one of the presentation tips you definitely shouldn’t overlook. 

Body language says a lot about a person’s confidence level, emotions, state of mind, and even credibility. For the audience, it’s a way to understand what the person is saying and how interested they are in the topic. 

Therefore, work on your body language to better convey the message you’re trying to communicate. Practice in front of a mirror before your presentation and be conscious of your hand gestures and facial expressions. 

#3 Understand your audience

Before crafting your presentation, you must know who you’re speaking to. Understanding the interests, demographics, professional background, and other valuable information of your audience is crucial in making your speech successful. 

If you’re speaking at an event, contact the organizers to get more information about other speakers and the audience. If you’re presenting at work, you may already know your audience fairly well. Use this information to your advantage and create content you know they’ll resonate with.

#4 Use high-quality visuals

What’s one of the most effective presentation techniques? Use of visuals. They play a crucial role in your presentation. However, only high-quality visuals will make a good impression and effectively communicate your message. Use high-quality visuals like images, videos, graphs, maps, and others to really land your point. 

Using visuals is a great way to convey your ideas as they’re easier to process than text. If you’re not sure where to find great visuals, check out our blog post on presentation visuals for five free resources.

P.S. the Prezi library holds a variety of images, videos, GIFs, stickers, and other visuals, including different charts and maps to spice up your presentation. It’s all available in your dashboard .

#5 Use data visualizations

Do you want to showcase statistics or other datasets in your presentation? Use data visualizations to make your data stand out and impress your audience. 

There’s nothing more boring than a bunch of data presented in a flat way. If you want to tell a story with your data, use interactive infographics or slides enriched with eye-catching visuals. Showcasing data will make your ideas appear more trustworthy and credible. 

Prezi Design offers a range of templates to choose from. You can start creating data visualizations from scratch or choose a template and edit the data there. 

#6 Make it engaging with interactive elements

It’s not easy to deliver an engaging presentation. People can easily get distracted or try to multitask, especially in the virtual environment. Sometimes, it’s difficult to focus on the speaker and the written text. Other times, the content just isn’t impressive enough to hold the audience’s attention. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

You can make your presentation more engaging for everyone by including interactive content like graphs and charts. With interactive data visualizations, you’ll make the data discovery process more engaging and exciting for your audience. 

Your audience will be able to hover over data points and click on certain icons or datasets to discover information on their own. Interactive visualizations will make the presentation more memorable and impressive. 

As you can see in the example below, you can discover different data by engaging with the infographic. 

#7 Stay consistent with fonts and color styles

You want your presentation to look visually appealing and highlight essential information. To make that happen, stay consistent with font styles and color schemes throughout your presentation. 

Use one or two fonts max to make the text easy to read and understand. Also, use a carefully selected color scheme that’s not too distracting. If you’re using Prezi Design, you can easily copy and paste styles by right-clicking on your data visualizations and selecting “copy styles.” This makes it easier to stay consistent and saves time when picking matching colors. 

#8 Structure your presentation properly

Before creating your presentation, think about its structure. What’s the main idea you want to convey? Use that as your starting point, and only include information that adds value to the narrative. 

Plan out the first topics carefully to properly introduce your argument. Add the essential information in the middle part of your presentation. Lastly, close your presentation with a summary of the main points and leave your audience with an afterthought. Also, plan when you’re taking questions and for how long. 

For more insight, watch this tutorial on how to structure your presentation:

#9 Practice your public speaking skills

Public speaking may not be your forte, but you can get better with practice. Don’t decline a great opportunity to share your ideas with a larger audience just because you feel nervous speaking in front of a group of people. 

One of the best ways to improve your public speaking skills is to practice in front of your family or friends – people you feel comfortable with. Also, focus on the topic you’re presenting and get excited about the idea you want to convey. This way you’ll appear more confident and feel less nervous about public speaking. 

Explore other public speaking tips from Jessica Chen, the founder, and CEO of Soulcast Media: 

#10 Show your slides next to you on-screen

If you’re presenting on Zoom or in a virtual meeting , think twice before you share your screen. The days of hiding behind slides are over. People want to see and connect with other people, not sit through another run-of-the-mill screen share. To do that, use Prezi Video to showcase all your content right next to you in your video feed. 

As a result, your presentation will look more engaging than a traditional virtual presentation . Also, your audience will have the chance to read your body language and follow along with what you’re saying even better. 

If you already have your slides prepared, don’t worry – you can easily integrate them into Prezi. 

See Prezi Video in action and check out our video templates to get started.

#11 Calm down before presenting

Being in front of an audience can feel nerve-racking. However, there are ways to calm down before presenting that will make you feel more centered and confident. The last thing you want is all your hard work to go to waste just because of stress. 

Try breathing exercises or a five-minute guided meditation before presenting. The trick is to remove all distractions and focus on the present moment so you’re not overthinking right before starting your presentation. Also, be fully prepared and know exactly what to say and when which will help you feel more collected. If you want to discover other ways to feel and look more confident, read how not to be nervous before a presentation . 

#12 Use transitions and animations 

Add movement to your slides with transitions and animations. You’ll make your presentation more visually appealing and engaging. However, be careful not to overwhelm your audience with your choice of transitions and animations. 

Choose a transition that matches your presentation visually and use it throughout your presentation. Consider what animations will be relevant to your audience and select a few to add to your slides. Don’t overdo it. Keep the focus on the message you’re trying to convey, and use animations to only support that message. 

#13 Be enthusiastic 

When you’re in a room with a positive and enthusiastic person, you can’t help but feel uplifted as well. High-energy people have this effect on others. Most importantly, a lot of people tend to mimic people’s behavior and mirror their energy when they feel a connection or relate to them. That’s called the chameleon effect . 

When you’re presenting, you want your audience to feel curious about what you’re presenting. You may also want to leave your audience feeling uplifted, interested to know more, or inspired. To have that effect on others, try to convey those emotions when presenting. Practice your speech, slow down your narration at times, or take a pause after you’ve delivered a statement, and use different presentation techniques to present your project and really drive your points home. 

#14 End your presentation in a memorable way

The first few minutes of your presentation are crucial for captivating your audience’s attention. However, don’t underestimate the importance of ending your presentation as powerfully as you started it. 

The way you end your presentation will play a crucial part in how your audience will remember it. You want to make a memorable impression by closing your presentation with a summarizing statement, a rhetorical question, a call to action, or another impactful way. Discover 10 ways you can end your presentation in our guide.  

There are a lot of factors to consider when creating and delivering a presentation. You want your slides to look professional and visually appealing while conveying your main points. You also want to look and sound confident even if you’re nervous about public speaking. Whatever your concerns may be, remember that preparation is essential. Practice and dedication are the keys to giving a successful presentation . Make sure to follow these effective presentation tips to excel in your future presentations. If you’re interested in creating a captivating presentation with Prezi, contact us to learn more or try it for free . 

Elevating presentations with Prezi AI

Embrace the innovation of Prezi to bring your presentations to life. With its unique platform, Prezi AI offers more than just visually appealing templates; it provides an immersive narrative experience, engaging your audience with a story-driven approach. By integrating Prezi AI , our platform’s capabilities are further enhanced, offering intelligent design suggestions and optimizing content layouts to ensure your presentations are not only beautiful but impactful. This integration is a perfect example of effective presentation techniques in action, using technology to create a more engaging presentation.

Interactive elements: transforming passive listening into active engagement

Prezi revolutionizes the way information is presented by incorporating interactive elements that invite audience participation. With Prezi AI, these features become even more accessible, suggesting ways to make your presentation more engaging through clickable areas, zoomable images, and dynamic visualizations. This level of interaction encourages exploration, making your message more memorable and transforming a standard presentation into an effective presentation.

Adding a personal touch in digital presentation with video

Prezi Video stands out by seamlessly integrating your content alongside your video feed, bridging the gap between traditional presentations and personal engagement. This feature is crucial for those looking to follow presentation tips that emphasize the importance of connecting with your audience on a more personal level. Prezi AI enhances this experience, ensuring your content is displayed in the most effective way possible, making your virtual presentations feel as though you’re directly conversing with your audience.

Mastering presentation artistry with Prezi

The journey to becoming a skilled presenter involves continuously refining your approach and embracing tools that elevate your ability to communicate effectively. Prezi, enriched with Prezi AI, is one such tool that transforms ordinary presentations into captivating experiences. By leveraging these advanced features, you can deliver presentations that are successful, memorable, and truly unforgettable, embodying the essence of tips for presentation mastery.

Whether you’re an experienced speaker or preparing for your first presentation, Prezi equips you with the tools to succeed. Engage your audience, tell compelling stories, and deliver your message with confidence and creativity. Following effective presentation tips and exploring how Prezi AI can transform your next presentation is a step towards mastering the art of impactful communication. Delve into the features and begin your journey to presentation mastery today.

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The big fish blog, preparing presentations: 5 ways to practice ’til perfect.

“Practice makes perfect.”

We’ve all heard it.  Many, many times, in fact.

Although it has been repeated many times over your lifetime, it still rings truth.  In any skill that you choose to pursue, if you practice it enough, you will be nearly perfect at it.  There’s no way to get around it.  Unless you are naturally talented at something or get extremely lucky, odds are the only way to “sharpen your sword,” so to speak , is through repetition.  Now, we’re not going to lie to you.  It takes a lot time and dedication to be a disciplined practitioner of anything.  However, if you can sit down, focus and try your best, you will see clear results.

This mindset also applies to presentations.  For most people, presentations make them nervous, which is natural.  However, you can significantly decrease your nervousness by taking certain steps, carefully preparing yourself for the event to come.  At Big Fish Presentations, we encourage our clients to practice a variety of methods that ease nerves, which makes them more successful and confident in their presentations.  So, we’ve gathered five of these tactics to share with you today.

Here are five ways in which you can practice your presentation skills.

1. Rehearse in front of a crowd

Standing in front of a group of people, giving your speech and seeing their reactions is a great way to boost your confidence in your material and delivery.  Whether it’s a small group of your friends, co-workers, family or even a random group of strangers, the action of giving your presentation allows you to see reactions and get natural human feedback.  This will calm your nerves and make you more comfortable with the entire experience.  Many times, you’ll find that your worst mistakes will surface on this first go-around, leaving you with plenty of time and feedback to correct mistakes and re-organize your thoughts.

2. Take notes

As you practice, it’s very useful to stop immediately whenever you notice a mistake or an uncomfortable moment and jot down a few notes.  In any practicing situation, don’t hesitate to analyze and re-analyze your presentation as you go.  After all, this is why you’re practicing in the first place.  You can write down things like cutting down on time on certain parts, making sure you enunciate tricky words or refining the structure of your talk.  You’d be surprised by how many issues you can find when you take the time to look at yourself closely.

3. Experiment

Don’t keep repeating the same lines over and over again if you think it sounds boring or awkward.  Let loose and find ways to make your presentation exciting for your audience.  Experiment with variations of words, include a funny story, make a joke or two.  Relax!  Remember, the two most important things in your presentation are being clear and being relevant.  Use the stage or props to your advantage.  Ask a particular audience member a question.  Keep your audience guessing.  You can have a lot of fun if you free yourself from the boring presentation structure and have a little fun out there.

4. Time yourself

Timing is crucial in presentations.  It takes practice to nail down a solid time, but the general rule of thumb is to keep it short, simple and to the point.  Since your goal is to decrease time while maintaining quality, practice trimming your message to include the most important and relevant information without the fluff.  Set up a goal of the amount of time that you think is appropriate for your audience, then refine or beef up your talk accordingly.  The more comfortable you are with your time, the more flexible you can be as you give your presentation.

5. Record yourself

By hearing and seeing yourself, you can judge the inflection, speed and enunciation of your voice.  You always want to put yourself in your audience’s position, seeing and hearing yourself as they would see you.  It’s not so much about perfecting your orating skills, although that is important, as it is about showing your personality through your words.  In order to come across original and confident, you want to show your true character and that you’re comfortable in your speech.

All in all, it comes down to carefully observing yourself and constructively criticizing the elements of your speech.  You’ve got to take the time to truly grade yourself before you can expect to deliver a solid presentation.  The true masters of presentations, such as TED speakers, train themselves and prepare extensively in advance for their talks.  If you want to truly engage your audience, be yourself, but most importantly be comfortable with yourself.  It’s all about blending your personality with your message and finding the happy medium between your goals and the outcome.

What do you think?  Was this helpful?  Do you have any additional tips or guidelines about preparing for a presentation? Let us know what you think in the comments below, on our Facebook page or tweet us!  Also, subscribe to our YouTube channel for more awesome content from the Big Fish team!

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Very useful. Especially the suggestion about taking notes. I find that you can’t short-cut the process. I try and practice (for time), and take notes along the way, and then try to figure out how much time it took me to take the notes, etc. This really doesn’t work. Do a practice first, with note taking to refine the presentation, then start working on time. I find this is the best way to proceed.

Fantastic post, I really look forward to updates from you.

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How to Make a “Good” Presentation “Great”

• Guy Kawasaki

Remember: Less is more.

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

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

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

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

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How can you make a good presentation even more effective?

This page draws on published advice from expert presenters around the world, which will help to take your presentations from merely ‘good’ to ‘great’.

By bringing together advice from a wide range of people, the aim is to cover a whole range of areas.

Whether you are an experienced presenter, or just starting out, there should be ideas here to help you to improve.

1. Show your Passion and Connect with your Audience

It’s hard to be relaxed and be yourself when you’re nervous.

But time and again, the great presenters say that the most important thing is to connect with your audience, and the best way to do that is to let your passion for the subject shine through.

Be honest with the audience about what is important to you and why it matters.

Be enthusiastic and honest, and the audience will respond.

2. Focus on your Audience’s Needs

Your presentation needs to be built around what your audience is going to get out of the presentation.

As you prepare the presentation, you always need to bear in mind what the audience needs and wants to know, not what you can tell them.

While you’re giving the presentation, you also need to remain focused on your audience’s response, and react to that.

You need to make it easy for your audience to understand and respond.

3. Keep it Simple: Concentrate on your Core Message

When planning your presentation, you should always keep in mind the question:

What is the key message (or three key points) for my audience to take away?

You should be able to communicate that key message very briefly.

Some experts recommend a 30-second ‘elevator summary’, others that you can write it on the back of a business card, or say it in no more than 15 words.

Whichever rule you choose, the important thing is to keep your core message focused and brief.

And if what you are planning to say doesn’t contribute to that core message, don’t say it.

4. Smile and Make Eye Contact with your Audience

This sounds very easy, but a surprisingly large number of presenters fail to do it.

If you smile and make eye contact, you are building rapport , which helps the audience to connect with you and your subject. It also helps you to feel less nervous, because you are talking to individuals, not to a great mass of unknown people.

To help you with this, make sure that you don’t turn down all the lights so that only the slide screen is visible. Your audience needs to see you as well as your slides.

5. Start Strongly

The beginning of your presentation is crucial. You need to grab your audience’s attention and hold it.

They will give you a few minutes’ grace in which to entertain them, before they start to switch off if you’re dull. So don’t waste that on explaining who you are. Start by entertaining them.

Try a story (see tip 7 below), or an attention-grabbing (but useful) image on a slide.

6. Remember the 10-20-30 Rule for Slideshows

This is a tip from Guy Kawasaki of Apple. He suggests that slideshows should:

• Contain no more than 10 slides;
• Last no more than 20 minutes; and
• Use a font size of no less than 30 point.

This last is particularly important as it stops you trying to put too much information on any one slide. This whole approach avoids the dreaded ‘Death by PowerPoint’.

As a general rule, slides should be the sideshow to you, the presenter. A good set of slides should be no use without the presenter, and they should definitely contain less, rather than more, information, expressed simply.

If you need to provide more information, create a bespoke handout and give it out after your presentation.

7. Tell Stories

Human beings are programmed to respond to stories.

Stories help us to pay attention, and also to remember things. If you can use stories in your presentation, your audience is more likely to engage and to remember your points afterwards. It is a good idea to start with a story, but there is a wider point too: you need your presentation to act like a story.

Think about what story you are trying to tell your audience, and create your presentation to tell it.

Finding The Story Behind Your Presentation

To effectively tell a story, focus on using at least one of the two most basic storytelling mechanics in your presentation:

Focusing On Characters – People have stories; things, data, and objects do not. So ask yourself “who” is directly involved in your topic that you can use as the focal point of your story.

For example, instead of talking about cars (your company’s products), you could focus on specific characters like:

• The drivers the car is intended for – people looking for speed and adventure
• The engineers who went out of their way to design the most cost-effective car imaginable

A Changing Dynamic – A story needs something to change along the way. So ask yourself “What is not as it should be?” and answer with what you are going to do about it (or what you did about it).

For example…

• Did hazardous road conditions inspire you to build a rugged, all-terrain jeep that any family could afford?
• Did a complicated and confusing food labelling system lead you to establish a colour-coded nutritional index so that anybody could easily understand it?

To see 15 more actionable storytelling tips, see Nuts & Bolts Speed Training’s post on Storytelling Tips .

8. Use your Voice Effectively

The spoken word is actually a pretty inefficient means of communication, because it uses only one of your audience’s five senses. That’s why presenters tend to use visual aids, too. But you can help to make the spoken word better by using your voice effectively.

Varying the speed at which you talk, and emphasising changes in pitch and tone all help to make your voice more interesting and hold your audience’s attention.

For more about this, see our page on Effective Speaking .

9. Use your Body Too

It has been estimated that more than three quarters of communication is non-verbal.

That means that as well as your tone of voice, your body language is crucial to getting your message across. Make sure that you are giving the right messages: body language to avoid includes crossed arms, hands held behind your back or in your pockets, and pacing the stage.

Make your gestures open and confident, and move naturally around the stage, and among the audience too, if possible.

10. Relax, Breathe and Enjoy

If you find presenting difficult, it can be hard to be calm and relaxed about doing it.

One option is to start by concentrating on your breathing. Slow it down, and make sure that you’re breathing fully. Make sure that you continue to pause for breath occasionally during your presentation too.

For more ideas, see our page on Coping with Presentation Nerves .

If you can bring yourself to relax, you will almost certainly present better. If you can actually start to enjoy yourself, your audience will respond to that, and engage better. Your presentations will improve exponentially, and so will your confidence. It’s well worth a try.

Improve your Presentation Skills

Follow our guide to boost your presentation skills learning about preparation, delivery, questions and all other aspects of giving effective presentations.

Start with: What is a Presentation?

Continue to: How to Give a Speech Self Presentation

See also: Five Ways You Can Do Visual Marketing on a Budget Can Presentation Science Improve Your Presentation? Typography – It’s All About the Message in Your Slides

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Best Practices Online Resources

Tips for presenters, slideshow presentation tips.

• Best Practices for Excellent Presentations in the Virtual World Document published by Mandel Communication
• 13 Best Practice Tips for Effective Presentation Handouts Your presentation handout is the lasting concrete manifestation of your presentation. It’s an important part of the total experience for the audience:
• 8 Key Points for Perfect Presentation Practice
• How to Give a Killer Presentation

Key pointers to help presenters

• Make eye contact early and often.
• Face the audience and connect with them.
• If you are in a large group and are taking questions, rephrase the question just asked because most others in the audience will likely not have heard the question.
• Demonstrate your own level of passion, interest in your venture through your physical engagement and tone of voice.

An effective presentation is a combination of presentation software and other forms of communication, writing and reporting to persuade, convince, inform and enlighten.

Some tips to keep in mind when designing:

• Keep it simple, elegant and professional. Limit the use of animation, transitions, and sound.
• Practice no more than 4 by 4 rule when possible, 4 bullets with 4 words.
• Edit ruthlessly. Have others proofread if possible.
• Use real images whenever possible, not clipart.
• Font size needs to be large enough to read, 18-24 pt is standard. Specialty fonts are hard to read.
• Colors - change for emphasis as needed, but be consistent with design
• Structure the presentation with an opening slide, outline of discussion, the subject material and a conclusion or summary.

Some tips when presenting:

• Do not read your slides; there should be a balance between you and the slide content, otherwise, you are not needed!
• Begin with a story to connect your audience, introduce yourself and the topic and make the subject matter relevant to them.
• Know your audience and respect them.
• Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse!

Respect Your Audience

• Respect your audience, how to make presentations that have impact View this slide share presentation on how to respect your audience and provide meaning, message, structure and form to your presentations. Schrover, B. (2011, October 27). Respect your audience, how to make presentations that have impact. [Slideshare]. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/BasSchrover/respect-your-audience-how-to-make-presentations

TED 10 commandments

The TED commandments can not only be applied to giving a TED talk, but to any public speaking presentation you may make. The commandments point out the importance of connecting to your audience with an engaging story, create a fun atmosphere and make sure to show your passion!

Handouts- Before or After?

There is much debate about distributing handouts for presentations before or after the presentation. There are pros and cons to both scenarios. Most researchers agree that print outs of your slides does not make the best handout, expecially if you are subscribing to the simpliar design with images and few words. It can be beneficial to have a way for attendees to take notes, so a simplified handout with blank space will not distract from your presentation. Save the detailed and multiple page handout for afterwards. 

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• Last Updated: Mar 11, 2024 5:27 PM
• Guide URL: https://libguides.wilmu.edu/presentations

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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.

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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

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University Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Designing Hybrid Workshops

• Pre-Workshop
• Setting Up the Space
• Presenting the Workshop
• Post-Workshop

This page covers what to do on the day of your workshop so both in-person and virtual attendees have a good experience. Covers best practices for both the presenter and the chat moderator for the event. 

Presenter Tips

It's the day of the workshop! As you get ready to present, keep in mind that you are presenting to two different audiences: those in person, and those over Zoom. It can be easy to prioritize one group over the other as you present, and you may focus on in-person attendees to the detriment of those online. As such, some best practices for hybrid presenting include: 

• Use the microphone.   Even if you are in a small space, use the microphone. It's better for you to be a bit loud than to find out participants had trouble hearing you and couldn't understand what you were saying.   
• Acknowledge both in-person and virtual participants at the beginning of the workshop, and make sure to address virtual participants throughout the event . Even acknowledging virtual participants only at the beginning shows that you want them there and intend to include them throughout the event.   
• Alternate between looking at in-person participants and at the cameras in the room . This can be difficult to remember, but doing so can help virtual participants feel more involved in the workshop.   
• Repeat all questions before answering them, and if possible, identify the question asker . In-person and virtual participants may not be able to see or hear questions from the other group. Repeat all questions before answering them to make sure all participants understand what you are talking about and can continue to follow along with the workshop. 

Chat Moderator Tips

Having a chat moderator is a great way to keep virtual participants involved in the workshop. If you are able to have a chat moderator for your event, consider following the best practices below: 

• Welcome virtual participants as they join the workshop and keep them updated about any mic checks, technology issues, and other important updates . As the chat moderator, you should keep virtual participants up-to-date about when the workshop will start and how they should handle any tech issues, send questions in the chat, and address other needs as they arise.   
• Keep an eye on virtual participants and make sure to mute them when they aren't speaking . This can help prevent audio issues throughout the workshop.   
• Copy and paste any resources or links mentioned during the presentation into the chat.  This allows virtual participants to easily access resources and keeps them involved throughout the workshop.   
• Read questions from the virtual chat aloud, and rewrite questions asked in-person in the chat . As mentioned in the Best Practice Tips for Presenters, reiterating these questions can help both in-person and virtual participants keep track of what question the presenter is addressing. 
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• Next: Post-Workshop >>
• Last Updated: Apr 28, 2024 11:43 AM
• URL: https://guides.library.illinois.edu/hybrid