Tips to Create High-Impact Presentations for Beginners

High-impact presentations are focused not only on delivering information but also on forging an emotional connection, driving engagement, and inspiring action. 

People deliver with varying degrees of confidence, clarity, and influence, but to be successful, you need to tick all those boxes.

As a beginner, you are already intimidated by presentations and public speaking. But the silver lining to the cloud is that it’s a skill. And you can learn it. You can train yourself to transform your nervous energy and dull performances into impactful talks and presentations.

In this article, we have shared the tips you can follow to get the most crucial aspects of presenting right and deliver a worth remembering and impactful talk in the early trajectory of your career. These tips will help you improve your skills further and refine you into a better, more efficient, and skilled speaker. 

Tips for Beginners to Present with Impact

Use these tips to polish your public speaking skills and transform regular mediocre presentations into impressive, powerful deliveries.

1. Become a Part of the People

You have been asked to speak for a reason. Your knowledge, expertise, or insights need to be shared, and the goal is to benefit the audience. 

Now, the usual presentation and high-impact presentation have one crucial difference – knowing the audience. Getting your message across will be a struggle if you don’t know your people. 

Create your content and delivery around questions like – 

• Who is your audience? Try to put yourself in their shoes.
• How much do they know about your topic and wish to know now from you?
• What’s their interest in listening to you? How are you contributing to their lives?
• What could be the barrier for them to embrace your message?
• What do you want them to feel with your message?
• How would they like to be presented to (mode of learning) – data-heavy or visuals-based?

2. Don’t Have a Metatalk

Never in your speech incorporate sentences like – “In the next paragraph, I will explain the concept,” “In this sentence, I am explaining,” or “In this presentation, I am going to say,” etc. 

These sentences are short, meta-talk, which sound odd and annoying and distance you from the audience when you need to connect.

Speak directly to people rather than narrating the mechanics of your speech. Don’t refer to your presentation as a separate entity. The conversation with the audience should be like a one-on-one interaction.

For instance, refrain from saying, “Turn to page 5” or “As you can see on the slides, it shows a positive trend.” Rather, use words like, “Sales is up 3%, showing positive growth, which we wish to continue.” 

3. A Well-Researched Presentation is the Key

Research your topic well. Whether you are an amateur or a pro, there are no two ways. A thorough research will give you the comfort and confidence to speak and keep calm when asked uncomfortable questions.

The following tips will help you streamline your search efforts. 

• Find the key websites, journals, and books related to your topic.
• Look for people or notable personalities you could interview for credible or new information.
• Compile information that you currently have on your topic.

4. Begin Effectively

If you want to deliver a memorable presentation, don’t waste time setting up the flow. Your goal should be to immediately make an impression, set expectations, and grab the audience’s attention in the first 30 seconds of your presentation.

By seeking a powerful start, you will get everyone hooked immediately and have their full attention when you make your point. It will also build momentum and get people in a receptive mind frame.

Try the following methods –

• Maximize impact with a thought-provoking statement or a rhetorical question.
• Explain a scenario or personal story directly related to the topic.
• Try doing something unexpected. There is nothing that will grab everyone’s attention like this.
• Start with a story that creates anticipation or elicits curiosity.
• You can introduce your presentation with a striking visual or a video.
• Mingle with your audience to get their full attention and engagement right at the beginning. You can also include a group activity to encourage interaction among the audience members.
• Incorporate a physical activity or demonstrate with a prop.
• Start with the conclusion and CTA and build on the supporting arguments throughout the presentation. It will let the audience know clearly what the presentation is about.

5. Go for Short Phrases When You Speak

Think of a presenter discussing technological revolutions and starting his speech with something like – “Despite the growing concerns and environmental impact .. the revolutions in the world .. countries worldwide ..  and so on.”

At what point do you think you will be able to listen/follow/register information from the line? For most of us, the message will die quickly. 

Long lines or content are replacements for lullabies. They can make us lose focus and interest, making the presentation redundant.

You can use the following tips –

• Your speech should be a few words at a time.
• One line or phrase should include one idea only.
• Break your longer sentences into shorter phrases and lines (as you do in slides).
• Take out complex constructions, subordinating conjunctions, or multiple dependent clauses. 
• In your speech, incorporate personal pronouns like I, We, Us, You, etc. They are more compelling and impactful and will give people the feeling that you speak directly to them. The technique works well by making your words easier to say.

6. Let Your Slides Breathe by Outlining the Core

The blueprint of a lackluster presentation would be stuffing your slides with all the information you have on the topic. Yes, you might feel the urge – to appear knowledgeable, well-researched, and impress the audience.

But doing so actually has detrimental effects. It will confuse people and distract them from your core message. Create mindful post-it notes instead.

• Get the purpose of your presentation in a real sense. There should be absolute clarity regarding it. Write the following things in succinct sentences – your message and the audience’s action regarding that. 

If it’s information that could be sent out in an email, don’t waste everyone’s time by calling them for the presentation. Think of it like a tweet: if people have to tweet about your presentation later, would they be able to? If you don’t know, your message isn’t unclear.

• Once you have clarity on your core purpose, support it with highly relevant and compelling case studies, examples, data, statistics, features, and benefits.
• Bring that message to life with stories, surprises, humor, and interaction while delivering.
• Give the audience a clear CTA. Also, show them a clear picture of what the future will be like if they embrace and act on your presentation.

7. Keep it Simple

Have you ever enjoyed reading complex, jargon-based, long-winded, rambling presentations? We are sure, you never. So, as a presenter, don’t expect your audience to engage with your complicated presentation.

There was a saying that the true mark of intelligence is not in presenting simplified information in a complex way but rather the opposite.

Focus on crafting slides that are simple and easy to understand. It will get your point across most efficiently and leave the desired impact. What you can do is –

• Lay your idea bare. It should be clear for everyone to comprehend without any complexity.
• Weed out unnecessary jargon. Speak clearly with proper voice modulation.
• Your slides should not be overstuffed with unnecessary words and visuals. Use white space to keep them clean and efficient.
• Create a simple outline for everyone to follow. Don’t make people work to understand your point.
• Your presentation should be relevant, crisp, and short.

8. Use Pauses Strategically

Overly fast or slow speech both have severe detrimental effects. They will make you lose your effectiveness as a speaker. And the same would be if you don’t pause while talking. 

Pauses are essential in a speech for the following reasons –

• It adds gravity and earnestness to a speech.
• Pauses can add impact to your words and make you look more impressive. You can emphasize a point through the silence that follows.
• It will give the audience the necessary time to think and process. They can ponder and let the words sink in properly. It will also enable them to internalize and remember the message better later.
• If you forget, you can use pauses strategically to remember the following line. While it will give everyone the space to embrace the silence, you can formulate your thoughts and resume smoothly.
• Remember to pause when addressing questions. Use that time to understand the question correctly and formulate a credible reply. Share your response when you have understood the question correctly and formed an outline. 

9. Utilize Rhetorical Ways 

Though sometimes forgotten, rhetorical ways are one of the most essential ingredients of high-impact talks. They can transform your speech into a compelling and memorable conversation if used well. 

• Repetition – This process involves repeating words and phrases, creating patterns that are easy for people to remember. Through repetition and pattern formation, information gets ingrained in the mind, enabling and enhancing learning and retention.
• Sets of 3 – Speakers present ideas, concepts, information, or key points in a group of 3. Studies support the rule of three, stating that this formation is easier for the brain to process. 
• Anecdotes – Short stories can be used in speeches to add interest and engagement and evoke emotions. They help illustrate points, support arguments, and add a personal touch. 
• Metaphor – It involves comparing dissimilar things. It helps create analogies (facilitating comprehension of ideas by comparing them with something else), simplifies complex information (using familiar and known ideas to describe something unfamiliar), and can help people understand the speaker better.

10. Thorough Practice

Practice as much as possible. You will always have to do it, whether it’s your first presentation or your 100th. 

With enough rehearsals, you will know the content like the back of your hand. It will help you concentrate on other essential aspects of your speech, like nonverbal communication. A dry run at the venue with everything in place will help you eliminate any unforeseen issues and present calmly.

Also, record yourself and practice in front of others for constructive feedback. You can refine and polish your content and deliver it to its finest and with the most impact.

A Few Tips to Remember for an Impactful Presentation

• Be enthusiastic about your presentation. Your audience will feel your energy and reciprocate accordingly. A bored presenter can’t sustain a pumped-up audience. Convey your passion with planned movements, gestures, and voice, and let the audience feel it, too.
• Keep your presentation short, clear, and crisp to create the maximum impact. Use simple and minimalist templates to ensure visual coherence. 
• Use nonverbal communication, such as hand gestures, body movement, eye contact, facial expressions, etc., to substantiate and emphasize your message.
• Use the space around you and mingle with the audience or move around the stage. Standing in one corner can make you look close, unprepared, or under-confident.
• Review your presentation each time to determine what worked, what didn’t, and what you could have done to improve it.
• Smile to make the audience feel welcome. It will also help you keep your nerves at bay.
• Don’t use filler words like um, so, like, etc., in your speech. It makes you look under-confident and unprepared.
• Give takeaways or handouts related to your presentation to people for a better experience.
• Different media types, like videos, flipcharts, whiteboards, etc., boost attention and engagement.
• Stage fright is common, and as someone who’s just started, you may feel it more. Embrace it and use positive techniques like meditation, exercise, rhythmic breathing, journaling, power poses, etc., to calm your nerves and present with a relaxed mind.
• Use design principles to create a coherent and structured presentation. Use negative space well, and don’t overcrowd your slides. 
• Create a perfect mix of data and narratives in your presentation. It will make your presentation credible (statistics and facts) and memorable (storytelling).
• Develop stage presence by standing tall, shoulders erect, and hands resting on the side or maybe folded. You can keep your lower body motionless to further boost your stage presence. If walking comes naturally, that’s a good option as well. 

A Few Things That Can Ruin Your Presentation 

• It took a long time to explain what the presentation was about.
• Being overly slow or dramatic when speaking.
• Subtly highlight your achievements to the audience or show how significant you are.
• Use jargon to sound intelligent and witty.
• Not taking care of the time limit allotted to you.
• Deliver as if you are reciting your presentation from memory.

In a Nutshell

Presentations can be impactful or fall flat, depending on the quality of your idea, passion, and the narrative you build. It’s about the data and the information you have that’s worth sharing. 

The most memorable and impactful presentations are those in which speakers share something fresh and unique, not formulaic. So, don’t try to emulate all the formulas. Sure, take most of the things on board, as they will help you streamline and simplify your work, but remember to make the talk your own.

You know what’s distinctive about your topic and you. Play to your strengths and rule the stage by being authentic and genuine. A connection formed with the audience from that space will let you drive your message home most impactfully.