Engaging your crowd, large or small, is the best way to deliver a presentation. It’s your job to keep them focused, attentive and interested in what you’re saying – and having an interactive presentation can help with this.
Luckily, creating an interactive presentation doesn’t need to be complicated. All you need are a few compelling elements to bring your concept to life. This article will dive into what an interactive presentation is and how to add interactive elements.
Discover how to create an interactive presentation with Adobe Express.
What is an interactive presentation?
An interactive presentation involves active participation and collaboration between the presenter and the audience. It uses a dynamic presentation format so, rather than traditional presentations having a one-way line of communication, they encourage the audience to respond and contribute.
Here are some elements you may wish to include in your interactive presentation:
- Graphs and charts. Graphs and charts can help your audience to digest data more easily than reading a list.
- Surveys. Survey results can be simple to display and more accessible for your audience to understand. Shocking or unusual statistics are also great at catching people’s interest.
- Polls. Create an interactive poll for your audience to take part in. You could choose a topic related to your presentation or something fun to act as an icebreaker at the beginning of your talk.
- Video. Videos are a great way to engage your audience. Having a video to start your presentation is a good way to introduce your topic too.
Explore interactive presentation ideas.
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How to make a presentation more interactive in 10 steps.
It’s simple to create an engaging presentation. Here are ten steps to make your presentation interactive:
1. Break the ice.
It’s essential to set the tone and engage your audience as soon as possible to build a rapport. It only takes 30 to 60 seconds for people to decide if they’re interested. Plus, research suggests that the first eight seconds of your presentation are the most important.
2. Keep the design consistent.
A consistent, on-brand design can go a long way in making your presentation engaging and is one of the simplest interactive presentation ideas. Consistency helps make the content flow and a simple design allows your presentation to do the talking. Distracting slides can disengage your audience, and they may find it harder to focus on what you’re presenting.
3. Refer to your audience.
The clue is in the name. An interactive presentation involves some level of interaction with your audience. There are a number of ways to encourage audience participation, like asking for hands up in response to questions – to help bring your data to life. You could also plan Q&A time, either between sections or at the end of your presentation for increased collaboration.
4. Add transitions and clickable elements.
While this is most relevant for presentations that can be accessed and navigated online, transitions and animations can help to make it more exciting. A clickable menu to navigate is more appealing than a bullet point list.
5. Use engaging videos and media.
Visual content, like audio files and videos, can help increase interactivity and keep your audience engaged. Videos can be a welcome break from conventional slides and enrich the overall impact of your presentation. When adding videos, ensure there’s a seamless transition between slides and maintain a balance between entertainment and educational value.
6. Craft a clear narrative.
A clear narrative is essential for all brand or personal communications. Storytelling in presentations is very important to keep your audience engaged. Incorporating personal anecdotes is another way to keep your audience interested during your interactive presentation.
7. Utilise interactive charts, maps and graphs.
Make the most of features like interactive maps, charts and graphs to keep your audience engaged. Having infographics with interactive visuals allows your audience to interact with the data, which, in turn, could help with their understanding and interest in the subject.
8. Add collaborative elements.
Elements like games and quizzes can really help get your audience on board. Some sort of competition element can help them stay engaged and interested throughout the session – especially if they know there’s a quiz (and maybe prizes) at the end.
9. Don’t overlook hyperlinks.
Hyperlinks can go a long way in showing your authority and expertise on a subject. Including links to an official external source can help to back up and add credibility to your points. They also offer a convenient way to navigate through sections or to access other relevant resources.
10. Think about your tone.
Different tones suit different settings, for both in-person and online presentations. Humour is a great tool to engage your audience, but it may not always be appropriate. For serious or concerning subject matters, it may be safer to stay clear of humour and focus on other aspects to make your presentation interactive.