how to make a good keynote presentation

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10 Expert Tips to Create and Deliver a Killer Keynote Presentation

So you’ve got a keynote presentation coming up, and you’re hitting the books to make sure you’re armed with the best plan possible. Besides taking notes from all the greats on TED, you’re reading up about a message structure that works, and looking for the perfect template.

While it seems like you’ve got your bases covered, like all things in life, there’s always a way to streamline the planning process.

According to Aaron Weyenberg , the UX Lead for TED and a self-professed “master of slide decks,” and the wizards behind Apple’s presentation slides , there are a number of tricks of the trade that you can rely on to create a rocking keynote presentation .

Below are some of our favorites. And to easily create a professional-looking presentation , sign up for Piktochart . It’s free and it allows you to make beautiful visuals without being a graphic designer.

1. Do your slides last

While most keynote speakers will typically build their presentation around the structure of a template, Weyenberg says that “building your slides should be the tail end of developing your presentation.” Before working on your slides, you should put together your main message, structure, supporting points – then practice and time your presentation. The reason for this, he says, is that the presentation needs to be strong enough to stand on its own. Approaching a keynote like this requires a shift in thinking.

While a beautiful set of slides is imperative to your presentation, it should not be central to it.

Weyenberg said it best: “The slides are just something you layer over [the presentation] to enhance the listener experience.”

Observe these 2017 Google I/O keynotes, especially CEO Sundar Pichai’s – the role of the slides are to support what the speaker is saying – not the other way around.

2. Get creative with photos

Often times, presenters will be far too literal or cheesy with their image choice. Weyenberg suggests to use images that are simple, yet punchy – and pairs nicely with your spoken words. He says to look for photos that are:

• Related to your keynote’s concept
• Are not complex in terms of composition

3. Simplify charts and graphs

While most presenters will simply drop an image of their charts and graphs into their deck, Weyenberg points out that it might be a bit “unsightly.” If you need to use data to back a point that you’re making, you should make the extra effort to make it more attractive – and this can be done by recreating it in your presentation maker .

There are a couple benefits to doing this:

• It will make your presentation seem consistent and well-thought out
• You’ll have control over colors, typography, and more.

4. One theme per slide

According to the designers of Apple presentation slides, less is certainly more. Trying to cram too many ideas on one slide can only work to your detriment. Beyond ideas, the same goes for statistics.

Let’s play a little game: For the following idea, how many slides would you use? “The developer program is incredibly vibrant. We have over six million registered developers. Demand for this show has never been greater. We sold out in just over a minute [71 seconds].”

While the average person might think that 6 million and 71 seconds would belong on the same slide and be short and sweet enough, let’s compare it with what Apple’s CEO Tim Cook did.

He only leveraged two slides: The first said “6 million,” and the second: “71 seconds. Sold out.”

5. Create a visual experience with data

Taking a leaf again from Apple’s presentation book, once you’ve gotten the hang of having just one stat per slide – you should also make it as visual as possible.

One data point per slide, combined with it being visually interesting – is sure to be memorable.

6. Practice Really Makes Perfect

Imagine the late Steve Jobs, a legendary keynote presenter, still rehearsed for months before a presentation. According to Brent Schlender , one of the co-authors behind the Steve Jobs biography “Becoming Steve Jobs,” Jobs would rehearse and prepare “exhaustively” for all of his public appearances.

Despite being a natural on the stage, Jobs never would wing it, he came to the show well prepared.

“I once spent an entire day watching him run through multiple rehearsals of a single presentation, tweaking everything from the color and angle of certain spotlights, to editing and rearranging the order of the keynote presentation slides to improve his pacing,” remembers Schlender.

While you may not be a perfectionist like Jobs, you are likely also not nearly as good of a presenter as he is – so practice really makes perfect in this case.

7. Tell A Consistent Story

Circling back to Weyenberg’s tips – he suggests that in a good slide deck, every slide should feel “like part of the same story.” Think of your deck like a story – every slide should feel cohesive to the big picture message you’re trying to communicate – as opposed to random ideas juxtaposed together.

You can do this by:

• Using the same or similar typography, colors, and imagery across all slides
• Using presentation templates can help with maintaining the same look and feel

8. Less is more

We explored the less is more concept earlier in the article by suggesting you keep to one idea per slide. The same can be applied to text.

When it comes to creating slides for your next keynote, the cardinal sin is a slide with ample text that is verbatim of your spoken presentation.

What this does is encourage people to keep their eyes on your slides instead of listening to you.

Weyenberg also points out that a text-heavy slide forces the brain to multitask between focusing on what it’s reading and hearing – which is quite difficult and will compromise your presentation.

9. Consider topic transitions

While you want to make your slides look like a cohesive unit, you want to also keep in mind that making every slide look the same may be boring. Weyenberg suggests to:

• Create one style for the slides that are the “meat” of the message
• Then create another style for the slides that are transitioning between topics

For example, if your overall slides have a dark background with light text, you can use transitional slides that have a light background with dark text. This way, they’ll still feel like they’re from the same presentation family without being completely uniform.

10. Tell a captivating story

It is fitting that our final tip comes from likely the greatest keynote presenter of all time. The late and great Steve Jobs had the ability to captivate and inspire his audience with his talks, and that’s because he was a very good storyteller. And that’s the golden leaf that you can take from Jobs’ book today.

Always aim to tell a captivating story.

One example is perhaps when he introduced the iPod: “In 2001, we introduced the first iPod. It didn’t just change the way we all listen to music. It changed the entire music industry.” Listen to Steve Jobs weave a story about the digital music revolution when unveiling the iPod.

Bonus Round: Tips From Piktochart Designers  

• Always remember that your audience is sitting far away . So ensure that your title font size is large enough to be seen from a distance, and that your body text is no smaller than 20px.
• Use only two colors for your entire presentation – a primary and secondary color. If you must use a large color palette, your maximum choice should be up to five colors.
• Make sure that there is enough white space throughout your presentation . This will give your content room to breathe. Less is definitely more in this case.
• Emphasize only one object per slide – whether it’s an image, statistic, quote. This will make sure your audience stays focused.

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Guide to Planning, Writing, and Delivering a Killer Keynote Speech

by Janice Tomich

• Presentation Planning & Public Speaking Skills

Being invited to deliver a keynote address is a great honor.

It’s exhilarating. A compliment to your expertise.

I’m a public speaking coach . A client of mine recently was asked to deliver the keynote address at a large women’s tech event. She was new to public speaking. This was her first high-stakes conference opportunity.

She’s a seasoned leader in an industry with few female colleagues. Although she loves her job, at times her career has been rough. The conference organizers asked her to share her perspective with young women new to the field to help them navigate the inevitable difficulties of being a woman in tech—and also give them advice on how to enjoy the ride.

Her excitement and nervousness were palpable. That’s how it feels when you’re asked to give the keynote.

Being asked means that others value your ideas, thoughts, and vision. You know it’s a big opportunity. A keynote speech provides an opportunity to inspire others like no other.

But if you’ve been asked to share what you’ve experienced throughout your career (or even lifetime) it can be a daunting ask.

With the honor of delivering a keynote comes the responsibility to deliver an address that will inspire your audience to take action.

Table of Contents

What Is a Keynote Speech?

A keynote speech stands above other public speaking opportunities because event organizers make it the highlight of the agenda. Large events often leverage the keynote speaker to attract attendees.

The theme of a keynote is usually set by the event’s theme.

For multi-day events like conferences the keynote is often (but not always) scheduled on the last day. Scheduling the keynote for the end of the event builds excitement and anticipation. Other times the keynote is scheduled near the beginning of an event, and in this case the role of the keynote speaker is to set the tone. Knowing when you’ll be speaking (at the beginning or at the end of the event) impacts the type of keynote speech you should create.

A keynote speaker is usually given a substantial amount of time to speak, often 45 to 60 minutes over dinner. Unlike a shorter presentation, keynote addresses give you a brilliant opportunity to go deep. TO show the breadth of your expertise. To invite your audience along through the ups and downs, ins and outs of a storyline. Your speech can be complex and include unanticipated twists and turns (while of course staying on track with your core message.)

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

How Long Should A Keynote Be?

There are only a few hard and fast rules about the length of a keynote speech:

• The length of the speech is ultimately dictated by the amount of speaking time allocated by the event organizer.
• The length of the speech should be however long it takes you to clearly and concisely deliver a speech that inspires your audience.

Essentially, just enough time and not too much. 

P ro Tip: The amount of time allocated by the organizers is not always set in stone, especially in the early days of organizing an event. Keep the line of communication open with your organizer. The time frame might be open to adjustment or negotiation.

What Makes a Keynote Speech Compelling and Memorable?

An engaging, inspiring keynote presentation encourages the audience to envision what they are capable of. The best keynote speeches don’t just inform—they compel the audience to take action.

Keep two things top of mind as you plan:

• Focus on one main message (your throughline).
• Put yourself in the hearts and minds of your audience. Think of this as a research project as much as an exercise in empathy. Take the time to learn about what your audience wants to know. Learn how they need to hear it.

Going back to my example, the key message of my client who keynoted at the tech conference was resilience .

How did this key message turn into a speech?

She told funny, heart-wrenching stories, including some stories which were excruciating for her at the time they happened. These stories showed her drive to succeed. She spoke candidly about the problems she had come up against in her career. Then she revealed how she solved these problems and the benefits that transpired. Throughout the whole speech, she tapped back into her key message— resilience.

How Much Time Should You Devote to Preparation?

More time than you think.

I have never had a client tell me, “I wish I had spent less time preparing my keynote.”

They’re always glad they invested a good amount of time. Feeling completely ready in the days leading up to the event is worth it.

Nancy Duarte, the author of Resonate , works with industry giants on their keynote speeches. Duarte recommends you spend 30 hours on content creation for a 1-hour speech. (This doesn’t include building the slide deck or practicing the speech).

Here’s my breakdown of the time it takes to be fully prepared to step on stage to deliver your keynote address:

• 30 hours to research your speech and develop the keynote content
• 30 hours to create your keynote slide deck
• 30 hours of practicing your delivery

90 hours likely seems like a lot of time, but that’s what it takes to create and develop an inspirational, career-boosting keynote.

Your first rough draft will be just that … rough. Keynote speech writing is never a one-and-done process. To really nail it you need to get feedback and let the speech, slide deck, and delivery evolve over time. The results are worth it.

How Much Lead Time Do You Need?

Keynotes are a rich opportunity to give an audience perspective into who you are and what you know.

You should allow for 3 months (and a minimum of 2 months) of lead time before you deliver your keynote.

However, life does not always go according to plan. You may not have a lot of time left to prepare. I offer a presentation coaching service called Crunch Time for when you’ve been asked on short notice (a speaker may have become ill) or you have been consumed with other projects and need support to deliver an engaging speech.

Planning a Keynote Speech: Who is your audience? What is your intention?

Your goal should be to take your body of work and experience and use that to resonate with your audience. Inspire them to action. Your words of wisdom will become part of their life experience and create a legacy which will stick with them for years.

“It’s all about the audience—not about you.” These are wise words I’ve never forgotten, delivered to us on the first day of class of my communication degree.

In my work supporting clients through presentation planning, I’m always checking in to ensure that the audience will be able to understand What’s In It For Them (WIIFT in marketing terms). Remembering to center on WIIFT is crucial. It’s the foundation for a successful keynote.

Your intention is important too—equally important, actually. Why are you giving the keynote? What do you want to have happen because of it? Knowing your own “why” and how it relates to the needs of your audience puts you on track to engage and inspire.

How To Write A Keynote Speech

1. establish your throughline.

After you have a good understanding of who your audience is and what your intention is in delivering your keynote it’s time to establish your throughline. Identify which theme or concept you want to speak about.

My client who was keynoting the tech conference planned to speak on resiliency, which is a broad topic. I encouraged her to dig deeper. Upon reflection, she realized that much of her success stemmed from her commitment to creating and building relationships.

She evolved the throughline. The theme of the keynote became developing resiliency through relationships .

2. Brainstorm with an open mind and big wall

Once you’ve decided on your throughline it’s time to find an open wall and a stack of post-it notes.

In freewriting-mode write down any and all ideas that come bubbling up that will support your theme. Take lots of breaks. I promise you’ll come back with fresh ideas each time.

3. Step back and group ideas into themes

Stand back once your wall is filled with ideas. Notice common themes. Place similar ideas into three groups.

What you see is three arguments or points of proof that support your throughline.

4. Pare down to the best ideas

Now sweep through and dispense of any of your ideas that strike you as weak or you don’t feel passionate about.

5. Order your ideas

Place the ideas that remain into a logical order, so that they flow from one idea to the next. That’s your outline. Transfer these concepts to a Google Doc or put pen to paper. You’ve got the bones of a good keynote speech already.

Don’t write out a script word-for-word. Instead, think about what you want to speak about for each of your points. Flesh them out, making notes about what you want to say.

You’ve invested a large amount of time creating the content. Every component of a keynote is important. So now let’s focus on how you open, close, and title your keynote.

How To Open A Keynote Speech

I suspect you’ve been to at least a few presentations where you felt bored by the speaker after just a few minutes.

Too many speakers begin with a status quo opening such as citing their CV or meticulously outlining what they “want to talk with you about.”

You can do better.

My client started her keynote off with a dose of humor rooted in her own personal experience. She talked about the inappropriate clothes she wore to an interview and the hilarious story of what she did to gain access to the building.

Here are a few more ideas to open your keynote speech:

• Start your speech by addressing the elephant in the room to address a negative bias your audience may be thinking. Perhaps you are quite young and your audience is older. You could begin by saying, “You are probably looking at me thinking she’s twelve years old and what could she know. And you’d be right…”
• Quote a startling statistic. Often keynotes focus on living out dreams. This statement will have your audience’s interest piqued, “The average person has over 1,460 dreams a year”.
• Begin a story that you can use to weave and thread your presentation together. You could begin by sharing a story of how a mentor helped. Throughout your presentation continue the story dropping the nuggets of wisdom of what your mentor said and how she helped.

It’s crucial that you grab your audience’s attention right from the start – that you hook them with your first words.

How To Close a Keynote Speech

Finish your keynote with clarity and power. I’ve listened to too many speeches and keynotes where the ending was weak. They didn’t live up to the energy of the body of work.

My client decided to loop back to the chain of events that happened before her interview, narrating how she hung in there, even when things weren’t going according to plan.

Here are some excellent approaches to closing your keynote powerfully:

Loop back to how you began your speech. If you began your speech by talking about the elephant in the room, tag back to provide assurance that you have.

Wrap up a story you teased in your opening and then threaded throughout the speech.

If you began your keynote with a stat or quote reference it again at the end by summarizing how you proved it was true.

A tenet I firmly stand by that it’s not good enough to just leave your audience inspired . You must leave them inspired to do somethin g. Close your speech with a clear call to action to do something tangible that will make a difference to them and/or their community.

Choosing a Title for Your Keynote

Your title is your audience’s first introduction to what they will hear. Finding the ‘right’ title makes them want to listen.

If a compelling title comes to mind before or as you are developing and creating your speech, write it down. But don’t worry if you’ve planned out your whole speech and still don’t have a title idea. The best titles often come to us right at the end. You’ll have lots of ideas to play with when you’ve finished gathering your content.

Here is a trick while working with an editor at Inc.com: first craft a title, then play with variations of that title by using words that will get attention or have an inherent hook embedded within them.

Here’s an example of how I played with titles before settling on one for this article:

My initial ideas were

Both titles are merely functional. They’re lackluster and don’t reflect the complexity of the article itself, which goes beyond merely “writing” a keynote.

I rephrased it to expand on the topic and add a bit more punch:

Better, but I knew I could do better.

I liked it. It is more eye catching and it indicates a comprehensive “guide” that promises not just a “how to” article, but in-depth advice that speaks to creating an excellent keynote that will be well received.

Invest the time in finding just the right title. It’s worth it. It piques your audience’s interest from their first interaction with you.

How To Practice Your Keynote Speech

Don’t put off practicing until the last minute. Conversely, don’t over-practice until you sound like a robot and have diluted every ounce of passion out of your presentation.

Making good use of your practice time is easy.

I’ve written an extensive guide on how to rehearse for a presentation and I’ve also written on this topic for Inc.com . Read them for tips and techniques to learn your keynote speech easily so you can walk on the stage confidently knowing you’ll nail it. 

I have never had a client tell me they wished they had practiced less. I encourage you to practice only as much as you need to and not a second more.

P ro Tip: When you have a few spots that are giving you difficulties just practice those sections. It’s a poor investment of your time to practice your keynote over and over in its entirety if only a few sections are tripping you up.

​​​​Sucheta Misra Associate VP Inclusion & Diversity and Social Impact Leader

Tips For Creating Your Slidedeck or PowerPoint Presentation

My take on PowerPoint is that it’s a powerful tool that has been dropped into the laps of people who, more often than not, don’t have the training or experience to wield it effectively.

Before PowerPoint, marketing and communication teams would strategize over the best content for the slides. Graphic designers would create them.

These are the three most important things to know about your slide presentation:

• If slides won’t add or support your presentation don’t use them. 
• Create your slides so that they are primarily image-based with a limited amount of text. 
• If you are not a graphic designer hire one. It’s worth it for the stroke of elegance and professional edge they will add. A graphic designer will bring your deck to life. 

If you do decide to use a slidedeck ensure it helps your audience connect the dots and visualize what you are sharing with them.

What To Do Before You Deliver Your Speech

I’m often backstage supporting clients at their events. It’s exhilarating to feel the energy of speakers waiting to go on stage. You can feel the excitement … hearts pounding and voices warming up.

Here are a few tips and techniques professional speakers use to ready themselves, calm their nerves , and warm up their voice before giving a keynote speech:

• If you find yourself not sleeping well or experiencing anxiety in the days leading up to your speech try 4 – 7 – 8 breathing . Three or four rounds should have you feeling calmer and able to fall back to sleep. 
• Keep yourself hydrated. The day before your event up your water intake. This will keep you feeling energetic and your voice lubricated. 
• Make sure you get a good sleep before your keynote. Lack of sleep will knock you off your game. 
• Fifteen minutes before your keynote move your voice up and down through your natural register with vocal exercises so you can use your voice like the fine instrument it is. 
• Just as you are about to speak, if you suffer from dry mouth, take these lozenges to help you articulate with ease. 
• When you arrive at the podium take a few deep breaths, feel your feet on the floor, touch a favourite amulet such as a ring or necklace…and away you go! 

What You Should Do After Your Speech

When you end your speech you’re still not quite finished yet.

Connect with people from your audience. Gather feedback. Some of the richest relationships you will create will happen if you take the time to talk with people after your speaking event. If you have the opportunity, ask for presentation feedback to help you learn what worked and what didn’t.

Don’t ask if they enjoyed your keynote because the response will probably be, “It was great!” Instead, ask what they took away that will make a difference in their life. Ask them what nugget stuck with them. The answers to these questions will provide information to improve your next keynote.

Having your keynote recorded provides a brilliant learning opportunity. Many of my clients tell me they can’t/won’t watch a recording of themselves. I ask them to separate themselves from their egos and embrace the opportunity to learn. You can gain insight into what landed and what didn’t by your audience’s reactions.

Ask for presentation feedback from a trusted advisor. Don’t ask family and friends. A trusted advisor or mentor has the perspective to provide unbiased feedback that your family and friends won’t be able to. A trusted advisor will be able to expertly able to weigh in about your content, your delivery, and the effectiveness of your speech. ¯

Keynote speeches are complex. They have lots of pieces that need to fit together to create an easy, simple flow and to hold your audience in your hands so they will be inspired and learn from you.

Do you need help with your upcoming keynote speech to make sure your audience will leave challenged to take action and be inspired? Let’s chat and learn how I might help. Here’s access to my calendar to schedule a time to talk.

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Give the keynote. Without the nerves.

Pro Speakers on How to Give a Perfect Keynote Presentation

Updated: January 13, 2021

Published: November 03, 2020

Two years ago, I was asked to give a presentation about my HubSpot article on emotional marketing . It was by far the most exhilarating and nerve-wracking experience of my professional life.

I don’t necessarily hate public speaking. However, leading up to the event, I felt the full responsibility of not only delivering a good presentation but also teaching the audience valuable , actionable information — and that was very intimidating.

I wanted to do a good job, and I wanted to be a good teacher.

Therein lies the importance of keynote presentations : to be effective, they should be educational and entertaining. Do you have a keynote presentation in your future? Read on for some advice from professional speakers.

First, what is a keynote presentation? Glad you asked.

You may also be tasked with a keynote presentation in order to secure funding, make a sale, or update stakeholders or executives. Whatever stage you find yourself on, delivering a keynote presentation is an important responsibility as a public speaker.

How to Give a Perfect Keynote Presentation, According to the Experts

I spoke with four professional speakers on how to deliver a near-perfect presentation. Here are five pieces of advice they shared.

1. Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse.

When it comes to public speaking, practice quite literally makes perfect. Every expert I spoke with mentioned how frequently they rehearse their presentations.

“However much you think you need to rehearse, rehearse 10 times more than that. When you show up to a concert, you expect that the musicians know their songs, and you certainly don't want the first time they try to play it to be right there on stage. You owe your audience and the folks hiring you to speak the same respect,” said Melanie Deziel , international keynote speaker and founder of StoryFuel . (She received this advice herself from Michael and Amy Port at Heroic Public Speaking .)

Provided by Melanie Deziel

As more presentations and events become fully virtual, the likelihood of technical difficulties also grows. Rehearsing your content can help you weather any interruptions or last-minute changes.

Rehearsal not only leads to content mastery; it allows freedom in your presentations. “The more you rehearse and become comfortable with the content, the freer you'll be to take chances, experiment, and truly focus on your delivery, rather than trying to remember what comes next,” shared Deziel.

How do these experts recommend practicing your presentations? “[Use] a mirror,” said Olivia Scott , keynote speaker and founder of Omerge Alliances . “I take the time to see how I'm being received, I look at my body posture, and I look at everything to make sure that I feel good about what I'm delivering. This isn’t exactly a tool or technology, but it's a way to practice and rehearse.”

Additionally, consider asking friends, family, and trusted colleagues to listen to your practice runs and provide feedback on your presentation.

2. Ask for feedback.

Speaking of feedback, expert orators know to ask for it on a regular basis — from friends, peer groups, mentors, audience members, and clients. “Find a support crew and connect with other speakers in the industry,” mentioned Karen Hopper , keynote speaker and data strategist at M+R. Hopper personally recommends Shine Bootcamp , which provided her with lifelong friendships, helpful feedback, and a priceless education about public speaking.

Provided by Karen Hopper

“We help each other with feedback on our pitches, topics, outlines, and presentations, and we celebrate each others' wins,'' said Hopper. “ ... It’s well worth surrounding yourself with people who will cheer for you and who will give you honest feedback — the fastest way to get better is to ruthlessly seek out that feedback.”

Clients can also be an incredibly helpful source of feedback. If you’re asked to speak at an event or conference, consider asking the people who hired you. “I ask my client for their reaction immediately after every presentation. It’s important to know how they felt, and whether the presentation achieved their goals. Every time my client is happy, that’s my most successful presentation,” said Jeff Toister , keynote speaker, author, and customer service expert.

Lastly, the best feedback often comes from the source — in this case, your audience. Whether you ask questions during your presentation (which we’ll discuss next) or ask for feedback following your presentation, it’s never a bad idea to know what your audience thought about your keynote.

Feedback may look different if giving a remote keynote presentation, but it's still possible.

“It’s been a creative challenge to adapt a talk I'd hoped to give in person to work in a virtual environment. It's much harder to tell how your talks are received online, without being able to see nodding and note-taking and hear laughter and clapping. But all the feedback I have received [over email] indicated that my talk successfully changed the way many people are thinking about their content idea generation process, and that was the ultimate goal of the talk: to change how people think ,” shared Deziel, referring to her recent keynote at Content Marketing World 2020.

3. Engage your audience.

Nobody likes being talked at . Sure, delivering a keynote presentation involves you doing most of the talking, but it doesn’t have to be a one-way conversation. Many of the experts I interviewed encouraged some sort of audience engagement or interaction to enhance your presentation.

“People love to be involved in a presentation. Rather than explain a concept to my audience, I find a way to have them experience it,” said Toister. “For example, when I share how multitasking hurts productivity and causes us to make more errors, I have the audience try a brief multitasking exercise so they can experience the problem themselves.”

Did you know that audience engagement levels drop considerably (14%) if a presenter does most of the talking, versus if the audience talks just as much? Moreover, 64% of people believe that a presentation with two-way interaction is much more engaging than a one-way presentation.

Presentation engagement also takes practice — just like your presentation content itself. “ ... Entertainment comes from the performance itself: the way in which you deliver that content and the energy you bring to that delivery. This is a separate skill you need to practice. Work with a coach, watch back recordings of yourself to identify opportunities to improve your craft, and watch videos of top-notch comedians, poets and other speakers to see what you can learn from them,” encouraged Deziel.

Lastly, as important as engagement is, don’t let technology stand in the way. While smartphones and polling software can make audience interaction easier, they can also get in the way of you connecting with your audience. “I prefer to just have people stand up, raise their hand, or clap to participate in the poll. It gets the audience moving, and I don’t have to worry about WiFi connections or whether the polling software is working,” said Toister.

4. Prioritize your content as much as the delivery.

While entertaining and interacting with your audience is helpful and exciting, it shouldn’t take precedence over your presentation content itself. “Nearly all of what the audience can learn from you comes from the content: the stories you tell, the examples you share, the facts you cite and the other information you explain. Carefully crafting those materials and testing it out ensures that the audience will get the information they were promised from your session,” said Deziel.

Tools like PowerPoint, Keynote, Google Slides, and Canva can help you hone your content and develop a story within your presentation. A 2018 Prezi study (another presentation tool option) showed that 90% of people believe a strong narrative makes for a more engaging, interesting presentation. Data can help form arguments and explain facts, but stories stay with your audience long after your time on stage.

Storytelling is yet another way to engage with your audience, especially by evoking emotions like humor. “It’s entertaining to ask questions, saying, ‘Can anyone relate to this? Has anyone ever had this type of experience before?’ and then getting them involved with some laughter around those experiences. Laughter always helps,” said Scott, who presented at INBOUND 2020 .

Hopper, who was also a Breakout Speaker at INBOUND 2020, agreed: “Don't be afraid to be funny or drop in jokes — there are studies that show that laughing actually helps your brain retain information better, so not only will your audience have a good time laughing with you, but they'll also get more out of your presentation. It’s a win-win!”

5. Focus on the audience.

Finally, everyone can agree that public speaking is either revered or feared. If you relate to the latter and find yourself nervous when giving presentations, turn your focus on the audience.

“Speakers easily get nervous when they focus on themselves and worry too much about their own performance. Focusing on your audience first takes the nerves away and redirects your attention to making sure your audience gets something of value from your keynote,” shared Toister.

That’s the goal of a keynote presentation — to provide value to your audience. Regardless of what story you’re telling, what tools you’re using, or how you’re engaging the crowd, as long as you deliver a presentation that inspires your audience to think differently — even for 30 minutes — you’ve given a perfect keynote presentation.

Note: HubSpot Marketing teams reserve the right to use guest blog author’s likeness across our content as we see fit, including but not limited to HubSpot’s social media channels.

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15 pro tips to ace your keynote presentation.

Written by Shavinyaa Vijay

Keynote presentations can be terrifying for some of us. We fear messing up, looking bad on camera, forgetting our notes… The list of nightmares just doesn’t end.

While it’s not possible to have an entirely foolproof plan, we can minimize the number of ways where things can go wrong. So if you have an important keynote presentation coming up, here are some of our tips to help you out.

How to Ace Your Keynote Presentation

We’ll give you a concise guide on what you should be doing, from the time you start planning to the time you conclude your speech. Take these 15 quick tips and master them so you can deliver a stunning keynote presentation in no time!

1. Know Your Purpose

Before you start creating the layout of your slides or typing out the content of your speech, take some time to ask yourself — what is the purpose of your keynote presentation? What is the takeaway that you want the audience to have after your presentation? Essentially, you need to ask yourself, “What is my message?”. While it feels like time is ticking away, rushing into your slides will backfire in the long run. You need to ensure that the intention behind this presentation is clear and focused, as that would help you in creating a keynote presentation with clarity and confidence.

2. Be Confident

Ever heard of the phrase, ‘fake it till you make it’? Now’s a great time to take that advice! A significant factor in determining the success of your keynote presentation is your audience’s trust in you, and to gain their trust, you need to be confident in yourself first. Confidence in presentations comes from two sources: your posture, and your mastery of the content you are presenting. For posture, remember not to fidget and stand in a relaxed position. Stretch for a couple of minutes before presenting to loosen yourself up. As for your content, be sure to know the subject of your presentation like the back of your hand; read up as much as possible and do not start on it last minute.

3. Give Your Credentials

When introducing yourself, simply sharing your organization and position is not enough; if your audience wants to know where you’re from, all they need is a quick search online. What they do want to know however, is why you are the best person to deliver this presentation, and what you have to offer them. By sharing this, your audience will know that you’re knowledgeable in the field you’re presenting on, and that you have the solution to their needs or problems. Doing this will not only make your audience lean a little closer, but will also give you a great segue to move them into the next part of your presentation.

4. Deliver Your Hook

Research shows that the audience will stop listening to a presentation within 10 minutes if they are not persuaded that there is something in it for them. It is therefore important that you “hook” your audience by convincing them that they can benefit from your keynote presentation. You can do this by showing your audience that the key idea behind your presentation has the ability to make them feel happy or successful.

5. Introduce Your Agenda

At the start of your speech, be sure to let your audience know what the takeaway of your message is. Dedicate a slide to show your audience the agenda, and when presenting, remember not to read from the slides! Instead, offer a brief and general summary of your presentation. Give your audience the direction of your presentation, as this will allow them to follow your content better.

6. Ensure Smooth Transitions

Transitions are like sign posts that guide your audience throughout your speech, so they must be easy to follow, the last thing you need is a confused audience! Unclear transitions can be a nightmare as it may potentially distort the content of your presentation. In the end, the audience grasps only bits and pieces of your message, or worse, gives up on following your presentation. This applies not just to the visual effects that PowerPoint has, but also to the words you use. When transitioning from point to point, use words such as ‘next’, ‘then’, and ‘after’, and number your points using words like ‘firstly’, ‘secondly’, and ‘thirdly’. This will help the audience understand when you’re moving on to another idea or part of your presentation.

7. Give a Credible Statement

If you wish to gain your audience’s trust and establish a professional relationship with them, you need to get them to buy into your presentation. One way would be through giving credible statements that support your message. This can come in the form of data, or in the form of professional advice from experts in the field of your presentation. For example, make use of graphs and statistics to show the importance of a certain situation, and share quotes from someone with authority in a similar (if not the same) industry to backup your statements.

8. Use Images for Maximum Impact

The beauty of well-selected images lies in their ability to communicate a message without throwing dozens of words at an audience, so use them to your advantage! Select photos that encapsulate the message of your keynote presentation, or to highlight a specific idea that you’re sharing. Images that look simple can deliver the most powerful messages, and do what words sometimes cannot achieve — stir emotions in an audience. However, while images are a great tool, moderation is key. Stay away from photos that have been used too often (icebergs, anyone?), and use them sparingly throughout the presentation, as too many may reduce their impact.

9. Present data simply

Data is important in any credible presentation, and like we mentioned earlier, can help to establish your audience’s trust. However, it is crucial that the data be presented in a simple and uncomplicated manner. Too many numbers or graphs can be distracting for the audience, and may obscure the real intention of presenting the data. If you have large chunks of statistics, ask yourself: What is the key idea of the message you’re sharing? Which figures will back your statements up? From there, choose the appropriate data and highlight them accordingly.

10. One slide – one theme

Like transitions, each slide can be used as markers of the various points you aim to cover. Not only does this make your presentation easy for the audience to follow, it also makes it easy for you to remember your points as they are neatly categorised in each slide. It may seem tempting to squeeze all your information into few slides, but remember, moderation is key!

11. Be minimalistic

For a keynote presentation, simplicity is important when designing and organising your deck. You do not want the pattern or design to distract your audience from the real content and message. Again, it is also important that you do not overload the slides with words, so keep the sentences and points in your slides short. Let your speech expand on the ideas that you want the audience to take with them. Your communication and connection with them is more impactful in sending your message across than words on the slides.

12. Be consistent

Consistency is essential, especially when it comes to your presentation. Avoid using different backgrounds in every slide, and ensure that the design is reasonably similar throughout, unless you wish to use differences to distinguish individual points in your message. This makes the transitions in your presentation smooth, and thus it makes the story that you are telling easy for the audience to follow.

13. Practice, Practice, Practice

Rome was not build in a day, and similarly, a perfect presentation will not happen instantaneously! Rehearse your presentation a couple of times before the actual one, as this will help you in two ways. Firstly, you will gain familiarity with the content, which will definitely increase your confidence in delivering the presentation. Secondly, going through the deck aloud will allow you to listen to your speech from the audience’s perspective. This will aid you in tweaking and adjusting the content and structure of your presentation, to best fit the needs of the audience.

14. Analyse your audience

On the day of your presentation, analyse the audience. Get a general feel of the crowd. Are they excited? Are they bored? Are they tired? By doing this, you will be able to tweak the content of your presentation to fit the needs of your audience. If they are bored, you may wish to start with an interesting story related to your message. If they are tired, you could give them some time to get refreshed, either through a 5 minutes break or a quick activity to keep them alert. This way, you can ensure that you have a receptive audience ready to listen to what you have to say.

15. Q&A session

It is absolutely important that you leave some time at the end of your keynote presentation for a short “question and answer” session. Since the presentation was done from your perspective, the audience may have missed some important links and connections in your ideas. Therefore, a Q&A session is great in resolving any potential confusion that the audience may have.

There you have it, 15 simple tips to ace your keynote presentation! Just remember:

• Know Your Purpose
• Be Confident
• Give Your Credentials
• Deliver Your Hook
• Introduce Your Agenda
• Ensure Smooth Transitions
• Give a Credible Statement
• Use Images for Maximum Impact
• Present data simply
• One slide – one theme
• Be minimalistic
• Be consistent
• Practice, Practice, Practice
• Analyse your audience
• Q&A session

Now you’re good to go, all the best for your keynote presentation!

Article Written By: Shavinyaa Vijay

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17 Presentation Techniques For A Great Keynote

• Presentation design /
• Public speaking

How much time do you take to design your presentation? Days? Weeks? Where do you get your inspiration from and how do you find the right design elements? Wouldn’t it be fantastic if you could create a remarkable keynote presentation in a day or two? I think anyone can do it, if they pay attention to the following presentation techniques and manage to combine them in a way that helps them put the right ideas in the right context.

Also read:  7 Things To Improve In Your Keynote Speech Presentation

Achieving presentation flow is a challenging task. Not everyone has a knack for design. So pay attention to each of these ideas, both the simpler ones and the more complex, and make your own combo to improve delivery and convince your audience.

1. Visuals are your friend

Using different types of visuals can be a great way to help your audience remember and react. Photos, illustrations, icons, symbols, sketches, figures, and diagrams are much more easy for the brain to retain than words. Think of a company logo for example – how many times has your brain recognized the logo even before you remembered the name of the brand?

Another great thing about using imagery is that it makes you more charismatic. It seems that speakers are seen as more charismatic when otherwise identical speeches contain more imagery . Here’s a great example – a former US president’s inaugural address was rewritten to create low and high imagery versions in an experiment. The audio recordings of the two speeches were played for the participants to the study who were randomly assigned. After listening to the speech, they provided ratings on various summary leadership measures. The result? The speech with high imagery was attributed to a more charismatic person.

2. Keep the presentation short and to the point

Thousands of psychological, neurobiological and social science studies have been conducted on how humans “pay attention.” The famous Microsoft “study” claimed that the human attention span went from 12 seconds on average in 2000 to just 8.25 seconds in 2015, which is shorter than that of a goldfish. What most of these studies concluded is that, most of the time, we don’t pay attention. It’s just how our brain works.

Keep your presentation short and sweet and, more importantly, simple. Even if your ideas are complex, you need to find a way to help your audience focus and follow your speech. Make sure your slides are not too busy if you want the audience to listen to you instead of reading slides.

3. The rule of three

This is a rather well-known technique that’s based on the fact that people tend to only remember three things. When you design the flow of your presentation, work out what the three messages that you want your audience to take away are. Then, structure your presentation around them, using the right design elements to separate the three.

The same rule can be applied to an individual slide –  it’s recommended that you use a maximum of three points on a slide. Make sure that they aren’t bullet points or presenter notes. Those should not be on the screen when you’re doing a keynote speech. If Google’s CEO does not  use bullet points , neither should you.

Also read:  5 Pro Tips For Giving Better Presentations

4. Focus on telling stories instead of throwing numbers

Even if you have a technical or scientific topic to present, you still need to tell a story. That is the essence of a keynote speech, to be memorable, emotional, compelling. And that means storytelling.

Tell stories and anecdotes to help you illustrate your ideas and your research. This will definitely make your presentation more effective and memorable. In a UCLA study , students were asked to recall a series of speeches they had heard. Only 5 percent remembered any individual statistic, while 63 percent remembered the stories presented in those speeches.

“Things are not what they seem.” It’s that to get people to sit on the edge of their chair or to get them involved in your story, the audience has to constantly discover something new.

Howard Suber, UCLA

5.  Know what slide is coming next

Memorizing every single word in a presentation is not a good idea. That’s why you shouldn’t have chunks of text altogether. But knowing what slide comes next is a must. Even if you are an amazing speaker and you’ve been really busy so you’ve had the presentation made for you, go through it at least once before.

It helps to build trust and keep the audience engaged when you say “On the next slide [Click] you will see…”, rather than than act confused when the next slide appears. It will also help with the flow of the presentation.

6. Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse

Practice is key for public speaking. Many experts say that rehearsal is the biggest single thing that you can do to improve your performance. This technique will make you so comfortable with the presentation content that you won’t need notes or prompts and you’ll appear conversational but knowledgeable.

Perform your presentation out loud at least four times. You can try something different each time: one in front of your friends or colleagues, one alone and one in front of a real scary audience, for good measure. You should also try to do a video recording of a rehearsal. It will help you spot improvement points, from how you are standing, if you are jangling keys, to how well your presentation is structured.

Also read:  Use These Presentation Apps To Rehearse Anywhere

7. Have an emergency plan

This does not include running off the stage. But it is a well known fact that something is bound to go wrong. It’s either the projector, the lights, the audio, the laptop, the fonts, etc. It’s always good to have a back-up plan. This way you won’t be blindsided, stressed and confused in case something goes off track. A useful tip is to check out the presentation room beforehand, so that you know what could go wrong.

Murphy’s kit: Have a printed out set of slides, data stick of your presentation and a laptop with your slides on it.

8. Involve the audience

One of the most powerful presentation techniques is inviting the audience in and have them contribute in some way. This will get them emotionally invested and it will differentiate you from inexperienced, nervous speakers.

Plan a inclusion of the audience in your presentation somewhere. It can be a slide with a question, a game or just an empty slide to help you connect with people and re-gain their full attention. Here are some ideas for audience activities–from a simple show of hands, to requests for brief personal input, to role playing and games, to small group exercises- and their merits:

The show of hands is good for polling the audience and gaining real-time feedback. It lets audience members know where they stand with respect to the group.Brief personal input reveals the diversity of experience in the room.Role playing and games are excellent for practicing sales situations and interpersonal responses.Group exercises allow participants to learn from each other.

9. Don’t read off the slides word for word

Please. Your audience is surely capable of doing that for themselves. They don’t need you to be standing in front of them reading off the screen.

Build your presentation in a way that it provides context for your speech, with visual elements and clear, simple ideas. Use your slides as outlines or conversation points that you build on, just like you would in a normal discussion. Experienced speakers often use slides to add a quick parenthetical note to something they’re saying to the audience.

10. Find the right speed

Most people go too fast. Mostly because they’re nervous or they’re pressured by the time constraints of the format. It’s really easy to rush through your content and speak very quickly, especially if you’re panicked. But it’s much easier for an audience to engage with your content and remember something if your delivery falls into a natural rhythm. Pace yourself and remember to punctuate your speech with pauses to emphasise key points.

Here’s a great exercise shared by Sims Wyeth , who learned it from Marian Rich, a voice and speech teacher in New York who worked with many famous actors to help them improve their vocal presence.

“The exercise will teach you that your voice is a wind instrument, and you must have ample air in your lungs to play it well.

Mark a paragraph / in this manner / into the shortest possible phrases. / First, / whisper it / with energetic lips, / breathing / at all the breath marks. / Then. / speak it / in the same way. / Do this / with a different paragraph / everyday. / Keep your hand / on your abdomen / to make sure / it moves out / when you breathe in / and moves in / when you speak.

Before you whisper each phrase, take a full bellyful of air and then pour all the air into that one phrase. Keep your throat open, and don’t grind your vocal chords. Lift your whisper over your throat. Pause between phrases. Relax. Then, take another full breath and whisper the next phrase. Whisper as if you were trying to reach the back of the room.

Once you’ve whispered the paragraph, then go back to the start and speak it in a conversational way, but again, pour all the air into each phrase and honor the silence between phrases. I can’t stress that enough. Take your own sweet time at the forward slashes.”

If you’re more of a slow talker, with a constant calm rhythm, you might run the risk of boring the audience. Keep people awake and interested by learning to increase your speaking speech without losing articulation and thought clarity. Start by learning what makes you slow. Record a one-minute monologue on tape and use a stopwatch or second hand; listen for the following types of slow spots.

11.  Include some humor

Humor can be one of the most powerful techniques for giving a great keynote presentation. You can use it in the beginning to relieve the tension in the room and help ease the transition into the bulk of the content. Appropriate humor that’s true to you let’s your audience get a sense of your personality and makes for a memorable presentation.

If you’re not a natural punster, do not despair. Anything can be learned. Here are a few techniques you can try:

Exaggeration: “Then I talked to a woman whose voice was so high only the dog could hear it.”Puns: “Did you hear about the guy whose whole left side was cut off? He’s all right now.”Self-deprecation: “And then, even though I knew it was too hot to eat, I bit into the pizza anyway. Because, clearly, I am an idiot.”Wordplay: “She brought me a plate of french fries instead. At least I thought they were French because they had an attitude and wore berets.”References: “Do. Or do not. There is no try.” – Yoda

12. Follow Guy Kawasaki’s 10-20-30 rule

Guy Kawasaki wrote that a presentation “should have ten slides, last no more than twenty minutes, and contain no font smaller than thirty points”. Although this was meant for entrepreneurs creating pitch decks, it’s a useful pointer for keynote speeches as well, especially from a design point of view.

Opt for a legible font and type size. Don’t use eccentric fonts that will make it impossible to make out the actual words. Stick to standard, easy-to-read fonts, preferably sans-serif (fonts such as Arial or Helvetica).

13. Pause from time to time

Both in your speech and in your presentation, white space is an important component. Whitespace is a fundamental building block of good design. Its one of the first thing any visual designer is taught. However, to many speakers it is simply a waste of space that could be used to better promote their message or express an additional idea.

Speech pauses allow you to punctuate your spoken words, giving your listeners clues as to when one phrase, one sentence, or one paragraph ends, and the next begins. Brigitte Zellner notes that pauses “participate in rendering human communication more intelligible. (…) In other words, pauses “stick out like sore thumbs”, and thus may occupy “beacon” positions in speech, serving to structure the entire utterance for both speaker and listener.”

14. Try some icebreakers

Why not reference some fun facts? Or have audience members introduce themselves? The most effective keynotes are both informative and enjoyable at the same time.

“For the brain to remember, presenters must deviate from a pattern in some significant way.”

Carmen Simon, co-founder of Rexi Media

Although not everyone is comfortable with icebreakers it doesn’t hurt to try one or two and see how they work for your keynote. Here are some different icebreaker ideas.

15. Make it thematic

Another out of the box idea is to make the most of an upcoming or recent event/holiday/movie release etc. and create a thematic presentation. Go for a memorable appearance, costume and all, and a well-designed presentation to accompany your speech. Get the audience to remember your presentation by connecting it to something they like or even dislike. The emotional connection will help spark a valuable conversation and it will increase the chances of people remembering your ideas.

Connections among elements in memory can make a real difference. Art Markman uses the analogy of a bowl of peanuts in his book Smart Thinking. He says that if you take peanuts out one at a time, you get three peanuts when you reach into the bowl three times. But, if you pour caramel over the peanuts, then when you pull one out, you get a whole cluster. After you draw from the bowl three times, you may have gotten almost all of the peanuts out. Memory functions in a similar way. By encouraging connections among the key points in your talk, you help pour caramel over the peanuts in memory and increases the amount that people remember from what you present.

16. Stay connected

Make sure you have an offering for the gods of social media. A tweetable bit on a slide, a hashtag to connect online and to encourage comments and debates or a website with online resources. Connect this technique with the one on involving the audience and you’ll get online engagement as well as offline.

Your “tweetables” should resonate with the audience and to do that they need to be catchy. Use strong verbs and keep it short. Think about what you want your audience to take away from your presentation.

17. Share your slides after the event

It’s nice to build a long term relationship with your audience. After all, they will be the ones ensuring your the growing reach of your ideas. Sharing your slides is a great way to help them recall the content of your presentation. It’s also a great way to encourage engagement after the event so don’t forget to include the date, time and title of the presentation as well as your contact details.

Let them know that you’ll be making the slides available from the very beginning of the presentation so that they don’t feel the need to spend too much time taking notes instead of watching you. But don’t share your slides before the presentation otherwise you’ll spoil the show and give people an excuse to leave without watching.

What are some other powerful presentation techniques that work for you?

If you’re looking to step up your public speaking game, check out these 10 easy steps to becoming a keynote speaker!

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What It Takes to Give a Great Presentation

• Carmine Gallo

Five tips to set yourself apart.

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

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

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

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6 Tips and Tricks for Amazing Keynote Presentations on Your Mac

If you use Keynote on your Mac, take note of these essential tips and tricks to make your Keynote presentations stand out.

Keynote is the simplest way to make a beautiful presentation on your Mac. If you pick a template you like and let the defaults do the trick, you'll most likely end up with something you're proud of. However, you've got a lot more options than just the basics.

When using Keynote, you can easily transition between different slides. On top of that, you can jump around however you feel necessary—along with much more. Here, you'll learn the best Keynote tips for making amazing presentations in macOS.

1. Master Keynote's Slide Transitions

Transitions and animations are the two biggest reasons to use Keynote for making a presentation. To add a transition effect, select the slide from the slide navigator on the left. From the top-right corner of the window, click on the Animate tab.

Then, select the Action option, and you'll see a big blue Add an Effect button.

When you click on it, you'll be able to select from more than a dozen effects. In the example below, we've used the Confetti effect.

Once you select a transition, you'll be able to define the duration, the direction, and the start time.

2. Animate Individual Objects on the Slides

Keynote lets you control exactly when and where your objects show up. You can animate these by going to Animate > Build In > Add an Effect .

Click the Preview button to see how it looks. If you want to animate multiple objects together or one after the other, select all of them when defining the Build In effect.

When multiple objects are involved, click the Build Order button from the bottom of the sidebar. Here, you can define the order in which the objects appear on the screen.

3. Master Magic Move

Magic Move lets you directly move an object from one slide to another, with complete control over the animation.

First, place the objects on the slides the way you want. From the Slide Navigator , duplicate the slide by using the Command + D shortcut.

Now, change the position of the objects on both slides. The first slide will have objects in the default state. In the second slide, position the elements where you want them to end up.

Select the first of the two slides (not both), and from the sidebar, click on the Animate tab. From the Add an Effect section, choose Magic Move .

Preview it, and you'll instantly see a smooth animation going from one slide to another. Keynote takes care of the transition and animation automatically. But if you want, you can change the duration, match it with text instead of objects, and define when to start the transition.

4. Edit Your Slide Layouts

If you're working on a big presentation, you'll probably want your styling to be consistent. To achieve this, you can use the feature that lets you edit your slide layouts—which will allow you to define layouts and designs you use frequently.

Finding this feature in Keynote is simple. On your Mac keyboard, hold the Control button and click on a slide with your trackpad. Then, choose Edit Slide Layouts from the context menu.

After selecting Edit Slide Layouts , you can adjust numerous areas of your Keynote slides. For example, you can include a title and photo—along with several other things.

When you're finished, hit the blue Done button at the bottom, and you'll have something that better fits your needs.

If you aren't a big fan of the presentation layouts in Keynote, you can always consider picking from various Keynote alternatives .

5. Customize Your Toolbar

The more you use Keynote on your Mac, the more you'll figure out what does and doesn't work for you. You'll also probably notice that you use some tools more frequently than others. Having easy access to these is a good idea if you'd like to work more efficiently when creating your presentations.

Customizing your toolbar in Keynote is quite straightforward. When using the app on your Mac, you'll first need to go to the View menu from the macOS menu bar and choose Customize Toolbar located at the bottom of the dropdown.

A pop-up window will appear; here, you'll see a huge range of icons and other things you can move around. Moving these is the same as if you wanted to change icons on your iPhone or iPad; you can drag and drop the features you most frequently use.

When you're done customizing your toolbar, you can click the Done button in the bottom right-hand corner.

Keynote isn't the only way you can customize on your Mac . You can change several areas on your computer—color schemes, icons, and sounds, to name a few.

6. Use Action Buttons for Shapes in Keynote

As you create your presentations in Keynote, you might want to use shapes for several reasons. You can use them to create graphics , and they're also handy for breaking up your text—among numerous other things. One of the app's best hidden features lets you turn any shape into more of an interactive button.

You can use the action options for shapes in Keynotes to jump to a different slide. But that's not all; they're also handy for opening web pages and even ending the presentation.

First, you'll need to add a shape to your Keynote presentation. You can do this by selecting Shape from Keynote's toolbar at the top.

Choose the shape you want to add to your presentation and select it. After that, use the Command + K keyboard shortcut.

Expand the dropdown menu, and you can choose whether you want your shape to link to a slide, a website, or something else.

After choosing the purpose of your shape in Keynote, complete the remaining steps that your Mac prompts you to do. You can then use your shape to supercharge how your presentation functions.

Get More Advanced With Keynote Presentations on Your Mac

If you use a Mac to create your presentations, you might want to use Keynote for several reasons. Its interface is user-friendly, and you have plenty of customization options. On top of that, the app makes it easy for you to move around to different slides and various other things—giving you more control over what you're trying to do.

Now that you've read these tips, you should have a better understanding of how you can improve your presentations and wow your audience. You've learned all about adding effects, skipping to different slides, and more.

Ace the Presentation

Here’s an Excellent Keynote Speech GUIDE: With 2 Great Examples

You’ve probably been asked to give a keynote speech and you are afraid of it. Well, if you’ve never done this before, then there’s no need to panic. Thankfully, you’ve come to the right place. Let’s start with the basics, shall we? 

So, what is a keynote speech? 

Simply put, a keynote speech is usually given to set the theme of the entire event. It is a speech that is generally delivered by an expert, renowned and well-respected individual, depending on the theme of the event.

Being asked to give a keynote speech in front of a large audience can be a little intimidating. However, it’s the greatest honor to be selected as a keynote speaker. That said, you must deliver the best speech you possibly can. 

Now that we’ve covered what a keynote speech is, it’s time to key steps that you should take when preparing a keynote speech. 

Related Article: 7 Basic Elements of Public Speaking

How to prepare a keynote speech

Keynote speeches are very important. With that in mind, it’s one of the best opportunities for you and your business. Therefore, if you’ve been asked to be the keynote speaker, take advantage of such an opportunity. But, first, you will have to prepare your speech: 

1.     Find out the theme for the day

For any first-timer, you will probably be given the theme for the day by the event organizer. But if you are an experienced speaker, I’m sure everyone will applaud anything you say. All the same, both scenarios still require you to plan and organize your thoughts for your speech. 

2.     Outline your presentation

Sadly, most speakers always skip this part. And, it’s usually visible in their delivery and line of thought. The best way to handle this situation is by creating a sort of blueprint for your presentation which will include: 

• Highlight some of the key structural elements, for instance, introduction, conclusion, or even stories. 
• Highlight your key element in the presentation. What do I mean? Start by answering the question-what messages are you using to support your logical key point? 
• Link all the elements together in a systematic sequence
• Also, try mapping out the transition from one key point to the next and ensure that it’s flawless. 

3.     Now fill each section

Following your outline, use keywords to convey a clear message to your audience. This will also help in keeping the audience’s attention. On top of that, it will ensure you have a great flow of thoughts in your presentation. 

Write down the topic you’d like to present. Then go ahead and add principal keywords. Afterwards, write what you derive from each keyword. Thankfully, the structure of your keynote speech will give you a set of new keywords to follow. 

Make sure that you are brief and clear when filling each section. More importantly, don’t crowd up your content. You will also need to ensure you have most of the keywords in your mind. This will save you the time you use to check on your keynote speech instead of maintaining eye contact with the crowd. 

4.     Make the work visually attractive

Without a doubt, you should always ensure that your work has some visual ideas that would be easy to interpret. Add graphs or charts where necessary, but only where necessary. Too much of anything will lead to you losing the attention of your audience. 

5.     Add personal stories

Anecdotes and stories will assist you in illustrating your ideas to the audience. On top of that, it’s the best way to show your research. With stories, you should be able to capture the attention of your audience. Additionally, your audience will be emotionally invested which will differentiate you from nervous and inexperienced speakers. 

Play a game, add a question, or simply just maintain eye contact with your audience. This will help you gain their full attention throughout your speech. 

6.     Finally, rehearse

There’s no shortcut in this section. For you to present a killer speech in front of your audience without sounding nervous is through research. By rehearsing your speech several times, you can understand what it means to your audience and also see places where you can improve your speech. 

Actually, you can even record yourself while giving your keynote speech. That way, you will be able to work on your body language and speaking rate. If you have stage freight, this is a good way to avoid the effects of it. 

Now that you already know how to get ready for your speech, let’s take on how to open a keynote speech. 

The next points of discussion are: how to open a keynote speech, how long should a keynote speech be, and some great examples of keynote speeches. Before digging into that, let me add below some of the top related and interesting articles that can add to what you’re learning from this one. If any of the titles picks your interest, please click and open in a new tab, so you can check them out later. Enjoy!

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How to open a keynote speech?

I bet you are probably worried about your opening lines in your keynote speech, right? Well, first thing’s first, don’t be in a rush to speak. Before you open your mouth, the attention is usually high at this moment. Therefore, once you arrive up there, pause for a moment. To the audience, you will appear like you are trying to be confident and collected, so use that moment. 

The audience will lean in to try and hear your first few words. And at that moment, the audience will form their first impression of you with the first words you utter. An example of the first opening words include, ‘um, good evening everyone….I’m happy to be here in front of you. I will like to thank you so-so-so-so much…..’

Trust me if you start your speech with these words, the audience will feel like you are repeating words that will sound the same as the conversations they have been trying to avoid. 

To get the full attention of your audience, here are some quick tips on your opening statements. 

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Before we go into how to open your keynote speech…

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Key tips on the opening statement in your keynote speech

• Name someone central to your message
• Use a provocative question
• Use a short, pithy quote
• Start with a personal association
• Tell an Interesting and relatable Story
• Paint a picture with your words, and so on…

How long should a keynote speech be?

Usually, the maximum length of the keynote speech depends majorly on the skill of the speaker. Therefore, the minimum length of the keynote speech depends on how long the speaker will need to make an impact on the audience.

You will know when the keynote does not last long enough when the message said by the speaker doesn’t have a deep effect on the audience. Additionally, the length of the keynote speech depends on the time allocated to the event. 

Examples of Excellent Keynote Speeches 

If you follow the instructions above, you won’t even need examples to sharpen your skills. However, here are some of the examples you can check out to give you a deeper understanding of keynote speeches

• Fire Antony speech
• A speech by Briana Scurry

With these two examples, you will be able to draft your speech in no time. 

To wrap it all up…

A keynote speech is an incredible way to get over public speaking and be able to introduce yourself to the audience. It doesn’t matter the number of people in the gathering. Always remember to count every opportunity that comes your way. 

Also, a great speech is not one that strings different elements together-no siree! A great speech is one that weaves them in the minds of the audience in such a way that they are not able to tell the difference between the segments. The speech shouldn’t be repetitive or random. It should be something that you sat down and constructed to perfection. 

Give the audience something that they can remember you by. A speech that will make them concentrate on the best course of action. Someone once told me that, ‘words can change the world’ and I believe it. Now, this is your opportunity to change the world. 

REFERENCES & FURTHER READING

https://business.tutsplus.com/tutorials/what-is-a-keynote-speech–cms-31420

https://www.thebalancesmb.com/how-to-write-a-keynote-speech-2295879

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How to Write a Keynote Speech

Last Updated: October 28, 2022 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Lynn Kirkham . Lynn Kirkham is a Professional Public Speaker and Founder of Yes You Can Speak, a San Francisco Bay Area-based public speaking educational business empowering thousands of professionals to take command of whatever stage they've been given - from job interviews, boardroom talks to TEDx and large conference platforms. Lynn was chosen as the official TEDx Berkeley speaker coach for the last four years and has worked with executives at Google, Facebook, Intuit, Genentech, Intel, VMware, and others. There are 9 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 106,441 times.

A good keynote speech is gripping and inspiring. It sets the tone for the event, program, or conference, and it can really unify the audience. If you’ve been invited to write and give a keynote speech (congrats!), you might not be sure where to start, or maybe you’re looking for tips to elevate your speech to the next level. Either way, we’ve got you covered! This article will walk you through how to craft a memorable keynote speech from start to finish.

Brainstorming Ideas for the Keynote Speech

• If there is a theme of the event, you may use this as your purpose or inspiration for the speech. For example, if the theme of the event is “Social Responsibility,” the purpose of your speech may be to explore your experiences with social responsibility on a professional and personal level.

• For example, if your audience is within an age range of 20-30 and are social responsibility advocates, you may make the speech light, engaging, and full of specialized language that you know your audience will understand.

• For example, if you are writing a speech around the theme of social responsibility, you may focus on three key points: the history of social responsibility, the current state of social responsibility, and where social responsibility is headed next.

• You can find the top keynote speeches of 2016 at https://www.bigspeak.com/best-keynote-speakers-of-2016 .

Crafting the Keynote Speech

• For example, if you are writing a keynote speech on diversity in the classroom, you may tell a story about a student of color that you worked with in your classroom as a teacher.
• You may also look in the news for a story about a student of color who publicly spoke out about difficulties with diversity in the classroom, preferably a news story based in your area or country.

• For example, if the purpose of your speech is to discuss social responsibility in the corporate world, you may open with a fact about how consumers tend to buy more if a brand is socially responsible.

• For example, your purpose may appear as, “I am here today to talk to you about social responsibility, the theme of this conference and the theme of much of my professional work.”

• For example, you may make a funny aside that is self-deprecating, such as, “I wasn’t always a great teacher. Sometimes, I was known as the fun teacher or the angry teacher. Not always the great one.”

• For example, you may highlight terms like “unity,” “engagement,” and “social consciousness” in your speech by returning to them at least twice. You may begin the speech by mentioning these terms and then return to them again later in the speech.

• For example, you may use a funny saying that you use with your students in your classroom in the speech. Or you may use less formal words and terms to keep the tone of the speech conversational.

• For example, you may have a call to action that refers to the story or fact you used at the beginning of your speech: “Just like my student who reached out to a peer in need, I ask you all now to be vulnerable, to try to reach out to someone in your community who needs help.”

Polishing the Keynote Speech

• When you read the speech aloud, notice if you skip over any words. You may be able to remove any words you skip over for flow.
• If you read the speech aloud to others, you can ask them for feedback. Ask them if they found any parts of the speech boring or hard to follow. Be open to getting constructive feedback on the speech so it is at its best.

• Correct punctuation is especially important if you are going to read the speech aloud to an audience, as the punctuation will tell you when to pause or take a breath. Often, a comma means pausing in your speech and a period means taking a short breath.

• If there is a time constraint for the speech, you should also time yourself reading the speech to confirm it is within the limit.

Expert Q&A

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/brainstorming/
• ↑ Lynn Kirkham. Public Speaking Coach. Expert Interview. 20 November 2019.
• ↑ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mitch-ditkoff/post_3868_b_1868754.html
• ↑ https://professional.dce.harvard.edu/blog/10-tips-for-improving-your-public-speaking-skills/
• ↑ https://www.toastmasters.org/Magazine/Articles/Six-Rules-of-Humor
• ↑ https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffschmitt/2013/07/16/10-keys-to-writing-a-speech/#25d3cdba4fb7
• ↑ https://open.lib.umn.edu/publicspeaking/chapter/11-2-steps-of-a-conclusion/
• ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/reading-aloud/
• ↑ https://www.unr.edu/writing-speaking-center/student-resources/writing-speaking-resources/editing-and-proofreading-techniques

About This Article

A good keynote speech is inspiring and can set the tone for an entire event. Start your speech with an engaging anecdote to grab your listeners' attention. The story can be from your own experience and should relate to the topic of the event. Then, tell your audience what the purpose of your speech is. You might say something like, “I am here to talk to you today about social responsibility, which is the theme of the conference and the theme of my professional work." Use a little humor and a light-hearted tone to keep the speech engaging and make it more memorable. Make sure to write the speech along the lines of how you normally talk so it sounds natural when read out loud. At the end of your speech, finish with a strong call to action. This part of the speech should compel listeners to do something to help the cause. For example, if you're giving a speech for a humane society, you may encourage listeners to volunteer at their local shelter. To learn how to polish your keynote speech, read more from our Writing co-author! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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How-To Geek

6 ways to create more interactive powerpoint presentations.

Engage your audience with cool, actionable features.

Quick Links

• Add a QR code
• Embed Microsoft Forms (Education or Business Only)
• Embed a Live Web Page
• Add Links and Menus
• Add Clickable Images to Give More Info
• Add a Countdown Timer

We've all been to a presentation where the speaker bores you to death with a mundane PowerPoint presentation. Actually, the speaker could have kept you much more engaged by adding some interactive features to their slideshow. Let's look into some of these options.

1. Add a QR code

Adding a QR code can be particularly useful if you want to direct your audience to an online form, website, or video.

Some websites have in-built ways to create a QR code. For example, on Microsoft Forms , when you click "Collect Responses," you'll see the QR code option via the icon highlighted in the screenshot below. You can either right-click the QR code to copy and paste it into your presentation, or click "Download" to add it to your device gallery to insert the QR code as a picture.

In fact, you can easily add a QR code to take your viewer to any website. On Microsoft Edge, right-click anywhere on a web page where there isn't already a link, and left-click "Create QR Code For This Page."

You can also create QR codes in other browsers, such as Chrome.

You can then copy or download the QR code to use wherever you like in your presentation.

2. Embed Microsoft Forms (Education or Business Only)

If you plan to send your PPT presentation to others—for example, if you're a trainer sending step-by-step instruction presentation, a teacher sending an independent learning task to your students, or a campaigner for your local councilor sending a persuasive PPT to constituents—you might want to embed a quiz, questionnaire, pole, or feedback survey in your presentation.

In PowerPoint, open the "Insert" tab on the ribbon, and in the Forms group, click "Forms". If you cannot see this option, you can add new buttons to the ribbon .

As at April 2024, this feature is only available for those using their work or school account. We're using a Microsoft 365 Personal account in the screenshot below, which is why the Forms icon is grayed out.

Then, a sidebar will appear on the right-hand side of your screen, where you can either choose a form you have already created or opt to craft a new form.

Now, you can share your PPT presentation with others , who can click the fields and submit their responses when they view the presentation.

3. Embed a Live Web Page

You could always screenshot a web page and paste that into your PPT, but that's not a very interactive addition to your presentation. Instead, you can embed a live web page into your PPT so that people with access to your presentation can interact actively with its contents.

To do this, we will need to add an add-in to our PPT account .

Add-ins are not always reliable or secure. Before installing an add-in to your Microsoft account, check that the author is a reputable company, and type the add-in's name into a search engine to read reviews and other users' experiences.

To embed a web page, add the Web Viewer add-in ( this is an add-in created by Microsoft ).

Go to the relevant slide and open the Web Viewer add-in. Then, copy and paste the secure URL into the field box, and remove https:// from the start of the address. In our example, we will add a selector wheel to our slide. Click "Preview" to see a sample of the web page's appearance in your presentation.

This is how ours will look.

When you or someone with access to your presentation views the slideshow, this web page will be live and interactive.

4. Add Links and Menus

As well as moving from one slide to the next through a keyboard action or mouse click, you can create links within your presentation to direct the audience to specific locations.

To create a link, right-click the outline of the clickable object, and click "Link."

In the Insert Hyperlink dialog box, click "Place In This Document," choose the landing destination, and click "OK."

What's more, to make it clear that an object is clickable, you can use action buttons. Open the "Insert" tab on the ribbon, click "Shape," and then choose an appropriate action button. Usefully, PPT will automatically prompt you to add a link to these shapes.

You might also want a menu that displays on every slide. Once you have created the menu, add the links using the method outlined above. Then, select all the items, press Ctrl+C (copy), and then use Ctrl+V to paste them in your other slides.

5. Add Clickable Images to Give More Info

Through PowerPoint's animations, you can give your viewer the power to choose what they see and when they see it. This works nicely whether you're planning to send your presentation to others to run through independently or whether you're presenting in front of a group and want your audience to decide which action they want to take.

Start by creating the objects that will be clickable (trigger) and the items that will appear (pop-up).

Then, select all the pop-ups together. When you click "Animations" on the ribbon and choose an appropriate animation for the effect you want to achieve, this will be applied to all objects you have selected.

The next step is to rename the triggers in your presentation. To do this, open the "Home" tab, and in the Editing group, click "Select", and then "Selection Pane."

With the Selection Pane open, select each trigger on your slide individually, and rename them in the Selection Pane, so that they can be easily linked to in the next step.

Finally, go back to the first pop-up. Open the "Animations" tab, and in the Advanced Animation group, click the "Trigger" drop-down arrow. Then, you can set the item to appear when a trigger is clicked in your presentation.

If you want your item to disappear when the trigger is clicked again, select the pop-up, click "Add Animation" in the Advanced Animation group, choose an Exit animation, and follow the same step to link that animation to the trigger button.

6. Add a Countdown Timer

A great way to get your audience to engage with your PPT presentation is to keep them on edge by adding a countdown timer. Whether you're leading a presentation and want to let your audience stop to discuss a topic, or running an online quiz with time-limit questions, having a countdown timer means your audience will keep their eye on your slide throughout.

To do this, you need to animate text boxes or shapes containing your countdown numbers. Choose and format a shape and type the highest number that your countdown clock will need. In our case, we're creating a 10-second timer.

Now, with your shape selected, open the "Animations" tab on the ribbon and click the animation drop-down arrow. Then, in the Exit menu, click "Disappear."

Open the Animation Pane, and click the drop-down arrow next to the animation you've just added. From there, choose "Timing."

Make sure "On Click" is selected in the Start menu, and change the Delay option to "1 second," before clicking "OK."

Then, with this shape still selected, press Ctrl+C (copy), and then Ctrl+V (paste). In the second box, type 9 . With the Animation Pane still open and this second shape selected, click the drop-down arrow and choose "Timing" again. Change the Start option to "After Previous," and make sure the Delay option is 1 second. Then, click "OK."

We can now use this second shape as our template, as when we copy and paste it again, the animations will also duplicate. With this second shape selected, press Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V, type 8 into the box, and continue to do the same until you get to 0 .

Next, remove the animations from the "0" box, as you don't want this to disappear. To do this, click the shape, and in the Animation Pane drop-down, click "Remove."

You now need to layer them in order. Right-click the box containing number 1, and click "Bring To Front." You will now see that box on the top. Do the same with the other numbers in ascending order.

Finally, you need to align the objects together. Click anywhere on your slide and press Ctrl+A. Then, in the Home tab on the ribbon, click "Arrange." First click "Align Center," and then bring the menu up again, so that you can click "Align Middle."

Press Ctrl+A again to select your timer, and you can then move your timer or copy and paste it elsewhere.

Press F5 to see the presentation in action, and when you get to the slide containing the timer, click anywhere on the slide to see your countdown timer in action!

Now that your PPT presentation is more interactive, make sure you've avoided these eight common presentational mistakes before you present your slides.