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Practice Projects for PowerPoint

Powerpoint Project 5 Practice Document

In this practice project for Powerpoint, students will create a powerpoint presentation following the example given. Students will be required to have slides enter with custom animation and differing …

Powerpoint Project 4 Practice Document

In this practice project for Powerpoint, students will creat a basic powerpoint where slides advance automatically. …

Powerpoint Project 3 Practice Document

In this practice project for Powerpoint, students will create a basic powerpoint based on the example given. Students will need to create and insert a chart and have different parts of the slide …

Powerpoint Project 2 Practice Document

In this practice project for Powerpoint, students will follow basic instructions to create a powerpoint where slides and text appear with different animations. …

Powerpoint Project 1 Practice Document

In this practice project for Powerpoint, students will create a basic powerpoint based on the example given. Students will need to write titles, insert pictures and use different animations for key …

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12 Interactive PowerPoint Activities Your Students will Love

At Slides with Friends, we're all about trying to make your life as a teacher a little bit easier. We want to provide as many tools, tips, and as much support as possible. That's why we share on topics like Review Games , Student Wellness Activities , and Tools for Measuring Student Engagement .

While we usually focus on how you can use Slides with Friends specifically, we want to bring you something a little different this time. We've compiled 12 of our favorite interactive PowerPoint activities you can use with your students. All of the activities are designed to engage your students in ways they'll love. Even better, these activities let you use a tool you're probably already familiar with.

And read to the end for an exciting new announcement!

Annotated Images

Annotated images let you teach history (or literature! or geography!) using detailed annotated images from your latest lesson. We're big fans of using visuals in the classroom. And with good reason! A study released by the Journal of Education and Practice found visual information is mapped better in students' minds across multiple types of thinking skills. By introducing more visuals to a lesson plan, and using tools like PowerPoint, lessons are more likely to be remembered.

You can introduce annotated images on PowerPoint by picking out relevant images and adding captions or labels to them and presenting them as you teach. You can add descriptions, draw arrows, or points of interest on the image.

Check out this fun example from Ditch That Textbook .

Even better, provide a few unique images of the lesson you just presented and have the students create their own annotations. Then, as a class, have each student present their image in PowerPoint.

Photos as Story Prompts

More visual learning! Using photos as storytelling prompts can be a great way to spark your student's creativity! PowerPoint is an ideal platform to display the photos, as it provides you the flexibility and versatility to show one photo at a time in case you want the students to focus exclusively on that image.

Simply ask them to write a story based on the photo in 1-3 sentences, and compare answers afterward. Encouraging different interpretations of a single image also helps foster critical thinking skills and encourages students to use their own perspectives when expressing their ideas.

Interactive Maps

Interactive maps are a fantastic way for students to learn about their world without leaving the classroom! And one of the easiest ways to show off these maps is through PowerPoint. Plus, PowerPoint makes adding hyperlinks to specific places (like pins), so you can click through areas of interest without having to open up a separate browser page.

If you're looking for a simple tutorial on how to create a lesson-based interactive map, check out this one from eLearning Industry . For more exploratory maps, check out the tutorial below (which includes the free template!).

Battleship Review Game

We love a good game here at Slides with Friends, so it shouldn't be a surprise to see so many options on this list. However, before doing research for this article, we had no idea Battleship could be played on PowerPoint!

In the template below, you can add words and to reveal the space beneath the words, students have to:

- Conjugate the Verb

- Use the Word in a Sentence

- Define the Word

Or one of any fun combinations.

We love this idea for language classes especially, but can also be used for vocabulary in any subject.

You can check out the whole presentation here.

Crossword Puzzle

Crossword puzzles are a timeless and popular way of testing knowledge and keeping minds alert. They can be used in the classroom to reinforce concepts and skills related to any subject, making them a great teaching tool. Crosswords can help students learn new vocabulary words, polish their grammar, understand history or science topics better, or firm up mathematics concepts.

And an easy way to do a crossword in the classroom is by using PowerPoint. You simply need to create a blank and a filled puzzle on PowerPoint and then fill it out with your class.

Check out this step-by-step guide on the best way to quickly create a crossword puzzle in PowerPoint.

Tests and quizzes are absolutely no fun, so if you can find an easy way to quiz your students in a fun way, that's a win-win! One of our favorite ways to do this is by creating a quiz show on PowerPoint.

By using those hyperlinks we mentioned above, you can easily create your own questions, assign point values, and include sound effects (or music!) to make your students feel like they're actually in a game show!

This 6 Steps to Create a Multiple Choice Quiz is a great way to start designing your next PowerPoint quiz. If you're looking for multiple ways to create a quiz show for your students, check out the detailed tutorial below .

Video Gallery

We've talked quite a bit about visuals here, not just because PowerPoint is a great tool for visuals, but because visuals are so extremely helpful in the classroom.

One way to incorporate visual activities into your classes with PowerPoint is by creating video galleries. This is especially useful if you have limited access to videos and need to play them in a certain order.

You can create a video gallery presentation by manually inserting the clips into slides or creating a series of hyperlinks to take the class through certain processes. You can also add captions, notes, and questions for further discussion.

Scavenger Hunt

A fun activity to incorporate in your classroom through the power of PowerPoint is a review scavenger hunt.

Scavenger hunts can be an engaging way to go over the material and test knowledge at the beginning or end of a unit. PowerPoint is a great tool to use when designing a scavenger hunt if you are working with students online. With the tool, you can hide clues in images, ask questions that are linked to hyperlinks, and even add video clips as hints.

Scavenger hunts also offer quite a bit of versatility in the classroom. You can have students work individually or in groups, depending on your goals for the lesson.

You can reference our Virtual Scavenger Hunt guide, which includes several hunt lists, for ideas on what to bring to your students.

Choose Your Own Adventure

PowerPoint slides can also be used to create engaging interactive experiences. PowerPoint's slide-linking feature allows you to jump between slides with the click of a button, providing users with their own “Choose Your Own Adventure”-style gaming experience. As a result, you can create an interactive story with a different ending each and every time.

While this activity will take quite a bit of upfront work, once you have it done, you can use it for countless classes.

We highly recommend this tutorial by The Training Lady on how to plan out your next PowerPoint adventure!

Picture Reveal

Picture Reveal is a great PowerPoint activity that encourages students to think critically. In this activity, you can present an obscured picture and provides clues as to what it could be. Students must then utilize their knowledge and logic skills to work out what the picture is by eliminating incorrect answers based on the clues provided until they eventually get the correct answer.

Picture reveals are a great way to review material from previous lessons or current topics. They can also act as an introduction to a new lesson. Plus, we can't stress this enough, visuals!

Word Search

Word search games are a great way to review vocabulary and help students learn new words. Using PowerPoint, you can create custom word searches by entering the target vocabulary words in a grid. Then draw lines connecting each letter to form words! You can even add visuals that correspond with the theme of your word search for an extra challenge.

Word search games are perfect for when you have some leftover time during class or if you want to review material from earlier units. A PowerPoint word search is also great for helping students recognize spelling patterns in unfamiliar words and promoting active learning as they look for the hidden words in the puzzle.

Student Presentation

One of the best ways to get your students engaged in the classroom is to have them lead the show. And PowerPoint is such an awesome tool for students to present their own material.

With a little guidance, you can have older students create mini-presentations about topics they've studied in class or even on their own. Not only will this allow you to assess what they've retained from studying, but it also allows your students to practice public speaking skills and become more comfortable with online presentations - essential in today's digital world!

With PowerPoint, you can easily turn any student project into an engaging presentation everyone will enjoy.

Use Slides with Friends for Your PowerPoint Activities

PowerPoint has been a vital tool in the teacher toolbox for decades. There are so many fantastic ways to use PowerPoint to engage and interact with your classroom.

Slides with Friends is excited to announce a new feature for our slide decks - A PowerPoint upload!

Now you can create your slides in an already-known program, or use slide shows you've already made, and with a click of a button upload them to Slides with Friends!

Slides with Friends brings classroom PowerPoint activities to the next level by enabling real-time collaborative engagement from all of your students. By combining your PowerPoint presentations with Slides with Friends live word clouds, polling, trivia, and quizzes, as well as photo sharing, you really can fully involve your students in every lesson.

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Activities to Improve Presentation Skills: Training Exercises and Practices

• Presentation Skills
• March 19, 2024

Ever wondered what sets a great presentation apart? It’s more than just the words you use. Think about this, voice modulation, or how you say things, plays a substantial role at 38%. Your body language like hand gestures or eye contact, or how you carry yourself, takes a commanding lead at 55%.

Surprisingly, the content—the words you speak—only contributes 7% to a successful presentation. This interesting fact reveals that being an impressive presenter is like having a special recipe. It’s not just about what you say but how you present yourself. 

In this blog, we’ll dive into the world of presentation skills, and here’s the exciting part—we’ll make the learning process enjoyable by exploring games and activities that can transform you into an outstanding communicator even in front of a large group. Let’s explore the elements that can make you a standout presenter on your professional journey!

Importance of Presentation Skills

In the professional world, the ability to deliver a compelling presentation goes beyond sharing information; it’s about creating a memorable impact on your audience.

Here’s why presentation skills are important:

1. Communication Mastery

Presentation skills are at the forefront of effective communication. It’s not just about what you say; it’s how you say it. A well-delivered presentation ensures your message is heard and understood, fostering clear and meaningful communication.

2. Professional Credibility

A skilled presenter commands professional credibility. The ability to articulate ideas with clarity and confidence instils trust and respect from colleagues, superiors, and stakeholders. Credibility is a cornerstone for career advancement and building strong professional relationships.

3. Influence and Persuasion

Presentations are powerful tools for influencing and persuading others. Whether pitching a proposal, leading a team meeting, or advocating for a project, effective presentation skills enable you to sway opinions, gain support, and drive initiatives forward.

4. Career Advancement

Professionals with polished presentation skills often find themselves on a fast track to career advancement. The capacity to deliver compelling presentations positions you as a valuable asset to the organisation, setting the stage for leadership roles.

5. Confidence Building

Mastering presentation skills significantly contributes to building confidence. The more skilled you become at presenting, the more confident you feel in expressing your ideas. Confidence is contagious and can inspire confidence in others, creating a positive and dynamic work culture.

Now that we understand the pivotal role presentation skills play in professional success, let’s dive into engaging activities that can serve as effective tools for improvement.

Activities To Enhance Presentation Skills

These activities go beyond traditional training methods, offering a dynamic and enjoyable way to refine your presentation prowess.

Explore the following activities to elevate your skills:

Activity 1: Pecha Kucha

Pecha Kucha is a unique presentation style that challenges individuals to communicate their message with precision and impact. Originating from Japan, the term “Pecha Kucha” translates to “chit-chat” in English, and the format was first introduced in 2003 by architects Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham . Here’s how Pecha Kucha works:

20 Slides, 20 Seconds Each: 

Presenters create a slideshow with precisely 20 slides. The catch? Each slide is displayed for only 20 seconds. This strict time constraint adds an element of urgency, compelling presenters to deliver their message succinctly.

Concise and Focused Content

With only 20 seconds per slide, presenters must convey their content in the most essential and impactful points. This format discourages information overload and encourages a clear and focused presentation.

To excel in creating a Pecha Kucha presentation, consider the following tips:

Thematic Consistency: Maintain a consistent theme or message throughout your 20 slides to ensure coherence and a unified presentation.

Powerful Visuals: Prioritise impactful images, diagrams, or concise text on each slide to enhance the visual appeal and complement your spoken content.

Scripted Timing: Practise your presentation to synchronise with the 20-second time limit per slide. This ensures a smooth and well-timed delivery during the actual presentation.

Succinct Messaging: Craft concise and memorable messages for each slide, focusing on the main points to avoid overwhelming the formal audience with information.

Engaging Transitions: Plan smooth transitions between slides to keep the audience engaged. The rapid pace should feel natural and purposeful.

Feedback Seeking: Seek feedback from peers or mentors to gather insights on your Pecha Kucha presentation’s clarity, impact, and effectiveness.

Activity 2: Gush About Something You Don’t Like 

In this unconventional activity, participants are tasked with passionately speaking about something they don’t like. The challenge lies in transforming a negative subject into a positive and engaging presentation.

The objective is not to dwell on criticism but to practise the art of constructive communication and find positive aspects even in seemingly unfavourable situations.

Key Elements of the Activity:

Positive Framing: Participants must employ positive framing, emphasising constructive aspects or potential solutions related to a disliked subject. This requires creative thinking and the ability to reframe perspectives.

Expressive Communication: The activity encourages a person to maintain a passionate and expressive tone while discussing a disliked topic. This helps develop spontaneity and enthusiasm, key elements of engaging communication.

Audience Engagement: Engaging the audience is crucial in this activity, which also acts as an ice breaker. Participants must capture attention by injecting humour or providing relatable anecdotes, ensuring the presentation remains interesting despite the negative subject.

Improvisation Skills: The unpredictability of this activity fosters improvisation skills. Participants must think on their feet, respond to potential audience questions or objections, and navigate the presentation with adaptability.

Benefits of Gushing About Something You Don’t Like:

Participating in this activity provides several benefits. It cultivates the ability to find positives in challenging situations, fostering a constructive mindset. Expressive communication skills are honed through the challenge of maintaining enthusiasm, even when discussing a disliked topic. Engaging the audience under these circumstances enhances overall presentation skills, and the fun exercise sharpens improvisation skills by navigating unexpected turns.

Ultimately, this activity transforms negativity into an opportunity for growth, allowing participants to develop a positive and adaptable approach to communication challenges.

Activity 3: Photo Story

The Photo Story storytelling activity is a creative and engaging way to enhance presentation skills by incorporating visual storytelling. Participants are tasked with creating a presentation using a series of carefully selected photos as visual aids.

Each image becomes a piece of the narrative puzzle, and the presenter must seamlessly articulate the story, connecting each photo to the overarching message.

Visual Narrative Building: Participants select a sequence of photos telling a story. The challenge is to ensure that each image contributes meaningfully to the narrative, creating a cohesive and interactive visual journey.

Storytelling Skills: The activity focuses on developing storytelling skills. Presenters must describe the images and weave them into a compelling story. This enhances the ability to convey messages in a narrative format, making presentations more memorable.

Emphasis on Visual Communication: Photo Story underscores the importance of visual communication. Participants learn to use visuals effectively, recognising the impact of images in conveying emotions, themes, and key points. This skill is transferable to other aspects of presentation design.

Audience Engagement through Imagery: Engaging the audience is achieved through the power of imagery. Participants must captivate their audience by explaining the significance of each photo, fostering a deeper connection between the audience and the presented content.

Benefits of Photo Story:

Engaging in the Photo Story activity yields numerous benefits. It enhances storytelling capabilities, making presentations more engaging and memorable. The emphasis on visual communication contributes to creating visually appealing presentations in various professional contexts.

Additionally, the activity cultivates the ability to structure information coherently and captivate audiences through compelling visuals and narrative elements.

Overall, Photo Story is a versatile tool that improves presentation skills and promotes creativity and effective visual communication.

Activity 4: 30 Seconds Without Filler Words

The “30 Seconds Without Filler Words” activity is a great exercise designed to enhance public speaking skills by promoting clarity, coherence, and the elimination of filler words. Participants are challenged to speak on a random topic for 30 seconds without using common filler words such as “um,” “uh,” or “like.”

This activity aims to sharpen communication skills, encourage mindful expression, and minimise distractions to create a more impactful and engaging presentation style.

Elimination of Filler Words: The primary focus is on eliminating filler words that often diminish a presentation’s impact. Participants are encouraged to speak fluently and confidently, avoiding unnecessary pauses or distractions.

Mindful Communication: The activity cultivates mindful communication by prompting participants to recognise their speech patterns. This heightened awareness contributes to more intentional expression.

Pacing and Time Management: Participants must effectively manage their time within the 30-second limit, emphasising the importance of pacing in public speaking. This skill is transferable to various presentation scenarios where time constraints are a factor.

Enhanced Message Impact: Presenters create a more polished and professional impression for the whole room by eliminating filler words. The message becomes clearer, and the overall impact of the presentation is heightened, contributing to a more effective communication style.

Benefits of 30 Seconds Without Filler Words:

Engaging in this activity yields several benefits. It fosters an awareness of speech patterns, enabling participants to identify and eliminate filler words from their presentations. The emphasis on fluent and coherent expression enhances overall public speaking skills along with nonverbal communication, making presentations more impactful and engaging.

Moreover, the activity instils valuable lessons in time management and pacing, crucial elements in delivering concise and effective presentations. Ultimately, “30 Seconds Without Filler Words” is a targeted exercise that empowers participants to refine their communication style and deliver presentations with increased clarity and confidence.

The Power of Presentation Skills Training

Starting a presentation skills training course is like discovering a secret weapon for professional success. A skilled trainer can guide you through the intricacies of effective communication, helping you harness the true power of your voice.

Practice speaking under the guidance of experts allows you to refine your delivery, build confidence, and captivate your audience with every presentation.

Most people may underestimate the impact of a well-delivered presentation, but with the right training, you can elevate your skills to new heights.

In a presentation skills training course, you’ll discover the art of engaging an audience through various mediums. A seasoned trainer will train you on different types of presentations, teaching you to adapt your approach based on the context and audience.

Whether you write a speech, deliver a pitch, or participate in a video conference, the course equips you with the skills to excel and make your presentation successful.

A great trainer understands that effective communication goes beyond words. They emphasise the importance of non-verbal cues, teaching you to read and respond to your audience in the session. For example, when you actively listen, you can tailor your presentation to address the specific interests of your audience, ensuring they not only listen but also relate to your message.

Good presentation involves understanding these two truths: the significance of non-verbal communication and the importance of audience engagement.

In presentation skills training, every session is an opportunity to refine your abilities and unlock your full potential as a communicator.

So, if you’re interested in making a lasting impression and mastering the art of persuasive communication, a presentation skills training course is your pathway to success, offering opportunities for public speaking activities and discussion.

Rishabh Bhandari

Rishabh Bhandari is the Content Strategist at Kapable. Rishabh likes to transform complex ideas into captivating narratives relatable to the target audience. He loves telling stories through his content. He believes that stories have the power to shift mindsets and move mountains. He has 3 years of experience in educational blog writing and copywriting.

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10 Interactive Presentation Games for Students

“Welcome to Panel Island, one of my favorite sessions of all time. Not because I get to vote nice people off, but because you get to vote nice people off.” – Mark Fordham, iMeet Central

Four experts. Three rounds. One survivor. That was the wrinkle Mark Fordham, VP of Customer Success at iMeet Central, added to his company’s recurring panel discussions .

Each panelist answers specific questions related to his or her field. Then the audience votes for their favorite responses. The panelist with the fewest votes is voted off the “island.”

Discussions continue until only one panelist remains. Poll Everywhere handles the voting. Between talks, the audience selects their favorite speaker using their mobile devices, and the results appear in an animated chart in real time.

This is just one of many ways presenters and educators use interactive presentation games to keep the audience engaged. Here are eight more ideas for your next class, workshop, or meeting.

1. Process of elimination

This presentation game for 10 or more players helps the audience get to know each other

This game provides valuable insights into your audience members while also giving them a chance to stretch their legs.

Here’s how it works: Have everybody in your audience stand up. You’ll then pose prompts one at a time. Attendees’ responses to those prompts will dictate whether they stand or sit.

For example, let’s say that you’re speaking in a large auditorium-style classroom. Once your whole class is on their feet, you’d start by saying something like, “Sit down if this is your first time in this building.”

From there, you could keep thinning your students by saying, “Stay standing if you’ve had more than one class in this room,” and so on and so forth until only a few people – or only one person – remain on their feet. At that point, you could offer a prize or a round of applause.

2. Two truths and a lie

Welcome new students, or reintroduce old ones, with this presentation game

This classic icebreaker game works great with a recent Poll Everywhere addition: instruction image . Now you can present a photo alongside that person’s two truths and a lie so everyone knows exactly who they’re voting on.

Here’s how it works: create a new Multiple Choice activity in Poll Everywhere. Enter the participant’s name as the title, and two truths and a lie as the responses. Select the checkmarks next to the two truths to do a big reveal after voting ends.

After you create this activity, add an instruction image depicting the person you’re talking about. Be sure to check the box next to ‘Show instructions image on bar chart’ so the image is always visible.

In the image above, you can see that I changed the bar chart to a column chart. This improves readability on the presentation screen since the text isn’t sandwiched between the chart and image. Try to make your two truths and lies as short as possible. Shorter responses are always easier to read in the chart.

3. Telephone

See just how jumbled a phrase can get when it’s passed one-by-one around the room

Do you remember the game of telephone that you played as a kid? It’s just as fun as an adult.

Here’s how it works: Telephone starts by whispering a sentence into someone’s ear. Then that person repeats what you said to the person next to them. The chain continues on until the final person states aloud what they heard. It’s often something totally different from the original — with hilarious results.

You can use this in your presentation in an educational way by starting with a question that the audience wants to know (i.e. “How did Company XYZ increase their sales by 45%?”). Then, whisper the answer to the first person. Make sure to speak in a complete sentence — rather than just a few words — to make it tougher for your participants.

Even though you started the chain by whispering, “Company XYZ used content marketing to engage prospects,” you’re sure to end up with something quite ridiculous by the end.

A little advice: If you want to make this game go faster, you can do this by individual audience rows, instead of involving the whole room. It can also be fun to compare the different end results. Just know that the more people you have involved, the more twisted (and funny) the result becomes.

Read more: 20 staff meeting ideas that keep employees alert and engaged

4. Riddle me this

Wake up the audience with a brain-teaser, then reveal everyone’s responses at once

Riddles are a natural fit for Poll Everywhere word clouds . This activity transforms audience responses into a colorful, animated word cloud. Repeated words grow larger within the cloud.

Here’s how it works: create a new word cloud activity. Make the title a riddle that has a single-word answer (not a sentence or a list). Create the activity, and on the following screen locate the ‘Show results’ button. Click it so that a picture of two phones appears. Wait until everyone has responded to your riddle, then click ‘Show results’ again to reveal the finished word cloud. If the correct answer is the largest word in the cloud, that means most of the audience got it right.

By hiding the results and revealing them after everyone has voted, you prevent participants from submitting whatever seems like the most popular answer. When the results are hidden, there is a small counter in the lower left that shows you how many have responded. That way, you know when voting is finished.

5. 20 questions

Deduce a hidden image or photo by flying through 20 yes-or-no questions with the audience

Who doesn’t love a good game of 20 questions? Fortunately, it’s incredibly easy to play with your presentation audience.

Here’s how it works: display a word or picture (it could be anything from a celebrity to an animal) on the screen behind you — so that you can’t see it but the audience can. You can even ask someone to blindfold you if you don’t want to run the risk of cheating.

Now, your entire audience can see what’s on the screen, and it’s up to you to ask twenty “yes or no” questions that will help you guess exactly what’s being displayed.

Invite audience members to just yell out their answers to your questions simultaneously to create a lively game that’s sure to give your audience’s enthusiasm a boost. Double down on this by setting a 60-second timer for the questions. When time runs out, it’s time to guess.

6. Would you rather?

Learn how the audience thinks with a tricky “Would you rather?” scenario that divides the group

This presentation game is more of a conversation-starter than a traditional game. There should never be a right or wrong answer in a “Would you rather?” scenario. The winner is whoever best justifies their choice and why it’s the best one for them.

Here’s how it works: create a new multiple choice activity. Begin the title with “Would you rather…” and enter the two responses as the two scenarios. After you create this activity, locate the ‘ Visual settings ‘ button. Select it, then locate ‘ Donut chart ‘ and select that too. Doing so changes the look of your activity from a bar chart to a donut chart. Donuts are a great way to visualize the audience’s preference between two choices clearly.

To take this game a step further, start a discussion after the voting ends. Ask everyone who voted for one option to raise their hands. Then, go around the room and ask people to explain in a few words why they selected one option over the other. Save and email a copy of the donut chart afterwards as a memento.

7. Anagrams

Challenge the audience to come up with a unique solution to your anagram that on one else will guess

The crux of this presentation game is solving an anagram: a jumble of letters that can be rearranged into many different words. This is a fun mental exercise for the audience, doubly so if you’re breaking up multiple, back-to-back presentations.

Here’s how it works: create a Poll Everywhere word cloud . Select an anagram that’s at least five or six characters long, such as the one above, so that the audience has plenty of possibilities. If you want to give this a competitive edge, challenge the audience to submit words no one else will think of. These words appear as the smallest words in the cloud. If you do this, be sure to hide responses while everyone responds. Otherwise participants will copy each other’s responses.

For added fun, set the number of submissions to unlimited. Doing so rewards players for coming up with multiple unique words (thereby increasing their chances of winning) or by strategically submitting the same word multiple times to inflate its size in the cloud. You can see who submitted what on the activity’s response history page .

8. Trivia competition

Quiz the audience with multiple choice questions. A leaderboard updates live with the scores.

Nothing hooks the audience’s attention faster than putting their pride on the line. Do this with a friendly trivia competition. Trivia questions are fun. But graded trivia questions are a contest. Poll Everywhere has the perfect activity for this scenario.

Here’s how it works: create a Poll Everywhere competition . This activity is a fully customizable trivia contest. You create the questions. The audience plays for points, and a leaderboard shows everyone who is in the lead. The audience earns points for responding correctly. They also earn bonus points for responding quickly. Expect to hear gasps and cheers each time the leaderboard reveals the new point totals.

Competitions is a great interactive presentation game for energizing the audience. People can compete individually or group into teams and respond from a single phone or device. A timer adds some extra pressure and keeps the competition moving. Don’t want the added stress? Switch off the timer. Either way, when you reach the end the winner gets a fun confetti surprise.

9. Choose your own adventure

Let the audience vote to control the flow of your presentation

One of the best ways to reinforce new information is to give people the opportunity to use that information in some way. Poll Everywhere Multiple Choice activities are a simple, customizable way to create that opportunity for almost any topic.

Here’s how it works: Say you just finished presenting a lengthy seminar on how to sell vacuums door-to-door. Everyone in the audience has scribbled pages of notes on what to say to whom and when. But none of them has actually sold a vacuum, yet.

Create a choose-your-own-adventure conversation using a series of multiple-choice activities. Each activity is a different line from your fictional vacuum purchaser, and the audience votes on different replies. Whichever reply gets the most votes advances the conversation, for better or worse.

This style of questioning has plenty of applications besides vacuum salesmanship, but the core function should be constant: Giving the audience a simply way to reflect upon, and apply, what they just learned.

10. Fill in the blanks

A simple worksheet does double duty during presentations

Here’s how it works: Create a worksheet and print out several copies before your presentation. Each question on the worksheet should be an important line from your presentation – but there’s a word or phrase missing. Ask the audience to fill in those gaps as they listen.

This accomplishes two very important things for the audience. First, the questions on the worksheet make it obvious what the key points or takeaways are from your presentation. They know what to focus on and pay special attention to. Second, the completed worksheet doubles as a resource that summarizes what you just presented. Attendees can refer back to it later if they forget something.

You can gamify this exercise ever-so-slightly by entering everyone who completed the worksheet before the end of your presentation into a raffle. It’s up to you whether or not you announce this beforehand, or have it be a surprise at the end.

If you want to try any of the interactive presentation games yourself, create a Poll Everywhere account and start engaging your audience today! 

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15 Interactive Presentation Games to Engage Your Audience

In the world of presentations and public speaking, engaging your audience is crucial. A captivating presentation can leave a lasting impact and ensure that your message is heard and retained. One effective way to achieve this engagement is by incorporating interactive presentation games into your talks.

Interactive presentation games break the monotony of traditional slideshows and transform passive listeners into active participants. In this blog, we’ll explore 15 interactive presentation games that can make your presentations more dynamic, memorable, and enjoyable for your audience.

Why Use Interactive Presentation Games?

Traditional presentations often involve passive listening, which can lead to disengagement and limited retention of information. On the other hand, interactive presentation games create an environment of active participation. 

Making your presentations more memorable and impactful. They foster interaction, feedback, and collaboration, turning your audience into active participants rather than passive observers.

Benefits of Engaging Your Audience

Engaging your audience with interactive presentation games offers numerous benefits:

• Increased Engagement: Interactive presentation games grab your audience’s attention and keep them actively involved throughout the presentation.
• Improved Information Retention: Active participation enhances the retention of key information, ensuring that your message sticks with your audience long after the presentation is over.
• Enhanced Learning: Games encourage a deeper understanding of the subject matter, making it easier for your audience to grasp complex concepts.
• Better Audience Connection: By involving your audience, you establish a stronger connection, making them feel valued and heard.
• Immediate Feedback: Games provide opportunities for instant feedback, allowing you to address questions and concerns in real time.
• Fun and Entertainment: Interactive fun games add an element of fun and entertainment to your presentations, making them more enjoyable for your audience.

How to Choose the Right Presentation Games

Selecting the appropriate presentation games depends on your audience, topic, and objectives. Consider factors such as the size of your audience, the level of interactivity you desire, and the technology available. Tailor your choice of games to align with your presentation goals, ensuring they enhance your message rather than distract from it.

Now, let’s explore 15 interactive presentation games that you can incorporate into your presentations to engage your audience effectively:

01. Polling and Surveys

Polling and surveys involve asking questions to your audience and collecting their responses in real time. This game is useful for engaging the audience and gathering valuable data or opinions.

Example: During a marketing presentation, you can use polling to ask the audience which social media platform they use most frequently for product discovery, with response options like “Facebook,” “Instagram,” or “Twitter.” The results can guide your marketing strategy.

02. Quiz and Trivia

Quiz and trivia games challenge the audience’s knowledge of a specific subject. Correct-answer questions encourage competition and learning because participants’ scores are added up.

Example: In a history lecture, you can organize a trivia quiz about historical events. Ask questions like, “Who was the first President of the United States?” and award points for correct answers to make learning history engaging.

03. Interactive Q&A Sessions

Interactive Q&A sessions allow the audience to ask questions and engage in a live dialogue with the presenter. This interactive presentation game promotes engagement, clarification, and in-depth discussions.

Example: After a business strategy presentation, open the floor for an interactive Q&A session where the audience can ask questions about the proposed strategies, fostering a deeper understanding of the material.

04. Gamified Scenarios

Gamified scenarios present real-world situations or challenges to the audience. Participants make decisions, and the consequences of those choices are revealed, creating an immersive learning experience.

Example: In leadership training, simulate a business scenario where participants make decisions as managers. Their choices affect the company’s success, making the learning process engaging and interactive.

05. Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality Experiences

Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) games provide immersive 3D experiences. Participants can explore virtual environments or interact with augmented elements.

Example: In a product launch presentation, use AR to allow the audience to visualize how the product would fit into their homes. They can use their smartphones to see a virtual presentation version of the product in their living rooms.

06. Storytelling Challenges

Storytelling challenges encourage participants to create and share their stories, fostering creativity and personal expression.

Example: In a team-building workshop, ask each participant to share a personal success story related to teamwork. This engages the audience and builds a sense of connection among participants.

07. Collaborative Whiteboard Activities

In real-time, collaborative whiteboard activities involve multiple participants contributing ideas, drawings, or annotations on a digital whiteboard. This game fosters teamwork and brainstorming.

Example: During a brainstorming session for a new project, use a digital whiteboard tool where team members can simultaneously sketch out their ideas and add comments. This promotes collaboration and idea generation.

08. Interactive Polls and Word Clouds

Interactive polls and word clouds engage the audience by having them vote or input keywords related to a topic. The results are displayed dynamically.

Example: In a conference PowerPoint presentation about technology trends, ask the audience to submit keywords related to the most exciting emerging technologies. Display the results in a word cloud to visualize the collective interest.

09. Simulations and Case Studies

Simulations and case studies replicate real-life scenarios for participants to make decisions and see the outcomes. This game is effective for practical learning.

Example: In a business strategy workshop, provide participants with a case study of a struggling company. Have them analyze the situation and propose strategies to turn the business around. The best solutions can be discussed as a group.

10. Role-Playing Exercises

Role-playing exercises involve participants taking on specific roles or characters to act out scenarios. This game promotes empathy and communication skills.

Example: In customer service training, participants can take on the roles of customers and service representatives. They act out various customer service scenarios to practice effective communication and problem-solving.

11. Breakout Rooms and Group Discussions

Breakout rooms and group discussions split the audience-focused audiences into smaller groups to discuss specific topics or tasks. This great game promotes active participation and in-depth exploration of ideas.

Example: In an educational webinar, use breakout rooms to divide participants into smaller groups. Each group discusses a different aspect of the topic and then shares their insights when they return to the main session.

12. Live Challenges and Competitions

Live challenges and competitions introduce competitive elements to the best presentation games. Participants can compete individually or in teams to solve problems or complete tasks.

Example: In a team-building event, organize a friendly competition where teams compete in a series of challenges. Challenges could include problem-solving tasks, physical activities, or trivia quizzes to foster teamwork and camaraderie.

13. Interactive Presentations

Interactive presentations incorporate multimedia elements, quizzes, and audience participation throughout the entire presentation screen to keep the audience engaged.

Example: During a product launch presentation, embed interactive elements such as polls, quizzes, and live demos within your slides. This ensures constant engagement and information retention.

14. Icebreakers and Energizers

Icebreakers and energizers are quick, fun activities designed to create a relaxed atmosphere and engage the audience at the beginning of a presentation or during breaks.

Example: At the start of a team meeting, use a fun icebreaker like “Two Truths and a Lie,” where each participant shares two true statements and one false one about themselves. It lightens the mood and promotes bonding.

15. Creative Challenges and Brain Teasers

Creative challenges and brain teasers stimulate creativity and problem-solving. They present puzzles, riddles, or creative tasks to engage the audience stand.

Example: During a creativity workshop, present participants with a riddle or a creative problem to solve as a group. Encourage them to think critically and come up with innovative solutions, fostering creative thinking.

How QuestioPro LivePolls can help in Interactive presentation games

When you use any tool for an interactive show, you need to think about how your audience votes and your presentation’s goals. Make sure the interactive elements enhance the learning or engagement experience rather than becoming a distraction. 

Here are some ways a survey-based tool like QuestionPro can assist in creating interactive presentation games:

Question and Quiz Creation

Many interactive presentation game tools allow you to create questions and quizzes that you can integrate into your presentations. These questions can be multiple-choice, true/false, open-ended, or other formats. Participants can then respond to these questions during your presentation.

Interactive presentation fun game tools often include features that engage your audience. This can include things like timers for questions, leaderboards to display scores, and interactive survey elements that make your presentation more engaging and fun.

Feedback and Scoring

These tools typically provide instant feedback to participants. Correct answers might be rewarded with points, while explanations could follow incorrect answers. Scores are often tallied in real time, creating a competitive or gamified atmosphere.

Data Collection

Interactive presentation game tools can help you collect data on audience response software . This data can be valuable for assessing learning outcomes, understanding audience vote opinions, or tailoring your content to your audience’s preferences.

Customization

You can often customize the appearance and behavior of interactive elements to fit your presentation’s theme or style. This allows for creative and engaging presentations.

Audience Participation

Such tools enable audience members to actively participate and feel involved in your presentation. This can lead to higher engagement levels and better retention of information.

Reports and Analytics

Some tools provide analytics and reports after your presentation, which can help you assess the effectiveness of your interactive elements and the overall presentation.

Incorporating interactive presentation games into your talks can elevate your engagement, foster learning, and make your message more memorable. Whether you choose polls, quizzes, simulations, or storytelling challenges, tailoring the games to your audience and objectives is key. 

By doing so, you’ll transform your presentations into dynamic and unforgettable experiences that leave a lasting impact on your audience. So, level up your presentations with these interactive games, and watch your audience become active participants in your message.

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Presentation Activities

Main navigation, two (mini) stories about your name.

This ice-breaker activity offers students an opportunity to get to know each other by telling two (mini) stories about their names in two 1-minute presentations, each taking a different perspective. Students will practice presenting ideas to new audiences in a concise manner and develop rhetorical awareness as they embody different storytelling perspectives.

Cross Section Dress Rehearsals

This activity mixes students across PWR 2 sections for presentation rehearsal. Each rehearsal session is facilitated by a PWR instructor or OCT, and has three students max. This format allows students to practice with at least one (usually more) audience from outside of their class. 

Impromptu Presentation: Newspaper Translation Activity

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Reverse Outlining Lunsford Presentations

This activity combines both synchronous and asynchronous elements to offer students the opportunity to work closely with samples as a way of thinking through the rhetorical opportunities available to them for their own final presentations.  It uses VideoAnt for presentation annotations.

The HUP Activity

The HUP activity can help loosen up and bond a group of students prior to presentations.

Find additional activities here:

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Blog Marketing 15 Interactive Presentation Ideas to Elevate Engagement

15 Interactive Presentation Ideas to Elevate Engagement

Written by: Krystle Wong Aug 04, 2023

As attention spans continue to shrink, the challenge of engaging audiences in a short timeframe has never been more significant. Let’s face it — grabbing and keeping your audience’s attention can be quite the challenge, especially when time is ticking away. But fear not, I’ve got the perfect solution: interactive presentations!

Believe it or not, creating an interactive presentation is easier than you might think. In this guide, I’ll show you how to effortlessly turn ordinary slides into captivating experiences with 15 interactive presentation ideas that will leave your audience begging for more. From quirky polls and fun games to storytelling adventures and multimedia magic, these ideas will take your presentation game to the next level.

Venngage is a game-changer when it comes to empowering interactive presentations. With just a few clicks, users can customize their favorite presentation templates , add multimedia content and create immersive experiences that leave a lasting impact. Whether you’re a seasoned presenter or a newcomer, get started with Venngage to elevate your presentation game to new heights of engagement and creativity.

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What is an interactive presentation?

15 ways to make a presentation interactive, 7 best interactive presentation software, what are some common mistakes to avoid when creating interactive presentations, interactive presentation faqs, how to create an interactive presentation with venngage.

An interactive presentation is a dynamic and engaging communication format that involves active participation and collaboration between the presenter and the audience. Unlike traditional presentations where information is delivered in a one-way manner, interactive presentations invite the audience to interact, respond and contribute throughout the session.

Think of it as a two-way street where you and your audience have a friendly chat. It’s like playing a fun game where you ask questions, get live feedback and encourage people to share their thoughts. 

To make a good presentation , you can utilize various tools and techniques such as clickable buttons, polls, quizzes, discussions and multimedia elements to transform your slides into an interactive presentation. Whether you’re presenting in-person or giving a virtual presentation — when people are actively participating, they’re more likely to remember the stuff you’re talking about.

Interactive presentations leave a lasting impression on the audience. By encouraging active participation and feedback, interactive presentations facilitate better understanding and knowledge retention. Here are 15 innovative 5-minute interactive presentation ideas to captivate your audience from start to finish:

1. Ice-breaker questions

Start your presentation with intriguing and thought-provoking questions or a fun icebreaker game. These questions should be designed to pique the audience’s curiosity and encourage them to think about the topic you’ll be covering. By doing so, you create an immediate connection with your audience and set the stage for a more engaged and attentive audience.

For example, if you’re giving a business presentation about management and leadership training, you could ask audience questions such as “What’s the best business advice you’ve ever received, and how has it impacted your career?”

2. Live polling

Incorporate live polls during your presentation using audience response systems or polling apps . This allows you to collect real-time feedback, opinions and insights from active participants. Live polling encourages active participation and involvement, making your presentation feel like a collaborative and interactive experience.

3. Q&A sessions

Encourage the audience to ask questions throughout your presentation, especially for pitch deck presentations . Address these questions in real-time, which fosters a more interactive and dynamic atmosphere. This approach shows that you value the audience’s input and promotes a two-way communication flow.

4. Clickable buttons

Add clickable buttons to your slides, allowing the audience to navigate to specific sections or external resources at their own pace. For example, you could include links to your social media accounts or extra reading materials in your education presentation to give further information about the topic and get your students engaged.

By providing this autonomy, you empower the audience to explore areas of particular interest, creating a more personalized and engaging experience through your interactive slideshow.

5. Storytelling

Incorporate anecdotes or personal stories related to your topic. Storytelling is a powerful way to emotionally connect with your audience, making your presentation more relatable and memorable. A little storytelling along with a set of creative slides draws the audience in and keeps them engaged as they follow the narrative.

6. Interactive charts and graphs

Use interactive charts and graphs that respond to user input to make your presentation interactive. For instance, allow the audience to click on data points to view more detailed information or to change the displayed data series. Creating charts with interactive visuals help the audience interact with the data, fostering better understanding and engagement.

7. Animated infographics

Add animations to your infographics, making them visually dynamic and progressive. Animated infographics reveal information gradually, keeping the audience curious and attentive. This transforms complex data into an easily digestible and engaging format.

Venngage’s extensive library of infographic templates is a powerful tool to visualize data and elevate the interactivity of your presentations. Personalizing the visuals ensures a cohesive and professional look throughout your interactive presentation. The templates are highly customizable, allowing you to adjust colors, fonts, and styles to match your presentation’s theme and branding. 

8. Gamification

Introduce an interactive quiz, puzzles, or challenges related to your presentation content. Gamification adds an element of fun and competition, motivating the audience to participate actively and boosting their learning experience. Here are some gaming presentation templates you could use. 

9. Virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR)

If applicable, leverage VR or AR technologies to provide immersive experiences. These interactive presentation tools transport the audience into a virtual or augmented environment, making your presentation more captivating and memorable.

10. Collaborative whiteboarding

Get your audience involved in your presentation by utilizing digital whiteboards or collaborative tools to brainstorm ideas collectively. This fosters teamwork and creativity, enabling the audience to actively contribute and feel a sense of involvement in the presentation.

11. Hyperlinked text

Keep the information in your slides minimal with a simple presentation and incorporate hyperlinks to direct viewers to relevant websites or blogs , resources, or additional information. This encourages self-exploration and gives the audience the opportunity to delve deeper into topics of interest.

12. Role-playing

Engage the audience in role-playing scenarios to explore different perspectives. Role-playing promotes active learning and helps the audience relate the content to real-life situations, enhancing their understanding and retention.

13. Embedded videos

Include video clips in your slides to provide visual explanations, demonstrations, or interviews. Videos add a dynamic element to your presentation, enriching the content and keeping the audience engaged.

14. Audience-generated content

Encourage the audience to contribute ideas, stories or examples related to your professional presentation . Audience-generated content fosters a sense of ownership and involvement, making the presentation more interactive and personalized.

15. Slide transitions

Use slide transitions to create smooth animations between slides. Well-planned transitions maintain the audience’s interest and keep the presentation slides flowing seamlessly.

Interactive elements aside, enhance your presentation with these guides on how to summarize information for a captivating presentation and how to make a persuasive presentation to captivate your audience. 

If you’re looking to create engaging and interactive presentation slides that captivate your audience, these presentation software options are sure to elevate your game:

Prezi is renowned for its dynamic and non-linear presentation style, enabling users to craft visually stunning and interactive presentations. With an array of templates and animation effects, Prezi enhances audience engagement, making your presentations more captivating and memorable.

2. Mentimeter

Mentimeter serves as an audience response system, empowering real-time interaction during presentations. Users can create interactive polls, quizzes, word clouds and more, allowing the audience to respond using their smartphones or other devices. This fosters active participation and provides valuable feedback instantly.

3. Google Slides

Google Slides is a free cloud-based presentation software that not only offers collaboration features but also enables real-time interactions. It includes add-ons and third-party integrations to further enhance interactivity, making it an excellent choice for collaborative and engaging presentations.

4. Microsoft PowerPoint

PowerPoint, a classic presentation software, has evolved to incorporate more interactive features like live captions, real-time collaboration and interactive elements such as quizzes and forms. With its familiar interface and versatile functionalities, PowerPoint remains a reliable choice for interactive presentations.

5. Prezentor

Prezentor caters to sales-oriented presentations focusing on interactive storytelling and data-driven content. It offers analytics to track audience engagement and behavior during presentations, allowing you to fine-tune your approach and keep your audience hooked.

6. Opinion Stage

Opinion Stage is a visual and interactive data collection tool designed to engage and excite audiences whether sitting in a lecture hall, participating in a live Zoom, or watching an on-demand webinar. The Opinion Stage tools are simple and intuitive, making it easy to create attention-grabbing quizzes, surveys, and polls in minutes. A great way to spice up any presentation, encourage audience participation, and collect authentic feedback.

7 . Venngage

Venngage stands out as a versatile design tool that facilitates the creation of interactive infographics, data visualizations and presentations with ease. Offering various interactive elements and animations, Venngage empowers you to craft visually appealing and engaging presentations effortlessly.

With these interactive presentation software options at your disposal, you can unleash your creativity and deliver presentations that leave a lasting impact on your audience. So, go ahead and make your presentations interactive, captivating and memorable!

For more presentation software options, check out this blog on the 12 best presentation software for 2023.

Creating interactive presentations can be a game-changer for engaging your audience and enhancing your presentation skills, but steering clear of common pitfalls is essential. Here are some key mistakes to avoid when crafting your interactive presentations:

1. Overloading with interactivity

While interactivity is fantastic, bombarding your audience with too many interactive elements can backfire. Strive for a balanced approach that enhances engagement without overwhelming your listeners.

2. Ignoring audience relevance

Failing to tailor interactive elements to your audience’s interests and preferences can lead to disconnection. Make sure your interactions resonate with your specific audience for a more meaningful experience.

3. Not testing interactive elements

Skipping thorough testing of interactive features before showtime can spell disaster. Avoid technical glitches by diligently testing all interactive components in advance.

4. Poor timing and pace

Timing is everything, especially with interactive activities. Ensure seamless integration by planning your key points and the timing of your interactive elements carefully.

5. Lack of clear purpose

Every interactive element should serve a purpose and contribute to your presentation’s objectives. Don’t add interactions just for the sake of it — ensure they add value and align with your message.

6. Failing to engage beyond interactivity

While interactive elements are powerful tools, remember that content is king. Combine your interactive features with compelling storytelling and valuable insights to create an immersive and impactful presentation.

Incorporating animated slides into your interactive presentations enhances the overall appeal and interaction, turning an ordinary presentation into an engaging experience. Try it out with one of our animated presentation templates to get started. 

How do you start an interactive presentation?

Begin by grabbing the audience’s attention with an intriguing question or a surprising fact, setting the tone for a dynamic and engaging session.

Which type of presentation is the most interactive?

Workshops and seminars are often the most interactive types of presentations as they encourage active participation, discussions and hands-on activities.

How can interactive presentations enhance audience engagement?

Interactive presentations foster a two-way communication flow, involving the audience through polls, quizzes, discussions and multimedia elements, leading to increased interest, attentiveness and better retention of information.

What are some common interactive elements to include in a presentation?

Common interactive elements include clickable buttons, hyperlinked text, polls, quizzes, interactive charts, multimedia content and audience participation activities.

Can interactive presentations be used for educational purposes?

Absolutely! Interactive presentations are highly effective for educational purposes as they promote active learning, encourage critical thinking, and provide real-time feedback and knowledge exchange opportunities.

Need inspiration on how to give an engaging presentation ? Here are 120+ presentation ideas you could use. 

Venngage makes it easy for anyone to infuse interactivity into their presentations. From clickable buttons and hyperlinked text to interactive infographics and dynamic charts, Venngage offers a diverse range of interactive elements to captivate and engage the audience. Here’s how you can make your presentation more fun and interesting with Venngage:

• Sign up or log in to Venngage to access the platform.
• Choose a presentation template or start with a blank canvas to begin designing your interactive presentation.
• Add and edit slides in the Venngage editor to structure your presentation content effectively.
• Customize the design by selecting themes, fonts, colors and backgrounds to match your style and branding.
• Use interactive elements like buttons, links, pop-ups and hover effects to engage the audience during the presentation.
• Enhance engagement by incorporating interactive media such as videos and audio clips.
• Preview and test your entire presentation to ensure everything works smoothly before presenting it to your audience.
• Save your interactive presentation on Venngage and share it online or download it in various formats for presenting purposes.

Well, I hope these 15 5-minute interactive presentation examples can help unlock a new level of audience engagement for your next presentation. From fun quizzes and interactive storytelling to multimedia magic and gamified challenges, the possibilities are endless. So, don’t be afraid to experiment, tailor the ideas to suit your audience members and let your creativity shine.  

That said, remember to strike a balance and keep the interactivity purposeful and relevant. Some common mistakes to avoid when creating interactive slides include overloading the presentation with too many interactive elements and failing to align the interactive elements with the overall presentation goals and content. 

Got it? Great. Now let’s turn that boring presentation around!

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Public Speaking Games

7 fun-filled speech activities for kids of all ages.

By:  Susan Dugdale  

If you're looking for fun-filled  speech activities  check these out.

There are  7 tried and tested  public speaking games  on this page - ones that have been a great 'yee-haa-hooray' splendiferous success for me.  You'll find they'll adapt easily to suit children of all ages;  from around middle school to adulthood and don't require a great deal of set-up preparation.

• Connect the dots
• Tell us the history of
• Story starters
• The big fat lie
• In the news today

More public speaking games

• Guidelines for the games

Use them in your class room, with the members of your speech club, as an extension activity for a life skills or communications program, or for home schooling with your family.

They'll help by-pass anxiety, develop and nurture competent, confident public speaking skills, and do it with a large, welcome dollop of fun!

*  If you're not sure about how to introduce games to your class or group, scroll down to the foot of the page. You'll find handy 'how to begin' guidelines there.

1. Connect the Dots

How to play

Prepare a collection of word cards each with a familiar noun on it. You'll need at least 100. They could be names of famous people, common objects, colors, animals ... For example : bird, wheelbarrow, hammer, cow, witch, moon, grass, hat, elephant, computer, book, vase, elbow, photo, green, candlestick, shoe, painting, mug, plane, eclipse, Queen Elizabeth,  operation, halo, knife, eye, storm, girl, pillow, lid, thermometer, jungle, barn, wheel, thistle, steam, mud, bike, pink, Madonna  ...

Put the word cards into box or non-see through bag.

A player picks two cards and then must immediately begin telling a story connecting both words together convincingly. The story needn't be long, (one to two minutes is enough), complicated, or true!

Once your class is comfortable with connecting two words, add to your word collection and increase the number of cards selected to three or even four.

What this game teaches

In a word - transitions!

Moving from one idea to another smoothly, in a way that can be readily understood and followed by your audience, is a must-have public speaking skill.

Connect the Dots gives people the opportunity to practice.   It doesn't matter how disparate the "dots" or ideas  appear to be, a way can be found to link them, and with practice the ability to make those connections will become stronger and stronger.

An added benefit of the game is listening and learning from each other.

Connect the Dots - an example story

I've picked my two words. They are *Queen Elizabeth and bike, and here's my speech!

"When you think of Queen Elizabeth, what do you see in your mind? Do you see an older woman wearing a diamond studded tiara staring grimly into the camera?

That diagonal sash across her chest proclaims dominion over the commonwealth realms. These include countries as diverse as Canada and Barbados - 32 of them in all. That's serious leadership - around 128 million people, including Prince Phillip, her husband, their four adult children, assorted wives and grandchildren.

Her daily duties would make most of us wince. She answers letters, talks to government officials, reads briefing papers, plans her diary, makes calls to charities, hospitals, factories, schools, museums or military units, performs civic duties like openings and investitures, and tours . That routine hasn't varied for the last 56 years. The Queen is an institution, revered and respected.

But she's also a person. And despite how difficult it may be to imagine, she'll have good days, bad days and days when, in the words of Cyndi Lauper, a girl just wants to have fun.

In my imagination, she wants to poke her tongue out at all the 'must and mustn't dos', toss the tiara sideways and shuck off the designer gowns.

She'd like to walk barefoot through wet grass and float on her back down a summer stream blowing bubbles. She'd like to gallop a horse around Hyde Park without a minder and in the afternoon ride a bike. Starting at the top of Primrose Hill she'll fly down, pedals whirring, yelling 'Look Ma no hands.' It will be glorious. It will be wonderful, and she will be free.

Perhaps it was a glimpse into unfettered being that convinced her to take up skydiving with James Bond for opening of the 2012 Olympics. 86 years old and starring in a royal performance. She showed us. It's never too late to 'get on yer bike' in whatever form it takes. God save the Queen!"

*For more about Queen Elizabeth the Second of England  who died 2022. 

Return to Top

2. Tell us the history of ...

Prepare a starter list of events or things. Write them on slips of paper.

For example: a postage stamp, birthday cake, books, a zebra's stripes, a chimney, the tooth fairy, common sayings like 'a penny for your thoughts', 'a red rag to a bull', 'a pinch and a punch for the first of the month', April Fools Day, a wheel, a Christmas tree, ice cream, a ladder, Father Christmas, May Day, a siren, shaking hands on meeting someone...

Put the topic cards/papers into a non-see through bag. 

When it's their turn a player pulls a topic from the bag. They then must give an account of the history (story) behind the thing or event they've drawn.  It needn't be factual!  Encourage imagination, outrageous lies, flights of fantasy...

The goal of this public speaking game is sustained credible fluency. Aim for 1 - 2 minutes per story.

3. End lines

You'll need a collection of endings written on slips of paper.

For example: 'Just do it', 'Diamonds are forever', 'He's fallen in the water', 'Some like it hot', 'His bark is worse than his bite', 'Love makes the world go round', 'An apple a day keeps the doctor away', 'First up, best dressed', 'King for a day', 'Funny money', 'Laughter is the best medicine'...

Put the end lines into a non-see through bag.

Each player takes a turn to take an ending from the bag. The task is to tell a 1-2 minute story ending with the line they have selected.

4. Story Starters

Write opening sentences or phrases on slips of paper. You'll need one for each member of your group and then some more. For example: 'It was a dark and stormy night', 'I wish people would not say...', 'Yesterday I saw a herd of cows ', 'My favorite activity is bird watching', 'The wisest saying I ever heard was...', 'In 20 years time I will be...', 'It made me yell', 'All I want for Christmas is...', 'Something is terribly wrong...', 'The little voice inside my head...', 'This is the secret I've never shared before', 'I never knew what happened...', 'Sometimes I just want to...', 'You know it's Summer when...', 'Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you', 'The story made me want to...','I heard the best news this morning', 'The sound of people laughing...'

Put the slips of paper into a non-see through bag.

Nominate a person to begin. He/she reaches into the bag and pulls out a story starter. The starter they've drawn must be used to open their story.   A story can be built and extended however the speaker wishes.

5. Oink Substitution

In this game a commonly used word is chosen and then substituted with the word ' oink '. For example: If the selected word is  I , the speaker says  oink  instead.

Oink  can be played several ways.

Playing Oink using well-known stories

Make copies of well-known children's stories. For instance - Red Riding Hood, The Gingerbread Man or Three Little Pigs. (You will find many of them here: american literature.com has hundreds available.)

Next choose a regularly occurring word in each piece to substitute.

Eg. The word 'she' would be suitable in The Gingerbread Man story . Here's the opening paragraph given the 'oink' treatment.

"One day, the cook went into the kitchen to make some gingerbread. OINK took some flour and water, and treacle and ginger, and mixed them all well together, and OINK put in some more water to make it thin, and then some more flour to make it thick, and a little salt and some spice, and then OINK rolled it out into a beautiful, smooth, dark-yellow dough."

Decide who is to start. Ask them to choose a story. They are to read aloud for approximately one minute making sure they use 'oink' in place of the selected word.

Repeat for each member of your group.  Try to have each new reader of the same story pick up from where the last reader of it left off rather than repeat the same passage. 

Encourage authoritative readings, full of passion and drama!   

Using Oink as an extension activity

Another way to play  Oink  is as an extension of already known games. Try it with  One Minute Speeches , Story Starters or End Lines.

Once your group is confident, add the ' oink ' factor for even more fun! You'll find substitution hones thinking-while-you're-speaking skills really well.

6. The BIG Fat Lie

This game encourages the use of the imagination, develops fluency and, it's fun. In playing it your group will learn about body language too. How do you know when somebody is lying? How can you tell?

Each speaker is to stand so that everyone can see them clearly and share 3 things about themselves on a theme you set.

Examples of theme: holidays, the future, my favorite after school activities, when I was young, my beliefs, the best books I've read, the best adventures I've had..., my family...

Two of the things they say about themselves in relation to the theme are to be true. The third is not .

When they've finished speaking, ask the class/group to identify the lie. And when they have, ask them how they knew. What alerted them to it being untrue?

PS. This makes a great icebreaker for groups getting together for the first time.

7. In the News Today

In the last activity making up of this collection of 7 public speaking games, your class/group are broadcasters, anchor people for a news show.

The news is whatever has happened during the day. It could be an event on the way to school like a traffic jam. It might be a new menu in the canteen or lunch room. It could be an announcement the principal made.

It doesn't matter how trivial the happening; encourage the big news treatment for anything at all, even a new set of pencils!

The aim of the exercise is give whatever subject they choose the standard news format. They'll need to cover who, what, where, why, when and how .

Once they've mastered that encourage experimentation; adding introduction hooks, on-the-spot interviews, switch backs and summaries.

If you liked these games ...

You'll love my ebook!

28 public speaking games (with many more variations and extensions), full instructions, PLUS printable topic, tongue twister, poem and image sheets.

A complete one-stop-select-print-go public speaking resource for busy people.

Find out more   >>

Before you begin the games with your class

Lead in guidelines.

Taking the time to set the games up will ensure they go well and go on to become an accepted and eagerly anticipated part of your classroom activities.

• If your class is new to playing public speaking games start with the simple activities first, for example, the Story Starters.
• Model or demonstrate each game before you ask them to play themselves.
• If it's too threatening to have the entire focus of the class on one person at a time - split into smaller groups of 4-6 players and have them work simultaneously. It will be rowdy but worth it!
• Establish your ground rules for positive participation. You can check out the ones I used in my teaching here: rules for public speaking games
• Include full class quickfire feedback sessions at the end of each game. I found these invaluable for drawing attention to and reinforcing what had been done well. Be sure to acknowledge any gain - not matter how small!
• Keep the timing snappy. Too much of any one particular activity will become tedious. Keep it flowing along.

For more freebie fun filled public speaking games to play with your class:

• 5 best-loved improv games
• 10 impromptu speaking practice activities
• Developing word power exercises
• And yet more public speaking activities , some of them with printables to download.

What's the difference between the freebie public speaking pages and your ebook?

The ebook has the best of all the games on my site (including the ones on the pages above) and then some more.

Plus, it has full instructions for using each of the games and printables. It is the type of one-stop-time-saving resource I wanted to find when I was full time teaching and didn't .

My freebie pages are good but if your commitment to leading/teaching a public speaking class is ongoing, the ebook is better, more complete.

Why not check it out?

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13 Interactive Presentation Ideas to Engage Students in Class

If you’re a teacher, you’ll know that there’s a lot to think about when you’re in class. It’s important to ensure that what you’re teaching the children is as educational and as interesting as possible - with the aim of engaging the students in the subject and hopefully even enabling them to enjoy learning! 

This can be a very difficult balance to strike. However, it’s made easier by these interactive presentation ideas listed in this article, which can engage even the most distracted of students!

How to display presentations

The best classroom gadget to show these presentations on is an interactive display. These are large devices that are mounted to the wall and can connect seamlessly with any video collaboration applications. You can connect interactive displays to the internet and further use them as a powerful classroom teaching tool, to help students learn in a fully interactive and efficient way. We sell interactive displays for classrooms  here at Avocor.

Interactive class presentation ideas 

Ice breakers.

Many work-related presentations start with an icebreaker, and there’s no reason why a presentation to a class of students should be any different. 

The icebreaker question will depend on the class and age of students, but could be something like the following: 

• If you could be an animal, what would it be and why? 
• What would be your dream place to go on holiday? 
• If you could have dinner with three historical characters, who would they be and why? 
• If you could make any kind of potion, what would it do? 

Incorporating video is one of the best interactive presentation ideas for students. Even if the video is about the same topic as the presentation, the fact that it’s a different type of media will interest the class. 

You can either find a suitable video on YouTube or another video software or, if you have a file saved, paste it directly into the presentation . 

Questions and answers

Questions and answers are a great way to get the whole class involved. You could invite one student to ask a hypothetical question about the topic, and another could answer. 

For example, if you’re learning about Henry VIII and his six wives , you could ask a student to ask a question about them. Their question could be “what was Henry VIII’s favourite food?” or something similar. 

When another student answers, you could ask them to explain their answer - for example, if they say “meat and bread”, they might carry on to explain that that was the main diet for royalty at the time. 

Songs are a good way to interest younger kids in a topic. You can find songs about all sorts of subjects on YouTube. For example, this seven continents song could be suitable for a Geography song. 

Many songs on YouTube have lyrics, so you could encourage your class to practice their reading as they sing along. 

Some presentations are made more interactive by external objects - and if you want to engage younger kids, bringing some props can really help the lesson to come alive. 

For example, if you’re doing a history lesson about the Ancient Egyptians , you could bring some figures of Tutankhamun, the Sphinx and the ancient pyramids for everybody to see. 

Class involvement

Asking for direct class involvement throughout the presentation is a good way to ensure that students stay engaged. For instance, if you’re doing a presentation about animals, you could ask students to make a noise every time you mention a certain animal.

You could ask them to roar each time you mention lions, or make a monkey noise each time you talk about monkeys. This is a great way to ensure that the students are paying attention! 

Transitions and animations

A simple way to ensure that your students are paying attention is to use different transitions and animations throughout your presentation. 

If you’re teaching older kids or teenagers, you might not want to have too many of these, but younger kids will love seeing every item bounce onto the screen. It’s a wonderful way to get them interested in technology in the classroom !

Quizzes are an effective way to engage students of any age. You can include these at the end of the presentation and they can include questions that you’ve covered in the session. 

If your students know that there will be a quiz at the end of the class, they may be more likely to pay attention throughout it! You could also ensure maximum engagement by telling students that there will be prizes for the winner of the quiz - such as stickers or sweets. 

Interactive games

Interactive games for class presentations are always a popular way to ensure that students stay engaged! Some examples include: 

• noughts and crosses or tic tac toe
• pictionary 
• hangman or an alternative like spaceman
• 21 questions

It’s best to make these games related to the subject. For example, the game “21 questions” involves you thinking of a character and students asking questions with a yes or no answer about what character you are. 

If you’re teaching a history class, the character could be somebody from history (such as Florence Nightingale or Queen Victoria), or if you’re instructing a science lesson, the character could be a famous scientist (like Einstein or Steven Hawking). 

Brainstorming

Brainstorming is another great way to get the class involved. You can use an interactive display to create the brainstorm diagram on. Students can take turns writing on the board, and it  can securely connect to any external devices, so any remote class members can join in. 

With an interactive display, you can also immediately share the diagram to the rest of the class once it’s finished, so they can keep it to refresh their knowledge of a topic. 

For example, if you’re teaching your class about Australia in geography , you could ask their students what they may already know about Australia. They could come up with some items like the following: 

• Sydney Opera House
• Aboriginal art
• outback 

You could then create a spider diagram with different legs depending on the topic. For this list, there could be an “animals” leg for kangaroos and koalas, an “architecture” leg for the Sydney Opera House, a “landscapes” leg for the rainforest and outback, a “culture” leg for Aboriginal art and a “food” leg for BBQ.

Make a story

Making a story about the topics covered can encourage creativity around the topic. To do this, write down a couple of opening lines to a story related to the topic that you’re teaching. 

For example, if you’re teaching students about the Ancient Roman Empire, you could start by saying “Ronald the Roman lived in the British City of Bath, where the Romans had arrived 20 years before. He spent most of his time at work, where he built houses for the rest of the Romans”. 

Then, you could invite a student to continue the story, encouraging them to stay as on-topic as possible. You could even give out a prize to the student with the best part of the story. Depending on the size of the class, you could ask every student to contribute. 

Stories also work well for English lessons. In these classes, the topic of the story doesn’t matter as much, but you could encourage students to use whatever language they’ve been learning. 

For example, if your class has been focused on adjectives, you could ask students to put as many adjectives as possible in each part of their story. 

Have a short play 

You could take your stories to the next level by creating a short play on one of your slides. This could be based on whatever topic you’re learning about, and you could select a few students to come to the front of the class and read out the lines. 

You may wish to create this personally, find a relevant play online or you could even turn a well-known story into a play!

Virtual field trip

One of the most creative interactive school presentation ideas is to take the class on a virtual field trip. This is particularly valuable for geography lessons, where you may learn about places that students might not be able to visit in person, like the Amazon rainforest or even under the sea!

You could link to Google maps, where you could use Google Earth to explore a particular area. Alternatively, there are some YouTube channels that specialise in virtual tours and field trips, such as this one which details all you need to know about rainforests .

If you have a classroom full of students and want to keep them as engaged as possible while teaching them new material, try some of these interactive games for classroom presentations and other ideas! 

By incorporating some of these interactive ideas into your presentation, you’ll have the students’ full undivided attention and ensure that they not only enjoy the class but retain the information.

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20 Interactive Presentation Games

• Employee Engagement , Event Planning , Leadership Techniques

Meetings and conferences can be painfully tedious and dull. So much so that the phrase “Death by PowerPoint” has made it into our lexicon. According to Thomas Sowell , an American political economist and commentator, “People who enjoy meetings should not be in charge of anything.”

But if the problem with meetings is that they tend to be boring, the solution lies in finding ways to better engage and entertain your audience. You probably know the feeling of sitting in a meeting, trying to pay attention while one person drones on for an hour.

Even if the purpose of the meeting is to train, disseminate new developments, or even get everyone up to speed on weekly goals, engaging your audience creates a motivation to pay attention.

That’s why interactive presentation games are a great way to re-energizing meetings by involving audiences in the presentation. Interactive presentation turn passive listeners into active participants. Audience participation games also allow the attendees to learn new skills, think of solutions within a short time period, and solve problems together.

‍ MeetingPulse’s audience participation tools equip your team with the tools and resources to create engaging events. With that in mind, here’s our guide to a few popular interactive presentation games.‍

20 Interactive Audience Participation Games

1. project jeopardy.

This game is designed to make the presentation of reports more fun and interactive. The lead person on the report creates cards that have answers from the report.

For example, the card reads “25%.” The rest of the team is supposed to ask the correct question corresponding to the “25%” answer on the card. The question could be something like, “What was the company revenue growth for the quarter?”

‍ How to play: Give everyone the URL to your MeetingPulse meeting. Display the question on your screen and create multiple choice answers or leave it open-ended. The answers will pop up on the administrator’s screen in real-time, and you can share the answers to see how many people got it right.

2. Idea Box Game

The Idea Box game is excellent for brainstorming meetings where employees can share ideas about a project or product . It helps get the creative juices flowing and might even lead to some usable prototypes. Instead of having one speaker after another speak about their idea, having a team create an idea box creates a space for collaboration to further spark innovation.

‍ How to play: Use the MeetingPulse brainstorming tool to have teams vote and collect feedback about the products. Have each attendee log in to your MeetingPulse link — a virtual Idea Box. Give small groups thirty minutes to brainstorm, then allow submissions.

At the end of the exercise, each team should have the product name, features and functions, marketing taglines, and other vital product details.

Once each team has completed their box they’re invited to share it with the rest of the team who finally vote for the best box. Their ideas will appear on the screen right away, and participants can upvote or downvote in Reddit-style fashion and even submit emoji reactions.

3. The Introduction Game

This game is ideal for a new group of team members meeting for the first time on a mutual project or new hires joining a team. Give the new hires a chance to introduce themselves in an unforgettable manner.

‍ How to play: Ask the new members to bring a personal item or a favorite song. During the meeting, introduce them by letting their song blare for a few minutes on the sound system and then ask them to say something about themselves. If you’re using the personal item, ask them to talk about the item and what it means to them.

4. The talking stick

This activity makes sure that anyone who has a contribution not only gets to do so, but also that they get to speak uninterrupted. Using the talking stick is a great, rapid-fire way to focus the meeting on deep and meaningful contributions.

‍ How to play: Form a circle and make sure everyone’s seated. Before the discussion begins, everyone should agree that the moderator has the power to choose whoever speaks next. Once a member finishes talking, they should put the stick back in the center for the next person.

Use the MeetingPulse audience feedback capability to gain insight right away. Choose up to four emojis and allow your audience to react as they listen to new ideas.

5. Telephone game

The telephone game is used typically as an ice breaker or to liven up a group after a couple of mind-numbing presentations. While it doesn’t really work with a very large group, a sizable number like 10 to 15 people is just right.

‍ How to play: The meeting leader whispers the latest company marketing strategy used to the person on their left who is then supposed to relay the message to the next person and on and on until the last person gets the message.

The last person then gets to tell the rest of the team the final message, and you can compare it to the primary message from the lead.

6. The trivia competition

You can use this game to test the attendees’ trivia knowledge of the company or of general business trends . Create a trivia competition where the members play for points and the winner gets a prize. Project the points for everyone to see the winner.

‍ How to play: Formulate questions related to the company and use them for the trivia test. You can use MeetingPulse to create the questions with its live Q&A session software platform capabilities , and set the timer to begin the game together. To add an extra touch of fun, include images with your multiple choice questions. Visuals add to the level of engagement and give your meetings an extra edge.

7. Fill in the phrase

Check out Meeting Pulse for Cool and creative ways to make polling questions and Quizzes!

‍ This game requires participants to fill in blanks on a survey or report. The survey or report should not be complete until the end of the presentation. This game rewards audiences for listening, and you can even provide some sort of prize.

‍ How to play: Create a report for attendees that has blanks. As you continue with the presentation, invite them to fill in the blanks from the information you are giving. Not only does the audience remain engaged, but they retain crucial information better.

‍ MeetingPulse integrates with Powerpoints , so you can use our single answer polling feature to play this game and display the results directly in your PowerPoint presentation.

8. Word of the day

Have a word of the day game as part of your presentation or meeting. It can be a phrase or a word.

‍ How to play: The presenter should weave the word or phrase into their presentation and the audience acknowledges its use by shouting back. The word must come from the team and not the presenter. This activity keeps everyone alert. Sometimes shouting can be distracting in the middle of a meeting.

In this case, use the MeetingPulse emoji feature, and everyone can submit ? when you use the word “key learnings.”

9. The 20 questions game

You get 20 questions to help you identify a picture that you can’t see, but the audience can. The audience can only lead you with yes or no questions. Use this game to liven up the audience.

‍ How to play: The audience will choose a picture that you can’t see. Have someone submit a photo and display it on the MeetingPulse user dashboard. Get blindfolded and begin to ask questions regarding the picture. You get only twenty questions to get it right.

If you’re an advertising agency, you can use this test your employees’ memory and see if they remember what you worked on. To keep track of all the questions and responses, have the audience choose “yes” or “no” by using a live audience polling tool instead of having them shout it out.

10. Call and response

This game keeps the audience focused. The leader in the meeting calls out a phrase randomly during their presentation and the audience responds to it .

‍ How to play: Agree on the action to be taken every time the phrase is called out. The second the presenter calls out the word, your audience can dance, clap or just rise and seat. Alternatively, they can respond with a phrase, word, or an emoji using MeetingPulse.

11. What would I have done?

In this game, ask each member of the team what their alternative career would be. The point of the game is to open up to each other and foster conversation.

‍ How to play: Each member writes down their alternative career and waits their turn to reveal. The audience collectively asks “What would you have done?” and the selected member responds explaining why they chose that alternative. This is another great game you can play virtually, especially if you’re working with a big team.

With MeetingPulse , you can find out everyone’s alternative career and even get some statistics.

12. Fabulous flags

In this game , team members draw things that matter to them on their flag. This is known as the personal flag game, and it’s an excellent ice breaker activity.

‍ How to play: Everyone gets 10 minutes to draw objects or symbols that represent something meaningful in their lives. Each person gets two minutes to explain the items on their flag.

13. Botticelli

Similar to 20 questions, this game also tests your trivia. You keep in mind a person, place, or thing, and the audience has to guess. The game is a bit more complex because the player can talk back to the audience and distract them from the name.

‍ How to play: The audience asks leading questions to which the player responds with a yes or no. If they ask a specific question like “Does the celebrity’s name start with B?” then the player can respond with “It’s not Brad Pitt.”

This game is logistically easy to plan because all you need to do is formulate the poll questions and integrate them into your PowerPoint with MeetingPulse .

14. Candy introductions

This is a game that allows people to get to know each other while enjoying some sweet treats. It’s excellent for training sessions where participants are complete strangers, providing general topics for introductions that employees can elaborate upon further.

‍ How to play: The participants choose different types of candy from a bag and use each to represent different topics about themselves during the introduction. They can talk about family, career, hobbies, unexpected characteristic and dream destinations.

15. Crazy job interview

In this game, one participant tries to convince the others why they would be the best for a certain job. They have to expound on qualities given by another player and how those qualities make them a good fit.

‍ How to play: The participant is given a career, like a supermodel. Then they are given random phrases like “angry with the queen” or “intellectually incompatible” and they have to use these phrases to explain why they would be great at being a supermodel.

16. The elimination game

The elimination game helps participants to get to know each other, using a series of questions to find out the most common and most rare similarities amongst people within your company.

‍ How to play: The whole room is asked to stand up. The leader then asks elimination questions like “how many are attending this conference for the first time?” That group gets to sit down. The next is “remain standing if this is your fourth consecutive attendance.” The rest of the group sits down. And the elimination questions continue.

17. Would you rather

This is a fun game to liven up the room, giving participants two choices of something they can do. They have to choose the lesser evil.

‍ How to play: The player is given a question with two very bad or very good outcomes. For example, if the employees are afraid of heights, ask, “Would you rather go sky diving or bungee jumping?”

If you want to play this game with a large group of people, you can use MeetingPulse to get answers in real time. This game can also provide valuable insight for you. For instance, you can ask, “Would you rather have a breakfast spread or small desserts for our next meeting?”

18. Anagrams

‍ Think up a word and have everyone else try to figure it out. Expect some hilarious answers as everyone chips in.

‍ How to play: Jumble up the letters but ensure that they create a five or six letter word anagram when correctly aligned. Only the presenter should suggest the word, and the activity should be timed. People can submit their answers live on MeetingPulse .

19. Two truths and a lie

The players get to tell two truths and one lie about themselves and the audience deciphers which one is the lie.

‍ How to play: The player chooses a topic, like “career.” They tell two real facts about their career and one lie. The audience then decides which statement is false and why they believe that.

20. Choose the Agenda

In this activity, the participants choose the agenda of the meeting instead of being told what it is. This allow them to address burning issues.

‍ How to play: Participants are invited to submit their agendas, which are shared by everyone and then voted on. The one with the most votes becomes the main agenda for the meeting. This gives participants control over the meeting as well.

You can use MeetingPulse’s brainstorming tool with the upvoting feature for this!

Final Thoughts

Now that you know some of the best interactive presentation games, you’re ready to host your next event with new and creative ways to keep your audience engaged. MeetingPulse is a great tool and resource for you to make your presentations more memorable and — dare we say it — fun.

‍ Related: 25 Fun Poll Questions to Ask Your Audience

Get started with MeetingPulse today!

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50+ Fun Icebreakers For Your Next Presentation

If you’re looking for the perfect icebreaker to open your presentation and connect with your audience from the get-go, look no further! With the help of our presentation experts here at 24Slides, we have compiled the ultimate list of icebreakers you can use in your next presentation, meeting, or conference. 

We’ll also go through some quick icebreakers 101, solving questions like:

What is an icebreaker?

• Why should I start my presentation with an icebreaker?
• What makes a good icebreaker for presentations?

And, of course, you’ll get our compilation of over 50 icebreaker examples for your next presentation. Since there’s no one-size-fits-all, we’ve divided our presentation ice breakers into categories depending on the context of your presentation, so you can go straight to the ones that will work the best for you!

In this article, you’ll find:

Icebreakers for one-on-one presentations

Icebreakers for small group presentations (2-10 people), icebreakers for medium group presentations (11-30 people), icebreakers for large groups (31+ people), icebreakers for business and sales presentations, icebreaker ideas for training sessions and workshops.

• Virtual presentations icebreakers
• Fun icebreaker examples for playful presentations
• Great simple icebreaker questions  

So, are you ready to become an expert in using icebreakers in your presentations?

Imagine you’re in a room with a bunch of people where you know only a few of them or even none at all. You’d probably start feeling awkward and self-conscious, uncertain to interact with those around you. When you’re uncomfortable, your attention will probably be divided between wanting to listen to the speaker and making sure your elbows don’t touch your unknown neighbor. 

And, if you’re the speaker, you might feel pretty awkward too. Speaking in front of an audience is never easy, and you might wonder how to approach your presentation’s topic, especially if it’s dense or very important. 

An icebreaker is precisely what its name suggests: it breaks the ‘ice’ of uncomfortableness between you and everyone else around you. Icebreakers are usually short activities meant to help your audience to connect first as people before approaching your presentation’s topic - making your audience more relaxed and likely to hear out your ideas. 

Icebreakers can take many forms and shapes, from simple questions to engaging games. They can require people to talk with each other, answer a poll, or even move around the room. Anything that will make your attendees open up could be an icebreaker as long as it makes people feel more at ease! 

Benefits of icebreakers

The main objective of using an icebreaker in a presentation is to help people get more comfortable and avoid the common awkwardness when first speaking to a new audience. 

Icebreakers can accomplish many things - presenting yourself, getting people more at ease, and even as an introduction to your presentation’s topic. But they also offer a wide array of side benefits, like getting people more involved with your presentation and making it more memorable. 

If you’re thinking to yourself, ‘Why should I add an icebreaker to my presentation? I’m just fine without one!’ here are 6 of the top benefits of using an icebreaker in your next meeting. 

• It breaks down the awkwardness

For people who aren’t 100% an extrovert, presentations and meetings are likely to create a certain degree of awkwardness. And having a room full of people who feel uncomfortable around each other can be detrimental to your presentation. Icebreakers help lessen this feeling in your presentation – making people relax and be more at ease so they can put all their energy into listening.

• Icebreakers help people relax and have fun

When people relax, they’re more likely to entertain new ideas. An icebreaker may be the turning point to make them feel more receptive to what you’re going to say. It also opens up more possibilities for inviting your audience to participate and ask questions. Icebreakers are a great way to make them feel welcomed and more likely to volunteer or join whatever activity you’ve prepared for them onstage.

• Help you connect with your audience

A presentation where the speaker starts right away can feel a little jarring. Icebreakers are the perfect way to introduce yourself and your topic without throwing your audience headfirst into the presentation. A good icebreaker can help you connect better with your audience – making them, in turn, more likely to hear you out!

• Gives your audience an energy boost

Some presentations can feel like they take forever. When you’ve been sitting down for what seems like hours, you might feel yourself starting to nod off. An icebreaker doesn’t necessarily happen just at the start of the presentation. It can be a great way to wake up your audience after a quick break and bring them back to the topic at hand. 

• Gives a chance to network with others

The right icebreaker can get your audience talking and help them find things in common. After all, your audience is all in the same meeting for a reason! By giving them the opportunity to interact with one another, you are also giving them the extra value of finding people who can work with them in the future. 

And, of course, icebreakers are great ways to get the ball rolling, so by giving your audience a chance to talk with one another, you might also get more interesting and unique takes on questions and ideas later on. 

• Creates a positive atmosphere

A positive atmosphere is created when people lower their barriers and defense mechanisms, making it more conducive to learning. A negative atmosphere, on the other hand, is felt when people don’t feel at ease and give their neighbors the cold shoulder. ‘Breaking the ice’ needs to get done as soon as possible!

5 Practical Tips for a Good Icebreaker 

What makes a good icebreaker? This is a tricky question to ask. Many icebreakers that work in certain situations will not work in others, as their use depends on context. 

Here are key factors to consider when planning your next presentation’s icebreaker: 

• Know your audience

Take the time to research your audience. The most important thing when planning your presentation’s icebreaker is to remind that you want your audience to feel less awkward  — not more.

Taking your time to learn about the people in front of you is the easiest way to avoid doing or saying something that could potentially offend your audience. Even if you do it unintentionally, the damage will still be done. 

• Identify your presentation objective

The right icebreaker will help you achieve your presentation objective, so take some extra time to think about it. For example, if you’re giving a presentation on cooperation and teamwork, you can do a game where your audience needs to rely on one another. Or conduct a poll to ask your audience how confident they are in their teamwork skills. 

Making your icebreaker closely relate to your presentation’s topic will not only open up your audience but also allow you to transition smoothly to the rest of your presentation. 

• Involve everyone

The icebreaker should be inclusive, meaning it shouldn’t exclude anyone from joining. For instance, if you have a disabled person in the crowd, then you wouldn’t want him or her to feel awkward for not being able to join. 

Have a backup icebreaker just in case the first one excludes someone. The point is that fun icebreakers should make everyone feel more at ease  — and not at the expense of the outliers of the crowd.

• Make sure you understand the context

To pick the right icebreaker for your presentation, you must know the overall setting in which it will take place. A presentation to the board of directors where you need to explain where the sales have been going down is probably not the best place to use a joke as an icebreaker. Or, if you’re giving a quick 15-minute presentation, you might not want to begin with a game that will take at least 10 of them. 

Taking into consideration general setting cues like time frame, space and resources availability, and presentation tone, will help you pick the perfect icebreaker. 

The Ultimate Presentation Icebreakers List

Here you’ll find the perfect icebreaker for your presentation. Since not every icebreaker will work on every situation, here you’ll find them divided into several categories: 

• Icebreakers depending on your audience size
• Icebreakers depending on your presentation’s tone and context
• Quick and easy questions to break the ice

Do feel free to browse through the entire list: most icebreakers will be easy to adapt to fit your specific needs and your presentation!  

Presentation Icebreakers for Every Audience Size

While in a small crowd, you might be able to ask person by person their input, this will most likely not be the case in large groups. On the flip side, a game that needs the audience to divide into teams might be a good pick for a medium-sized crowd, but not a one-on-one presentation. 

Among the many options of icebreaker options all over the web, we’ve compiled and edited a list of which ones will work the best for each audience size: 

• Introduce yourself. Unless you already know each other, introducing yourself is the easiest way to look proactive and get your presentation going. After all, it’s in your best interest for your prospect to warm up to you before your pitch or presentation!
• Have a conversation . Don’t go straight to your topic. Always warm up your prospects and engage them in conversation first. Try to ask open-ended (instead of just ‘yes’ or ‘no’) questions. You can tackle topics like current events, or even just the weather! Just talking in a more casual way will make the person feel more at ease and more likely to give you their undivided attention. 
• Ask them about their personal life. If it’s someone you already know, build rapport by showing you care about them. You can ask about their kids, vacations, or even their favorite sports team. Remembering what they care about can be a huge plus when building a better atmosphere! 
• Let them tell you what they expect from your presentation. It’s the easiest way to make sure you live up to your expectations! It also allows you to introduce the topics of your presentation seamlessly. Even better, you’ll feel and look more confident and under control by taking charge of the presentation’s rhythm and agenda. 
• Ask something related to your presentation topic. Ask them if they know anything about your company, product, competitors, or something to that effect. It’s not only a great way to start your presentation without spending too much time on what they already know, but it’ll also help you gauge their knowledge so you can decide how in-depth you need to get in your presentation.
• Give them a small present just for showing up. Especially if the meeting is not an obligation for them, being appreciative if they show up can go a long way. After all, they’re investing their time and energy into you!
• Compliment them. It’s always nice to get compliments. But don’t overdo it, and always, always be genuine. If your prospect feels like you’re using flattery to get the sale, then it can seriously backfire on you later on. You’ll lose face and credibility.
• Introductions but with a twist. Ask everyone to introduce themselves and state something unusual or a fun fact about them. Towards the end of the presentation, ask them if they remember anything other people said during the introduction. If they get something right, reward them.
• Ask people to line up alphabetically . You can do this with their first names or last names. Or even their nicknames. This gets people talking and getting to know each other’s names.
• Charades . This is one of the best fun icebreakers on this list. It’s a party favorite but can also be used in presentations, meetings, and conferences. You probably already know how this works, but if not, here’s a funny charades video on Jimmy Fallon’s show.

• String a story together . Storytelling is a powerful element in presentations. But for this icebreaker, you’ll need everyone’s help to create a story. Start the first sentence yourself and then ask the first person in front of you to continue the story. Each person gets to decide the direction the story takes, one sentence at a time.
• Play word games . There are many different kinds of word games. But this is something you may find useful. Identify the subject or category the words should belong to, like animals or food. If the first person chooses ‘DOG,’ the next person must identify an animal that starts with the last letter of the previous word. In this case, it would be something that starts with the letter G, like GOAT.
• One word to describe him or herself . Give your audience one minute to think about the perfect word that describes them. And let the others assess if they agree with that word or not.
• Social media icebreaker . Let people open up their favorite social media accounts and then share a photo they’re most proud of. Ask them to share a line or two about why they love that photo.
• Switcheroo. Ask everyone to stand up and switch seats with the people in front of them. Do this when you notice people are starting to get drowsy and need some stimulation.
• Human bingo. This is a fun way to get to know people. Prepare the cards and the pen/pencil. The cards should already be filled out with various traits, characteristics, hobbies, etc. Then, your participants will need to go around and interview each person and check off a box that applies to them. The person who completes their card first gets a prize.
• Friendly debate. Group your participants into two. One should be the ‘pro’ group and the other is the ‘anti’ group. For instance, you can choose pizza lovers and pizza haters. Give them a few minutes to present their arguments and let the great debate begin!
• Two truths, one lie. Just like the title says, make your participants come up with 3 things about themselves, in which one of them is false. Then, in groups or pairs, the others would have to try and guess which one is the lie. It’s a great icebreaker to make your audience interact more with one another.
• Guess game. Just like the last one, it’s easier to make participants interact with one another through a game. Make everyone write on a piece of paper something fun, like an unlikely hobby or the oddest job they ever had. Your audience must try to guess who wrote which one. It’s not only a fun icebreaker, but it also helps people find out the things they have in common.
• Going to the beach. It’s an easy game, but a fun one! Each person will start by saying ‘I went to the beach and I took…’ plus an object, like a beachball, a towel, or a surfboard. Then, the next person must repeat the same sentence and add a new object to the list. The more people, the more the list will grow, and the first person who forgets an item loses! It’s also a good icebreaker for making attendees learn each other’s names by adding who brought what to part of the list they need to repeat. 
• Paper planes.  Make your audience write something about themselves on a piece of paper, and then instruct them to make a paper plane out of it and throw it! When they pick up a new paper plane, their goal will be to find the correct person. It’s the perfect icebreaker to get people moving and getting to know each other!
• Stretch. This one’s easy and straight to the point, but it does help break the boredom. Ask people to stand up and stretch for a few minutes. You can lead the exercise or play a short video on stage. After this short exercise, you can expect to see a bunch of awake and attentive faces.
• Treasure hunting. Hide a few prized items throughout the venue and send your participants on a treasure hunt. It’s always exciting to look out for a prize! Even better, by making them solve clues, you’d encourage your audience to work on their teamwork skills. 
• Stress buster. Hand small slips of paper to everyone and ask them to write down the things that are causing them stress lately. Then, during or after the presentation, ask them to rip it to shreds.
• Snowball fight. Divide your group into two sides, and give each person 3 pieces of paper to crumple. Give them 1 or 2 minutes to try to get as many ‘snowballs’ into the other team’s side. A healthy amount of competitiveness will help you break the ice in no time!
• This or that.  Another great icebreaker to highlight the things in common! Ask your audience to stand in the middle of the room, and ask them questions that will make them pick a side of the room. Things like ‘Dogs or cats?’ or ‘Night Owl or Early Bird?’ will have them jumping from one side to the other. 

Icebreakers depending on your presentation’s tone

When planning your next icebreaker, you must always take into account the context of your presentation. After all, giving a sales report to your boss is not the same as giving a fun workshop on teamwork.  

If you’re looking for the perfect icebreaker for a specific situation, here you might find the one you’re looking for!

If you’re looking for a more professional way to warm up your audience for your work presentations, these icebreakers are the one for you. Most business presentations are more serious and straight to the point, just like these icebreaker ideas!

• Storytelling. This one is the king of icebreakers for business presentations and for a good reason! Storytelling is an incredibly powerful tool to add to your presentations, as it helps to both exemplify your point and connect emotionally with your audience. And of course, this makes it the perfect option to break the ice and get their entire attention from the get-go. 
• The highlight of the week. This icebreaker is great for getting your audience into a positive mood. When planning your next business presentation, take some extra time to find something good that happened that week or that month. Maybe you record sales for that month, or you got an exceptionally good review from a customer.  
• Would you rather?  When planning your sales presentation icebreaker, this one will help to get your potential customer right where you want it. Highlight the value they’ll get from your product, and how they are missing out on it. From our experience, asking, ‘What do you prefer, struggling 5 hours per week on PowerPoint, or getting your presentations done by a professional team of designers in 24 hours or less ?’ really puts things into perspective!  
• Give kudos. The best way to put people in a good mood is to spread out some positivity!  Giving the spotlight to someone who has done outstanding work recently can be a great way to break the ice. 
• Brainstorming session. Group brainstorming is another great way to get people to exchange ideas. You hit two birds with one stone – an icebreaker and an idea generator rolled into one!

The best icebreakers for training presentations and workshops are those that incentivize teamwork and learning skills. These icebreakers will help your team get to know each other better and work together in tandem. 

• Live polls. There are many apps that allow your audience to make live polls and display the results immediately. This is a great icebreaker, as it can be as serious or lighthearted as you want. You can use it to ask the audience’s mood, their favorite food, and how much they know about the topic at hand.  
• Word cloud.  Just like a poll, a word cloud can be a great option to explore what your audience thinks about a prompt or concept you give them and to get the ball rolling. You can make them write down in groups, have them add their ideas to a board, or even make one through an app ! 
• Problem-solution icebreaker. Present a real or hypothetical problem, and ask people to pitch in their solutions. You can ask them for their input individually, or you can divide them into pairs. As the saying goes, two heads are better than one.
• Finish a puzzle together. This is great for group work as everyone can contribute. For example, you can give them a few pieces each, and they’ll then work as a team to complete the puzzle.
• Pop quiz. This icebreaker is the best to keep your audience on their toes and on a learning mood. You can add it at the end of your presentation, before or after a coffee break, or even at the beginning to see how much previous knowledge your audience has. 

Virtual presentation icebreakers

Not sharing a physical space can make breaking the ice even more of a challenge, especially since many icebreaker ideas would not fit an online presentation. So here you’ll find some icebreaker options that are specifically designed for virtual meetings!

• Drawing battle. You don’t have to be a professional artist to enjoy this one! There are many apps and websites that allow you to add this game to your virtual meetings. Just propose a topic and let people try to guess what one of them is drawing! You can even divide them into teams to make it more interesting. 
• Try a virtual escape room. If you have time, try giving your audience this challenge to build cooperation and teamwork. It’s not only great for learning to work together but also to have fun and loosen up. 
• Count till 20. Your team must try to count to 20 by shouting one number each… but without agreeing in which order they’ll go. This icebreaker will definitely make people wake up, and probably also laugh as they try to avoid talking at the same time. 
• Emoji movies. Just like charades, your audience must try to guess the movie or book. But instead of someone acting, they must guess it from the emojis. It’s a great adaptation of a classic game for virtual meetings!   

Fun icebreaker ideas for playful presentations

Icebreakers can also help your presentation be more playful and fun! If you like your icebreakers a little silly to make sure people loosen up their inhibitions, then take a look at these ideas. 

• The no smiles challenge. If you’re making a fun, playful presentation, a great way to make it even funnier is to tell people smiling and laughing aren’t allowed in your presentation. This will most likely have the opposite effect, making people even more ready to laugh at your jokes! 
• Human rock paper scissors. This is a fun, high-energy game, but may not be feasible for older participants. Check this video to see if this is something you can use in your presentation.

• GIFs mood barometer. If you want your audience to be a little bit playful, having them share their mood as a GIF is the perfect way. If you want to keep some control of what they share, you can also use a live poll to give them options to choose from. It’s the perfect lightweight activity that still gives you valuable insights into your audience and their energy levels. 
• Bad jokes contest.  The only thing funnier than a good joke is an extremely bad one. Have your audience try to use their best dad jokes on each other while avoiding laughing at the jokes of the rest.  

10 Great Icebreaker Questions for Any Presentation 

Sometimes simpler is better, and the easiest way to get people talking is to ask them to do so! These icebreaker questions will help your audience open up without taking much time or extra preparation. 

• If you could have any superpower, what would it be, and what would be your superhero name?
• What's the most random piece of trivia you know and why?
• What is the oddest job you ever had, and how did you end up working there?
• If you could make a reality show, what would it be about?
• What cartoon character would you like to hang out with?
• Where is the most embarrassing place you ever fell asleep?
• If they made a sitcom about your life, what would the theme song be?
• What were the best and worst workshops/meetings/conferences you ever attended?
• If the zombie apocalypse began, what three people in this meeting would you want on your team?
•  If you had to teach a class right now, what would the subject be?

As a speaker or presenter, it’s important that you prepare fun icebreakers for your audience. You want people to be comfortable not just with you, but with their neighbors and groupmates as well. The icebreakers in this list are just the tip of the iceberg concerning the wide array of possibilities you can choose from. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box and get creative with your icebreakers!

Need more time to prepare for your presentation? 24Slides has you covered!

Now that you’ve begun thinking about your presentation, and the best way to break the ice with your audience, you might wish to have more time to prepare for it. Luckily, 24Slides can help with that !

You can focus on your presentation’s content and how to make your audience as comfortable as possible, and 24Slides professional designers will tackle the visual aspects of it all. In less than 24 hours , you can get a custom-made, fully editable presentation that will wow your audience and make it even more memorable. 

You might also find these articles interesting:

• 7 Essential Storytelling Techniques for Your Business Presentation
• How to Deliver the Perfect Online Presentation
• Improve Your Presentations' Body Language!

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Presentation Skills   Icebreakers and Energisers

• Complete Courses
• Course Modules
• Team Building Games
• Case Studies
• 1:1 Coaching
• Icebreakers
• Review Activities

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Creatively Speaking

Aims: • To give participants an opportunity to practice speaking in front of others, with a particular emphasis on the skills needed to think quickly.

Time: This exercise will take about 15 minutes to run. In total, allowing for discussion, we recommend allowing 20 minutes for completion.

Group Size: This module can be used with groups of up to 20 participants.

You'll Need: • A set of the Creatively Speaking Cards (one card per participant). • Blu-tac. • A stopwatch.

Notes: The timings suggested are for a group of up to 10 participants. Larger groups will need more time.

Just Beat It - Misinterpretations in Communication

Aims: • To demonstrate the dangers of making assumptions about others' knowledge when communicating. • To recognise situations where the recipient might not interpret our message in the way we intended.

Time: This exercise will take about 10 minutes to complete. In total, allowing for discussion, we recommend allowing about 30 minutes for completion.

Group Size: This module can be used with groups of almost any size.

You'll Need: • Nothing other than the materials provided.

Making Messages Memorable - The Rule of Three

Aims: • To explain the Rule of Three. • To demonstrate the impact of repeating three-word slogans during presentations or training. • To show the value of audience participation.

Time: This exercise will take about 10 minutes to complete. In total, allowing for discussion, we recommend allowing 15 minutes for completion.

Group Size: This module can be used with groups of up to 15 participants.

You'll Need: • A set of buzzers will add to the competitive atmosphere but are not essential.

One Man Brand - How Images Add Impact to Our Message

Aims: • To help participants get to know each other. • To encourage participants to think about their personal ‘brand’. • To understand the power of images to convey messages.

Time: This exercise will take about 15 minutes to complete. In total, allowing for discussion, we recommend allowing about 20 minutes for completion.

Group Size: This module can be used with groups of any size.

You'll Need: • Blank name tent cards and pens for your participants.

Notes: If using this icebreaker in very large groups ask participants to work in small teams and introduce themselves to those team members rather than the whole group.

Patsy’s Pie Making Challenge - Making the Message Memorable

Aims: • To explore ways to make messages memorable. • To understand why making messages memorable is essential to delivering a successful training session/presentation.

Time: This exercise will take about 15 minutes to complete. In total, allowing for discussion, we recommend allowing 20 minutes for completion.

Group Size: Suitable for use with groups of up to 20 participants.

You'll Need: • A collection of objects that your participants use as part of creating the story of Patsy’s Pie Making Challenge. • A soft ball.

Presentation Skills - Icebreaker

Aims: • To encourage participants to start thinking about what makes an effective presentation. • To identify the things to avoid in presentations.

Time: This exercise will take about 10 minutes to complete. In total, allowing for discussion, we recommend allowing 20 minutes for completion.

Group Size: This module is suitable for use with groups of up to 15 participants.

You'll Need: • Flipchart paper and pens.

Seeing Things Differently - When Messages get Lost in Translation

Aims: • To introduce different styles of information gathering. • To help participants recognise that we all have a different viewpoint or perspective. • To understand the importance for trainers/presenters to be aware of how their messages may be perceived.

You'll Need: • A single apple (or other type of fruit) for your participants to see.

Setting Up - Train the Trainer

Aims: • To help participants understand why it is important to arrive early to set up the training room. • To understand the impact of a well laid out and inviting training room on delegates. • To identify the key equipment they need to bring with them when running a training session.

Time: This exercise will take about 20 minutes to complete. In total, allowing for discussion, we recommend allowing 30 minutes for completion.

Group Size: Suitable for use with groups of almost any size.

You'll Need: • Resources to create a stimulating learning environment. A recommended list of equipment is provided on Page 2 of the Trainer Notes.

The Paper Folding Exercise - Visual Communication

Aims: • To show the importance of giving information visually as well as orally. • To demonstrate how different people will interpret the same information differently.

Time: This exercise will take about 5 minutes to complete. In total, allowing for discussion, we recommend allowing 10 minutes to complete this module.

Group Size: This module is suitable for use with groups of almost any size.

You'll Need: • Two sheets of A4 paper for each participant (and for you too).

Notes: We’d like to thank Mick Duncan of CWT-Chamber Training for contributing the idea for this exercise.

True or False? - Persuasive Communication

Aims: • To identify techniques that can make our spoken communication more influential.

Group Size: This module can be used with groups of up to 10 participants.

Notes: This exercise can be run with more participants, but additional time will be needed.