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105+ Creative Presentation Ideas to Engage Your Audience

Written by: Orana Velarde

With most people tuning out of a PowerPoint presentation within the first 10 minutes , developing engaging slide show presentation ideas that keep your audience hooked till the end can be a challenge.

This is why we've created this post with 105+ creative presentation ideas to help you put together exciting presentations that don't put your audience to sleep. You can use these presentation ideas for business meetings, webinars, classrooms, online courses, pitch decks and more.

Here are some of the ideas we’re covering:

• Use neon colors and duotones
• Unify transitions horizontally
• Use a monochrome palette
• Tell a personal story
• Use isometric illustrations

In this article, you'll find unique slide examples, templates, designs and more. Put these slide show presentation ideas to practice using our presentation maker and create your own presentation in minutes.

Here's a short selection of 8 easy-to-edit Presentation templates you can edit, share and download with Visme. View more below:

• Add bright and bold colors to make your presentation stand out and grab your audience's attention. Create a vibrant and dynamic look by using neon colors and duotones.
• Instead of using different transitions for each slide, use the same transition horizontally throughout your presentation. This creates a cohesive and visually pleasing flow.
• To create a sophisticated, minimalist look, limit your color choices to shades of a single color.
• Connect with your audience and make your message more relatable by incorporating personal anecdotes or stories into your presentation.
• Add depth and dimension to your presentation with isometric illustrations, which can be a fun and engaging way to present complex information.
• Sign up for Visme’s presentation software to start applying these creative presentation ideas.

105+ Creative Presentation Ideas

The ideas we've shared cut across various design concepts, industries and use cases. We've also sprinkled presentation design ideas from Visme's template library.  If you're running out of creative steam, you can use these templates to jumpstart your designs.

And if you're running out of time, consider using Visme's AI presentation maker to bring these 100 creative presentation ideas to life. It's a user-friendly tool that effortlessly transforms your ideas into visually stunning presentations.

Now, let's jump into the creative presentation design ideas.

1 Use Neon Colors

Neon colors will give your presentation enough color kick to keep the viewer’s attention. Use neon colors either as the background, as specific elements or as details inside the slides. The trick with neon is to not go overboard with the contrasts. Instead of using a neon rainbow, think more along the lines of neon accents.

2 Be Minimal

Using a minimal design composition is one of the unique presentation ideas. The trick is to have just enough information and visual details for the viewer to feel comfortable seeing the slides. A minimal design can instill calm and awe in your audience when done right. The trick with minimalism is to know when enough is enough, you wouldn’t want to be boring instead of minimal.

RELATED:  20+ Examples of Minimalist Design to Inspire Your Own Creations

3 Use all caps

Another creative presentation idea is using all caps when you feel like the topic of your presentation can be delivered with few words. Using all capitals in your slides will give the message importance. This design might not be suited for a text-heavy presentation but maybe one with an audio narrative that goes along with it or bullet points.

Also, this kind of presentation design is suitable for captivating introduction slide ideas.

Image Source

4 Go vertical

Rectangular presentations are definitely the norm, but with the rise of Instagram Stories, this might be starting to change. This shift introduces a unique opportunity for those looking for ideas for presentation styles that stand out. Now that we can put archived stories into Highlights, why not publish vertical presentations there? Going vertical is just one idea. Along with that, you can add any other design technique.

5  Use duotones

Duotone doesn’t exactly mean “two colors,” it actually means “two tones.” The idea behind this design angle is to use two contrasting tonalities which can have different shades. The difference between duotone and two colors is that it has a more edgy look. Depending on what two tonalities you choose, it can be subtle or very powerful. The photos used in the design also need to be customized to the duotone color you chose.

6 Add a video in different shapes or snippets

Videos can be a powerful tool in your arsenal for engaging your audience during a presentation. Not only do they help to break up the monotony of a lecture-style presentation, but they can also help to explain complex concepts, add visual interest, and evoke emotions.

One way to make your videos stand out is by using different shapes or snippets. Rather than presenting a standard rectangular video, consider incorporating shapes such as circles, triangles or diamonds. These shapes can add a unique and visually appealing element to your presentation.

Another way to incorporate video snippets is by breaking up a longer video into smaller, bite-sized pieces. This can be particularly useful if you have a lengthy video that you want to show but don't want to lose your audience's attention. By breaking it up into smaller segments, you can keep your audience engaged and prevent them from losing interest.

Don’t worry about the design complexity. If you create your presentation in Visme, you can resize your videos instantly and turn them into any shape you want.

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7  Unify transitions horizontally

Unifying the transitions between slides is always a great idea, but doing it horizontally is especially effective. By keeping all the movements going in one direction, it's both easy to follow and will look great. You don’t need to just apply horizontal transitions to the switch between slides, you can also apply animation to the titles and images. As long as they all go in the same direction, you are gold.

Create a slide deck like this in minutes.

• Search for the exact slides you need from a library of 900+ layouts
• Choose a classic or modern style
• Create automatically animated presentations

8  Black and white + spot of bright color

This presentation design idea is highly effective if you're looking for a creative way to present information.

Adding a bright color to a black and white scheme can add just the right amount of attention-grabbing detail to your presentation. Try choosing a powerful color so that it’s really noticeable and pops visually. You can use the color in small amounts or in large sections. Up to you, just remember to maintain a balance throughout.

9 Use a color theme

A cohesive color theme throughout your presentation can engage your audience and create a more visually appealing experience.

To start, consider the overall tone of your presentation and what emotions you want to evoke in your audience. Are you presenting on a serious topic, such as healthcare or finance, where a more subdued color palette may be appropriate?

Or are you presenting on a more lighthearted topic, such as creativity or innovation, where bright and bold colors can help to capture your audience's attention?

Once you have a general idea of your color palette, try to use it consistently throughout your slides. This means using the same background, font and accent colors for headings and graphics– like the presentation template below.

Visme's presentation templates offer a wide range of professionally designed themes with 300+ slides in 20+ different categories, making it the best choice for exploring creative presentation ideas without PowerPoint. You can create visually stunning slides with our carefully curated color schemes and stylish designs.

Read this article about 25 free presentation themes in Visme and find the perfect one.

Visme's presentation maker and branded presentation templates have been helping businesses create impactful presentations while saving them time and money. That's why many businesses choose Visme over other tools.

But don't just take it for word. Here's what one of our satisfied customers has to say about Visme.

"Previously we were using PowerPoint, which is fine, but the interactivity you can get with Visme is so much more robust that we've all steered away from PowerPoint."

"PowerPoint templates are plain and boring, and we want to create more fun and engaging content. Visme has multiple slide templates to choose from, which makes this so much easier."

"I just made a deck recently and it took me about 15-20 minutes. I found a template I really liked and tweaked it and put it in our brand colors. In PowerPoint, it would take anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half."

- Kendra Bradley, Graphic Content Developer at WOW!

10  Add full-screen videos

The use of full-screen video in your slides can have a big impact on your storytelling. There’s a catch though. The wrong video will be detrimental to your message, be mindful of the videos you chose to grace the background of your slides. The video should either tell your story without words or be a complement that won’t interfere. The wrong video will confuse your viewers and it will be hard to get their undivided attention back.

If you’re looking for quick idea inspiration, check out our YouTube video where Mike shares 30 of our favorite presentation ideas at a glance.

11  Use an 80’s visual style

If looking for a unique design style, why not try an 80’s style for a change. Neon graffiti writing, disco balls, and brightly colored shapes might go well with your presentation’s topic. You can use 80’s visuals as small complementary elements or as the entirety of the presentation style. Nevertheless, if your presentation is about something quite serious then maybe you should try another style.

All you have to do is provide a text prompt, choose your preferred template style and the tool will generate text, images and icons and prepare a ready-to-use presentation within seconds. 

The flexibility to customize these presentations in the Visme editor adds the perfect finishing touches to your visual storytelling journey.

12  Go vintage

Another creative presentation idea is the vintage look. This could work really well with a history-themed presentation or anything to do with recuperating old traditions. When we say “vintage” we mean sepia-toned photos, intricate picture frames, bold fonts which look like they came out of old posters.

A vintage color palette is usually pastel turquoise green, ochre yellow and washed out blue and orange. You could consider using vintage mockup sets to create scenes for your slides, or use vintage style fonts, and old photographs as backgrounds.

13  Use a monochrome palette

A monochrome palette is one that maintains a single tonality in different strengths. For example, you can create a presentation in shades of blue, or in shades of orange. Use the palest shade for the background and a stronger shade for the titles and decorative shapes. Try doing it the opposite way as well. You can even use photos with a bit of a filter effect in the chosen color by adding a color filter.

14  Tell a personal story

Telling stories from your own life—whether those stories are deeply moving, humorous tales, or just little snippets that allow someone to look into your history—can be a great way to make a presentation more meaningful.

Colin Stokes uses this to his advantage in his TED talk. He begins by talking about the movies he watches with his daughter and what she likes, and then moving into watching a movie with his son, and wondering how it has affected him, allowing him to move seamlessly into his actual points.

Watch the video below to learn how Colin Stokes did it

Choose a relevant story from your past, and tell it with all the honesty that you can. Your audience will feel that, sympathize, and therefore connect more with your message.

15  Creative photo crops

The photos in your presentations can be cropped hundreds of different ways. From simple circles or rectangles to more elaborate triangles, polygons, letter shapes or even a brushstroke. Analyze the message of your presentation to know which shape to use for the cropping of your photos. You can also create a collage with the shapes as long as they don’t distract from the information being presented.

16 Add fun illustrations

Adding fun illustrations is a great idea to engage your audience during a presentation. They can help break up text-heavy slides, make your presentation more visually attractive and reinforce your message, making it one of the best fun presentation ideas.

Hand-drawn doodles, icons and graphics and animated GIFs are all illustrations you can use. To maximize the visual impact of your illustrations, you can use them in 3D.

With Visme, you can enhance your presentation by adding 3D objects that allow you to customize their colors, size and alignment. Additionally, you can add 3D animated graphics to take things to the next level.

When using illustrations, it's important to remember to use them sparingly to avoid overwhelming your audience. Less is more when it comes to adding graphics to your slides. Remember to match the illustrations with your theme and color scheme to keep things consistent.

17  Thick and bold fonts

Huge chunky fonts are a great way to call attention to titles on slides. You could even try making the letters bleed over the edges or place the words vertical along the side. The best thick and bold fonts are the ones with minimal decorations. Try using fonts that have strong corners or the opposite, extreme rounded terminals. It will also work best if the title is short and sweet.

18 Go with nature

Freshen up your presentation with some natural elements around the edges or as a background. You could use full-screen background photos of leaves or palm fronds coming in from the sides of the slides.

Another presentation idea would be to use nature-related photography along with other design ideas like interesting photo crops. This technique could be used for presentations that relate to nature or natural topics, but also for a home decor proposal or creative direction pitch for a TV ad.

Integrating nature into your slides is a beautiful presentation example of how to connect with your audience on a different level. This technique could be used for presentations about environmental topics or even about home decoration.

19 Use circles

Circles represent wholeness and a natural sense of completion. They can signify eternity and constant movement. They can also make your presentation more friendly and emotionally accessible. You can try using circles as decorative elements or as the shape for cropping images and as backgrounds for illustrations.

20 Add some sparkle (glitter backgrounds)

Give your presentations a little bit of a festive feel with some glittery details. This PowerPoint idea can work great if you are presenting a creative proposal for a fashion label or clothing catalog. It can even work really well for holiday-themed pitches or products. There are different types of glittery graphics you can use, like a glitter texture, a glittering rain or even just a dash of glitter. You can find some great glitter backgrounds and textures over at Freepik .

21 Get crafty (ripped paper details)

Sometimes to tell a story, visual details can really help get a mood across. Ripped paper shapes and edges can give a presentation a special feel, almost as if it was done by hand. This visual technique works for any type of presentation except maybe in a corporate setting. Ripped paper can be found on creative graphics resource sites or you can do it yourself and take a photo.

22 Cut-out paper illustrations

Another crafty idea to design your slides is by using cut paper illustrations. This technique could look really crafty or quite elegant if done well. Cut paper can be used as an elaborate background, as the letters in titles or as decorative elements. There are some great cut paper bundles online to use as PNG files which can be uploaded to the Visme editor.

23  Pathway transitions

Create interesting transitions by designing scenes or pathways instead of just sliding them in one unified direction. By doing this, you can use a storytelling technique that will keep the audience’s attention throughout the presentation and information relay. You can find out how to do it in our free guide to creating captivating presentations .

Create an automatically animated presentation in minutes.

24  use isometric illustrations.

If you are looking for a different way to illustrate your slides, why not consider using isometric illustrations? This style of illustration is great for explaining things that can be separated into parts. The parts can be animated as well. An isometric illustration can work for any kind of presentation, from technology to corporate. It will give your presentation a modern edge and a professional look.

25  Use motion graphics

Motion graphics are a great way to illustrate an idea with animated objects . They don’t tell stories on their own, they support the context and illustrate the content.

For example, if your presentation is about travel, you could have flying airplanes across the slides or bags on a luggage conveyor belt. For something more abstract, you can use moving shapes and add effects to the titles. Your Visme editor has a variety of design tools to help you create all sorts of content with motion graphics.

Here’s what one of Visme’s satisfied customers Jessica L. | Small-Business Owner, has to say about Visme’s presentation tool:

"No need to go back to PowerPoint. Visme makes project presentations easy and fast. Lots of useful templates and excellent graphics. I enjoy the features they continue to add and update often. They make project work easy".

26  Add GIFs to your slides

GIFs can be fun, entertaining and humorous. They can also be informational. GIFs be sourced from sites like Giphy , where you can also create your own! Choosing to include a GIF in your presentation slide or a few different GIFs will depend on what message you want to send with your story. The theme and topic of your presentation will help you decide if you need a clip from a blockbuster movie or a quick representation of the process of your systems.

RELATED:  Everything You Need to Know About Using Cool GIFs in Your Marketing

27  Use quotes between slides

Quotes can be good breathers between a bunch of informative slides. You can either use them to separate ideas inside your presentation or to start new sections of information. It’s important that your quotes represent the topic of your presentation so that they make sense and not confuse the viewer.

28  Start with “once upon a time”

One of the most effective and engaging ways to present a presentation is by incorporating creative storytelling techniques.

If a presentation can be created as a story, then why not go all the way and start the presentation with a classic story opening? Using the “once upon a time” phrase will instantly grab the viewer’s attention because it will be out of the ordinary. Make a slide especially for it with a visual that matches the topic of your presentation.

29  Turn the slides into a scrolling infographic instead of a presentation

To showcase your content in a unique and engaging way, consider using creative slide ideas that break away from the traditional slide-by-slide approach. For instance, you can arrange your slides vertically to create a scrolling infographic instead of a classic slide-by-slide transition presentation.

This innovative format expands the types of presentations you can create, offering a fresh perspective on information delivery.

An added bonus to this presentation style is to add parallax scrolling or interaction animation. As the viewer scrolls down, the information fills each slide progressively. It doesn’t continue until the viewer scrolls again. This technique is best for displaying online slide show presentation ideas.

Create a scrolling presentation in minutes.

30  engage your audience.

What’s one of the best ways to make your presentations more interesting? Make the audience a part of them.

Regardless if you’re presenting in person to a room full of people or via Zoom to viewers around the world, there are a number of techniques to engage your audience with both your content and yourself. The trick is to make them feel connected somehow, like they can relate. You can achieve this with humor, storytelling, asking questions and inviting them to leave comments in the webinar chat window.

Take this speech by Donovan Livingston. He delivers a commencement speech in spoken word poetry, and specifically encourages the audience to take part, saying they should clap, throw their hands in the air, or otherwise participate if they feel so moved. While not seen, several people are heard cheering and clapping throughout the video.

Participation can also be accomplished through things such as games, posing questions or something as simple as asking participants to raise their hands.

31 Use a scrunched paper background

Give your presentation a laid-back and grunge feel by designing it with a scrunched paper background. It can be any kind of paper really, depending on your topic. It could be notebook paper, or printer paper, it could even be recycled paper. Try a few different types of paper until you find the one that suits your story.

32 Add interactive pop-ups

Adding interactive pop-ups is a game-changer when it comes to creative ways of presenting. These pop-ups allow you to go beyond the traditional approach, giving your audience a more dynamic and engaging experience.

Interactive pop-ups can take many forms, from quizzes and polls to clickable infographics and interactive timelines. With Visme, you can access various interactive features that can help you create engaging and effective presentations.

For example, you can create clickable icons or buttons that allow your audience to explore additional information or resources. You can also create interactive timelines that enable your audience to explore different events or milestones.

One of the most powerful interactive features of Visme is the ability to create quizzes and polls. You can make interactive questions and answer options that allow your audience to engage with your presentation on a deeper level.

You can also use this feature to gather feedback from your audience, allowing you to tailor your presentation to their needs and interests.

Watch the video below or read this article to learn how to create an interactive presentation .

33  Use a back-to-school theme

A back-to-school theme can make your presentation look like a lot of fun. This is a great technique for teachers and educators welcoming their students back to a new school year. The background can be a sheet of notebook paper, an open notebook, or a blackboard. The edges could be decorated with pencils and paperclips, maybe an eraser or sharpener. The back-to-school theme has lots of possibilities.

34  Use a billboard-inspired theme

Use billboard mockups to create slides which look like billboards. This could look interesting and quite unique.  You could use the same billboard for all the slides, or different ones for a more varied approach. This technique would work great with a pitch for an election or a local spot in a government office.  

35  Use black-and-white photography

Black and white photography is a classic design technique. They import elegance and sophistication to any design by providing a minimalistic approach to the visuals. The photos can either be desaturated from color photos or given an artistic flair with extra contrast and fewer grey tones.

36  Explain your reasons

What people really want to know is why you’re giving the presentation you’re giving. This is especially true if you’re pitching to investors or potential new clients. When you share your why with the audience using storytelling and body language, you make meaningful connections and lasting relationships

Simon Sinek explains quite well why this is so important—the greatest leaders, the ones who inspire the most people, understand why they do the things they do, rather than just what or how.

When it comes to explaining your reasons, one tool that can significantly improve your presentations is Visme's AI writer . This advanced feature helps you write your presentation copy, break down complex ideas and edit or improve your existing words. With Visme's AI writer, you can make sure your "why" is clear and easy to understand alongside your visuals.

37  Add an audio narrative

Your presentation doesn’t need to be silent, especially if you won’t be standing by it to tell the story yourself. Adding an audio narrative can turn a viewable presentation into an experience. You can either set it up as a video that runs on its own and the viewer looks and listens, or it can be triggered by arrows that are clicked on.

RELATED:  How to Create a Narrated Presentation With Voice Over Using Visme

38 Follow a space theme with photography

Most of the photos from Nasa are labeled as public domain. Meaning that you can give your presentation a space theme quite easily. Choose images of astronauts in space or more abstract and colorful images like distant galaxies and nebulas. The latter can make great backgrounds behind content without the topic necessarily being about space.

39 Do a space theme with illustration

An illustrated space theme can be either colorful and whimsical or sober and elegant. By choosing the style of illustration you use, you can either use this technique for presentations related to children or scientists. Cartoon astronauts can be lots of fun, line illustration planets can be educational and data-driven drawings can be informational.

40  Include music

Sometimes, when listening to someone talk for long periods of time, it helps to have something else to draw your attention. While images are great, including music can really help stimulate an audience and set the mood.

Dean Burnett talks about why this happens: “[Music] provides non-invasive noise and pleasurable feelings, to effectively neutralize the unconscious attention system’s ability to distract us.” Essentially, music is entertaining enough that, when in the background, can keep us focused on otherwise un-entertaining things.

Take, for example, this valedictorian’s speech. While peppered with humor and stories of his time through high school, he uses background music to help keep people’s attention—in fact, this is specifically stated to be his reason for including music, humorously quipping about giving the audience something to listen to while they “zone out” of his speech.

Whether incorporated into individual slides, in a video, done live, or with a music-playing device nearby, this creative presentation idea can be a great way to enhance the quality of your speech or talk.

41  Graffiti photography backgrounds and details

Using colorful backgrounds like photos of urban graffiti can give your presentation a bit of an edge. There are lots of free photographs of graffiti on sites like Unsplash which you can use straight away. Apart from graffiti murals, you can also incorporate graffiti letterings in your titles and quotes. You can find graffiti style fonts online quite easily.

42  Stop-motion

The stop-motion technique can take time but it can also make your presentation unforgettable. There are lots of ways to use stop-motion, either with characters doing actions or objects that move around and create a scene. Stop-motion can also be used to create titles that move into place. What the title is written with can be anything, from toys to plants. The theme and topic of your presentation will ultimately be the driving point to what kind of stop-motion can be used. But be sure that it works from educational to promotional to corporate.

43  Claymation

Very similar to stop-motion, claymation is the animation of things created with clay or play-doh. Anything can be created with clay, so the possibilities really are endless about what can be achieved. This technique really does take a lot of time, you can source it out to a professional or buy some already created footage. The claymation can be just a decorative element in the background or it could also be the center of the presentation.

44  Color blocking

The color blocking technique is another creative presentation idea that entails using color in large sections and in contrasting tones. The idea is that the color blocks will be strong and colorful. The color blocks can either be the shapes that determine where the information goes or just a way to separate the slides in specific sections.

Any type of presentation can benefit from color blocking. Just make sure you use colors that go together and don’t clash. Explore this technique for different presentation slide ideas, especially when aiming for a bold and visually striking effect.

45  Get surreal

Surrealism is an avant-garde movement from the 20th century which was meant to tap into subconscious creativity. This might not be the kind of design technique for any sort of presentation but it can work for one that is about art, or literature or other creative outlets. There are plenty of surrealist artworks in the public domain sector or the Metropolitan Museum of Art. These can be used as subtle backgrounds or visual complements to the text.

Designing a presentation for an organization requires input from different stakeholders. However, when collaborating with others on a presentation design, keeping track of all the moving parts can be difficult.

That's where Visme's workflow management feature comes in. It helps organize roles, tasks, progress, deadlines and corrections all in one place to make your presentation design process efficient and smooth.

46  Polaroids

Polaroids, often a photography favorite, can inspire creative photography presentation ideas. The original Polaroids from the 70’s could be used as vintage polaroids that have been kept in a box for years. The newest Instamatic photographs, which are the new kind of polaroids, can be used for a fun way to show photos and visuals in presentation slides. You could either use one polaroid per slide or a collection of polaroids on a table or corkboard.

There are many topics that can work with Polaroid photography backgrounds and details in your slide show presentation ideas.

47  Use a Handwriting Font

Fonts come in all shapes and sizes, including lots of handwriting fonts. Handwritten fonts can be used for any type of presentation as long as the style matches the topic of the information. There are kid-style handwriting, calligraphy style handwriting, hand lettering, and novelty fonts as well. The options are wide and varied for this design technique. Creative Bloq has a great collection of handwritten fonts.

48  Use a geometric background

A geometric background can look really nice on any presentation. Geometric backgrounds can be tiled polygons or more abstract compositions of different size polygons. The decision to choose between tiled shapes and more creative compositions will depend on your creative angle and disposition. You can use these types of designs with any colors, so you can match the theme or your brand.

49 Coffee style design

Using a coffee-style design can work for any PowerPoint presentation idea, from office-related topics to digital nomads to anything or anyone who loves coffee. If the background is subtle, it can fit a more serious topic or data report. It can make a boring presentation just a bit more visually entertaining than the rest. Of course, it can also be perfect for a small coffee brewer pitching their company to investors.

50  Include memes

You’ve seen them everywhere by this point. You might be pretty sick of them. However, that doesn’t mean memes can’t be useful—in fact, using a couple strategically can surprise the audience and make them laugh.

The presentation " Memes, Memes Everywhere" focuses on, unsurprisingly, memes, and explains their purpose while using examples on every slide, which help support their points and add some humor to a very text-heavy presentation.

Choosing relevant memes and using them sparingly can really help add some personality to your presentation, without distracting from the work.

RELATED: 85+ Best Free Presentation Templates

51  Polka dots

Using a polka-dot background is suitable for various types of presentations. It can give your presentation a whimsical look or simply give it a subtle texture. The polka dots could be small and soft or big and punchy. A strong polka-dot background can work great in a creative setting or even boring data analysis. The style of polka dots will depend on the general topic of your presentation. You can use the polka-dot design as a full background or as a decorative section on the slide.

52  Metaphors

Visual metaphors can be useful in a similar manner; they can spice up your presentation, illustrate your point, and make your work far more entertaining. James Geary speaks about just how important metaphors are.

His presentation provides several examples of metaphors--such as the phrase “some jobs are jails”--and explains just how hard it is to ignore the lasting power of a well-used metaphor. Because of the connotations a metaphor can bring to the table, their use is an excellent way to imbue added meaning to your words.

53  Use timelines in your slides

Timelines can be used in lots of different ways inside a PowerPoint presentation, and the ideas are limitless. A timeline can either be inside one slide, or it can be connected between various slides. You can make a timeline with icons, connected shapes, or an inclined line. The timeline can be a visual way of explaining a chronological event or a plan of action that needs to be taken care of. Make sure the timeline fits the rest of the theme.

54  Use a comic book style

Comic books are a source of inspiration for many people. The visual aspect of a comic style composition can really make your presentation shine. There are a few ways you can use this technique. You could set up the slides as if they were snippets of a comic book, place the text in speech and thought bubbles and apply a background with a pointillist texture. If using characters, make sure the characters fit the theme of your presentation. For a perfect fit, hire a designer to create a comic book presentation just for your company.

55  Use a manga style

Looking for creative PowerPoint slide ideas that stand out? Consider taking inspiration from the Japanese art of Manga. Manga can give your presentation a distinct and eye-catching look, much like comic books.

It isn’t as versatile as a comic book because it has a more specific look, so it might not work for all topics. It can work for more creative outlets like fashion, art, and photography. Manga has a specific style for the atmosphere around the unique characters as well. They are more common in black and white and look very photographic.

56  Use psychedelic visuals

Psychedelia was a big part of the design world in the 60’s and 70’s. Music and creative event posters were so intricate and colorful that they took an important place in the design history books. This design style can be used for a unique visual approach in your presentations. Just like many other techniques we have mentioned, they can be used as a background in slides or as decorative elements. The swirly shapes and contrasting colors can call attention to the viewer in a positive way.

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57  Use neon lights

Neon lights are a great way to give your presentation some life when it’s otherwise visually bland. There are plenty of neon light fonts available online to choose from, from classic style neon tubing on a wall to a neon style given to a font to make it look like neon. Presentations of any topic can be given an additional visual with a bit of neon brightness.

58  Cinemagraph backgrounds

A cinemagraph is like a GIF loaded with elegance. The idea behind a cinemagraph is a photo with a moving section which makes it look cinematic. This kind of background can keep your viewers happily hypnotized while listening to your audio narrative or keep them on the slide longer to truly grasp the information being given. There are cinemagraphs available for all sorts of themes and topics. You can definitely find one that suits your needs.

59  Full-screen video backgrounds

A full-screen background can be really appealing. But just like other design ideas, the video you choose needs to match the theme and topic of your presentation. Your best bet is to have a video which is directly related to what your presentation is about. Videos can be created especially for your purpose, sourced with permission from YouTube or bought from a stock video site.

60  Visualize data

Staring at a large amount of numbers on screen can be overwhelming for most people, even if the realities of those numbers enforce your point. What’s the best way to avoid scaring your crowd? Put the data into easily understandable visualizations.

If you want to take this a step further, you can use illustrations or create infographics to make these data visualizations even more engaging.

61  Use a wild west theme

The wild west is not a very versatile theme but can work for a history project or a proposal for a wild west themed party or event. What entails a wild west theme? Brown sandy tones, horses, cowboys, and tumbleweeds. If the full-on wild west theme is too much, you can also take a cue from the era and be inspired by the color scheme. Another approach would be to use photography from the actual west of the United States, mountains and deserts and so on.

62 Use mind maps

Mind maps are great visual tools for explaining concepts easily. By including mind maps in your slides, you can relay complicated information visually and creatively. There are eight types of mind maps, the most common being bubble maps, the tree map, and flow map. Each one has a different purpose and you can learn all about this in our guide about mind maps in the Visual Learning Center.

63  Use interactive geographic maps

The difference between a static map and an interactive map will define how much attention your slides get. Regions can switch colors according to a change in data over time, making the map more into a chart. With Visme, you can make your maps interactive with live data . All you need to do is sync your data from a Google Sheets file and when your presentation is published online, your map will always be synchronized to that data.

Want to create your own interactive map?

• Create a color-coded map to visualize geographical data
• Choose either the entire world map, a continent or a country
• Enable feature to have data values appear on hover

64  Color contrasts

Using contrasting colors in your slides will make the information pop out of the screen in a positive way. The trick to using contrasting colors is to know how colors match together. Contrasting doesn’t mean they need to clash. Try using a color palette generator like Adobe Color to find great palettes that will make this technique your new best friend. You can learn more about how color works in our guide about color perception in the Visme Learning Center.

65  Live data graphs

Adding live data to a presentation can turn your slides into evergreen content in a flash. You can use any type of chart and populate it with live data such as bar graphs, line graphs, pie graphs, and more. You can add live data graphs to one or two slides in your presentation or have a series of them. Creating a live data graph is easy with the Visme editor.

66  Color fade transitions

Transitions come in lots of different styles. We have mentioned horizontal transitions, animated transitions, and pathway transitions. This particular technique involves color as the ruling factor.

A color-fade transition makes each slide connected to each other through color. This can be achieved with gradients, color blocks, or colored photo filters. Make your PowerPoint presentation ideas stand out with color fade transitions.

67  “Grow” your presentation so it looks like one animated slide

This creative PowerPoint idea is quite interesting as it really only uses one slide that grows upon itself. The practical way to do this is to create the final slide with all the parts and information set up like a finished puzzle. Once you have the completed slide, duplicate it as many times as you need and systematically take off a bit of information until you’ve reached the first title slide. Once you have all the slides, make sure they are in order before downloading the entire thing.

RELATED:  A Non-Designer’s Guide to Creating Memorable Visual Presentations [Free E-Book]

68  Use humor

Want a great way to connect with your audience and make a memorable, more engaging presentation? Be funny. When used strategically, this is a great way to capture attention. In fact, infusing humor into your talk is one of the most effective fun presentation ideas you can use.

Morgan Spurlock makes wonderful use of this in his TED talk. For example, in one of his earliest statements, he offered individuals the opportunity to buy the rights to name his TED talk—which he refers to again at the end, where he reveals the title. He peppers the entire presentation with humorous commentary that nonetheless supports his point.

Create relevant jokes or find a way to bring out the humor in your subject, and your audience will be much more engaged and more likely to remember your words.

69  Tree diagram transitions

A tree diagram is one of the eight thinking maps which help visualize idea and concepts. The purpose of a tree diagram is to classify and organize information. This map can help build a presentation by making sure each slide is a continuation of the one before. They might need to be grouped into sections so that all the information is relayed easily.

Want to create your own tree diagram?

• Get a head start with pre-made flowchart blocks
• Easily snap lines and objects together
• Dozens of shapes and lines styles to choose from

70  Journal style (with hand-drawn illustrations on the margins)

One creative presentation idea is to make your talk just a little bit different than the rest is to use a journal style. The general visual idea for this technique is to make your slides look like the pages of a journal. The style of the journal will depend on what your presentation topic is. It can be a whimsical bullet journal or an intricate botany journal. You could even consider handwriting on paper as a background.

71  Ink splatters

Use ink splatters to decorate your slides any way you like. They can be big and impressive behind the content, or they can be small and subtle like drops from a pen. An ink splatter can give your presentation a bit of an artistic flair and if done right, can make your slides look elegant and clean. Any style of presentation can benefit from some ink splatters as a decorative element.

If you're looking for fresh presentation slide ideas, why not experiment with ink splatters and see how they can enhance your next presentation?

72  Passport with stamps

Using travel stamps as a decorative element can work for a presentation with a travel-theme or a creative design proposal for a department store or airport mall. The stamps can be used as a background on a passport page or on their own around the content. A photo of a real passport page can be used for this technique but there are plenty of graphics available in this style on sites like Freepik .

73  Express your emotions

We can sometimes be afraid of expressing how we feel, even to those we’re close to, much less in front of a crowd. However, showing them makes your words more authentic and can generate compassion or excitement in your audience.

Take this TED talk by Thordis Elva and Tom Stranger , for example. While the two talk about their experiences, their voices break and crack. The emotional turmoil they went through is clearly heard, and viewers can clearly understand their pain.

This can take some getting used to, and some courage. However, the results are well worth the effort.

74  Use a video game theme

Video games come in all shapes and sizes. From kids' games to arcade games to car games. Each one has their own style, just like presentations do. If you think a video game visual style is good for your project, consider all the different kinds until you find the one that fits best. You can use game screenshots as backgrounds or infuse the entire design of the presentation with the video game style you chose.

75  Use postcards

One of the least-used creative presentation ideas is to turn your content inside slides into postcards which have been sent from around the world. They can be new postcards which could be used from either front or back sides. The back part would make a great text block for the content you need to display, the photo side can be on the sides or as a background. This design technique can work for presentations about literature, family connections, history or travel. There are postcard templates available on sites like Creative Market .

76  Incorporate robots in the design

Using robots in your slides can be a creative approach to visually elevate your presentation. There are different styles of robots you can add to your presentation design; realistic photography of anamorphic robots, cute illustrated robots, or robotic parts from factories. These visuals might only apply for technology-themed presentations or about robots themselves. Cute illustrations of robots can be great backgrounds for whimsical topics or other styles of storytelling presentations.

77  Chalk on blackboard

Looking for creative slides presentation ideas? Consider using a chalkboard design to add a unique and nostalgic touch to your presentation.

Writing on a chalkboard is not limited to a school setting or a bar menu. These two might be the most common yet they are not the only possibilities for using chalk on a blackboard. A good handwriting font is the best companion to a chalkboard design. Some of these fonts are already available with a chalky texture and others might need some professional tweaking to get the right texture.

78  Get inspired by a specific location

Even if the PowerPoint presentation ideas you are designing are not about a specific place in the world, you can be inspired by one to set up the color scheme and feel of the slides. For example, if you get inspired by Greece, you can use white and light blue hues or even photos of Greek islands. If you get inspired by Brazil, you can use photos of the beach, the texture of the boardwalk tiles or green, blue, and yellow color schemes.

79  Use props

Using props can quickly turn a run-of-the-mill presentation into a unique, interactive experience. Kenny Nguyen demonstrates this well. In his talk he often refers to the “sword of yes” and “shield of no.” Naturally he picks up a sword and shield from the table to help demonstrate his points.

Choosing similar props can help you really illustrate your points—and make it that much more entertaining, too.

80  Use hashtags as titles

In the age of social media, hashtags are used every day. They appear regularly on social media, in spoken and written conversations, and of course in content marketing. Why not include some hashtags as titles? This technique will work great in a presentation for a social media content management pitch, or an in an influencer marketing strategy. On another note, hashtag titles can even be used for any type of presentation geared at the digital generation.

81  Black background, white letters, and color accents

When you use a black background, the colors that you place on top will usually look brighter than if they were on a white background. When creating this kind of color palette, make sure the colors you use don’t clash with each other or with the black. Along with the bright colors, make sure you use white to make the composition pop! Neon colors or pastel tones are what will work best.

82  Vintage film edges

Even though we are used to taking photos with our phones, the classic nostalgia of film is still prevalent in the world of visuals and design. The graphic representation of a film negative is as recognizable as an envelope representing an email. Use a vintage film edge along the horizontal edges of your slides to give your visuals a cinematic feel. Even better if you make the edges animated so that it looks like it’s rolling along on a projector.

83 Adult coloring book inspired design

Using a coloring book design can be really creative. Practically anything can be turned into a coloring book style illustration. A great way to use this technique is to have the first slide with the un-colored illustration and then progressively color in the illustration as the slides progress. Furthermore, if the illustration is depictive of the information, the visuals can be even more engaging.

84  Stripes

A stripes design is as classic as it gets. From pinstripes to artistic colorful lines, you can use them as a subtle background or a powerful striped theme intertwined with text boxes. Stripes are the kind of design technique that can work for any type of presentation, from corporate to educational.

85  Make each slide look like a social media post

Just like postcards and polaroids, you could try a creative approach and use social media templates to put the content in. The most notorious social media visual channel is Instagram. It has been known to inspire offline events as well. Make your slides look like social media posts or social media pages. For this technique, you can either use screenshots or templates.

86  Ink in water

Dropping ink in water creates beautiful colorful bubbly designs which can be photographed at high speed. These images can be used as backgrounds for any type of creative theme presentations. Choose the color and thickness of the ink design to match the theme of your presentation. There are also animated versions of this effect which can be bought like video stock.

87  Lego bricks

Use lego bricks as inspiration to fill your presentation slides with color and fun. Use the bricks to create slide frames, letters or even charts. The best approach to a lego inspired presentation is to be creative. There are lots of things you can do with lego, you could go as far as using the legos to write the titles of the slides. Don’t use the Lego logo though unless you are specifically designing a presentation about lego.

88  Use classic storytelling techniques

A presentation is, in a way, like a story—you’re talking about your chosen subject and leading viewers on a journey to discover what that subject means. Moreover, stories hold an intrinsic interest for us. Therefore, you can easily use several storytelling techniques to help improve your presentation.

Alex Blinkoff  goes into this in great detail, examining things such as “The Hero’s Journey” and provides several examples of ways to use storytelling techniques in your presentations. Check them out, and decide what might work best for your subject.

Click on image to view interactive slide show created with Visme

89  Jigsaw puzzles

Pieces of a jigsaw puzzle can be used to make charts, infographic diagrams, or interlocking frames. The idea behind puzzle pieces is that things come together to form a whole and this concept can be used for any slide and any kind of presentation. Make sure to use a suitable color palette that matches your theme and the rest of the presentation.

90  Headlines coming in animated on boats/trains/airplane

Headlines or titles can be given a life of their own inside the slides. One interesting and creative approach would be to make the titles enter the slide on top of some kind of vehicle. The vehicle could be anything, from a train to a boat, to an airplane. Depending on the type of vehicle, this animated technique can be used for child-themed topics, transportation themes, travel ideas, or even about a corporate sales report.

91  Use a camouflage design

Camo doesn’t necessarily need to convey a sense of military, although it does carry a strong connection. Thankfully, camouflage comes in different styles, from jungle greens to desert browns. Other out of the box camouflage styles are the ones where the colors are completely off the charts, like pinks and blues. Camouflage designs are better used as backgrounds or small subtle sections.

92  Use unique novelty fonts for headers

There are so many novelty fonts to choose from out there these days! Using a unique novelty font for the titles and headers is a great way to add some visual pizzazz to your slides. Try looking for some really special fonts that carry personality. Once you have selected the font, add some color and texture to make it look even better.

93  Use a city skyline

Using a background of a city skyline can work great for a presentation related to business or corporate topics. It can also be perfect for an urban travel related theme or educational presentation. You can choose to use photography as a background or with the buildings cut out from the sky. Another choice is to find an illustrated city skyline and use it as a border on the slides.

94  Use a connected dots background

One of the design trends of the last few years is the connected dots visual. It’s used on websites and on printed flyers. It’s so versatile that it can be added to any kind of presentation in a heartbeat. The lines can be short or long between the dots and the composition can be tight or spread out. You can find connected dot visuals easily on sites like Freepik, in lots of different colors. If you can manage vector graphics , you can also change the composition of the dots quite easily yourself.

95  Use a bokeh background

Bokeh is a photography and light technique which turns dots of light into bright shiny spheres. With a bit of creativity, the lights can be turned into shapes, like hearts or stars. This design style is great for backgrounds since it’s mostly abstract. It works best as a complement to the content instead of an important visual aspect. You can find bokeh backgrounds in stock photo sites or make it yourself.

96  Use watercolor designs

The use of watercolor designs is an easy way of infusing some lively color into a presentation. Watercolors can be a splash on the background, shapes around the content, or colorful strokes intertwined with text boxes. Depending on the color of the paint used, the watercolor technique can be used for any type of presentation. A soft watercolor brushed background can work for a feminine theme and a deep intense splash can add visual creativity to an otherwise boring corporate presentation.

Just like watercolor graphics, paint can add a dose of creativity to any presentation. Different to watercolors though, paint is more intense. Paint based graphics come in all shapes and sizes, from thick brush strokes to paint drips. Digital paint compositions can also make great backgrounds for colorful and creative presentations.

98  Use bright fun colors

Why create a bland presentation when you can make it fun and colorful instead? Creative color palettes can include up to six different colors which look great together. Use shapes, cut-outs, color blocks, swashes, anything your heart desires. This technique is for letting go and being creatively free with color. Just make sure the colors go together by trying out some palettes first.

99  Use arrow graphics

Arrows symbolize direction. They can be a great addition to your charts, infographic visuals and slide sections. You could even do the entire presentation using arrows. According to their size, color, and thickness, they have different temperaments. Look for different styles of arrows and see if they fit your topic and theme. Freepik has some great arrow visuals and the Visme editor also has arrow icons and infographic visuals.

100  Use electronic visuals

Another great idea for a background visual is the inside of a computer system. The intricate details of a motherboard or a close up of a memory chip can make a great visual impact. Apart from using an electronic background image, little pieces of electronic devices can be placed around the slide as decoration. This technique is generally limited to electronic or computer theme topics.

101  Metaphors

Visual metaphors can be useful in a similar manner. They can spice up your presentation, illustrate your point, and make your work far more entertaining. James Geary speaks about just how important metaphors are.

102  Keep it feminine

A feminine style design can work for your presentation if your company makes products for women or if your targeted audience is women. By feminine design, we mean light and soft colors, subtle shapes and a general airy feeling to the composition. Feminine design can be minimal but it can also be decadent and full of style. Whichever you chose, make sure it fits with your audience.

103  Go futuristic

A futuristic style can fit any theme as long as the concept of the future depicted, fits the topic of the presentation. Futuristic design can be of many different styles; from spaceship driving controls to cosmos related atmospheres, to flying cars, and artificial intelligence. Even color palettes can look futuristic if you add some metallic tones.

104  Add a music background

A music soundtrack can be added to any presentation that doesn’t have any other sort of audio already. The best music for a presentation is one without lyrics, in other words, an instrumental track. A good track will accompany the content in a positive way and not interfere with the message. You can find audio tracks easily online.

105  Communicate with images

A picture can speak a thousand words. Naturally, they can be used to communicate concepts that, for the sake of space or time, you might not be able to include in the presentation itself. This slide deck  uses this strategy to its advantage.

The presentation includes many images as backgrounds and minimal text. The images used always either enhance what’s being said or, in some cases, provide the answer for viewers. For example, the second slide states “The Landscape Today,” and includes a bleak background with a broken, tilted picture frame, emphasizing the idea that the following slides (which describe the landscape) offer some pretty disheartening information.

Using images in a related fashion can help express your views and emphasize your message.

Harness the power of Visme's AI image edit tools in your toolkit. These advanced yet easy-to-use tools let you effortlessly edit, touch up, unblur and upscale your images using simple prompts. It's an incredibly convenient way to add extra polish and clarity to your pictures to make your presentations more impactful.

106  Include artsy data visualization

Data visualization is a way of showing data and information in a way that is visually expressive. Creative data analysts can make some really beautiful creations and you can hire them to make them for you. If you haven’t seen any creative data visualizations, take a look at our collection of the best of 2018 and get inspired. You can either make the whole presentation into a data viz or add them to some of the slides.

By Beyond Words Studio

RELATED:  The 25 Best Data Visualizations of 2018

107  Stay branded

This creative tip is a simple yet effective way to spark good presentation ideas. When creating your presentation, do your best to stay on brand. This, of course, will work only if you are creating a presentation for your own brand. If creating one for a client, then you should stay on brand with their own brand style guide. This means only use the brand colors and fonts, use photos, textures, and shapes that match the brand.

Use Visme's brand design tool to ensure your presentations perfectly reflect your brand personality. Just copy and paste your website URL, and the tool will automatically extract your branding assets, such as brand colors, brand fonts and company logo.

108 Ask questions

A great tip to make your PowerPoint presentations ideas more interactive is to ask questions from your audience.  Like the example below, you can display only your question on the slide. Once the audience has pitched in their opinions and answers, you can click to reveal the actual answer. You can enable this type of interactivity on click when making a presentation in Visme .

109 Replace boring bullet points with visuals

While adding bullet points in your slides might be better than adding walls of text, they're still not the most effective way to get your message across and engage your audience. Take things up a notch and replace boring bullets with visuals, such as photos and even icons. Here's an example of how you can use icons to add a creative twist to the plain ol' bullet points.

110 Share your slide deck

Downloading your slide deck and presenting in front of an audience is not the only way to use your presentation. Make the most of your slides by sharing your presentation online.

Add interactive elements, such as clickable buttons, links, hover effects, popups, embedded videos and more so your audience can view and engage with your slides on their own.

If you've created your presentation in Visme, you can share your presentation publicly or privately using a link, or embed it anywhere you like.

Start Using These Creative Presentation Ideas

Ready to start creating your own presentation after over 100 pieces of inspiration? Choose your favorite creative presentation ideas and incorporate them into your own presentation.

You can add interactivity, animation, visuals and all kinds of creative elements to your presentations when you design them in Visme's online presentation maker. With our Dynamic Field feature , you can automatically update key information in real-time across all your slides or multiple projects. Customize existing dynamic fields or create new ones and format them to maintain design consistency.

Create a free account with Visme to start building a presentation your audience will love.

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About the Author

Orana is a multi-faceted creative. She is a content writer, artist, and designer. She travels the world with her family and is currently in Istanbul. Find out more about her work at oranavelarde.com

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100+ Creative Presentation Ideas You Can Steal Today

Renderforest Staff

20 Aug 2023

11 min read  

Have you ever struggled with forcing yourself to stay awake during a presentation? Don’t worry, you are not alone. 

In essence, a presentation is nothing but sharing ideas with others. Whether you intrigue and interest your audience or not depends on how interesting the topic is and how well you present it. 

Whether you plan on making a PowerPoint presentation with neatly designed slides or a video presentation with dynamic transitions, you first  need creative presentation ideas. 

That’s why we’ve created a comprehensive list of the most captivating and creative presentation ideas you can put to use. We have separated them into three main categories to make things easier for you.

Let’s dive right in!

Business and Management Presentation Ideas

Education presentation ideas, general presentation ideas.

In business, presenting information and complex ideas in an easy-to-digest manner is crucial. If you already have a presentation idea, you only need to find a presentation template to bring it to life. But if you’re still looking for creative presentation ideas, read the list we’ve prepared below.

• Corporate Presentation : Have you ever wondered what the best way is to build and communicate your company’s identity? Corporate presentations are great for promoting your brand, services, and products by simply talking about them.
• Company Profiling : Introduce your team. Who are you? What are you passionate about? Your audience is interested to know more about your team members.
• Company Story : What can strengthen the ties between you and your audience better than a compelling success story told through creative presentations?

Use Template

• Product Promos : Create a buzz around your new product with an engaging promo presentation.
• Sales Pitch : Close that sale you’ve worked so hard for with a well-built sales presentation.
• Office Tour : Present the cool interior design of your office. Show your favorite spots where you like to wind down with a cup of coffee or, hey, maybe a beer.
• Product Features : Does your product have interesting features that not everyone knows about? Make a detailed presentation on all the hidden features of your product. Use images and videos to explain how everything functions.
• Fundamental Principles : Choose a general topic in Business and Management and discuss it through your creative presentation. Here’s an idea: “Fundamental Principles of Strategic Planning.” Could be a great prompt to start with, right?
• Best Strategies: Be it marketing, financial, or any other type of strategy, an overview of the best strategies can make for informative and useful presentation content.
• Industry Introduction : Make a presentation about the industry your business operates. Use strong visuals to complement your content and introduce your industry in the best light possible.
• Comparing Tactics : Make a presentation reflecting on and comparing various tactics.
• Calculated Risks : We are all worried about possible risks when taking action. Risks are unavoidable. It’s a great idea to prepare your audience for the risks before they come across them. There is a multitude of ways to do it through creative presentations. Cover “Risks in Investing,” “Risks Associated With Trading Derivatives,” and so forth.
• Advantages and Disadvantages : One never comes without the other. Introduce your team to the pros and cons of your plans, actions, and anything else you consider important.

USE TEMPLATE

• Debates : Make your presentation even more interactive by involving the audience in debates. Plus, debates and discussions are always helpful in establishing a better understanding of a topic.
• SWOT Analysis : You can never go wrong with a proper analysis of business strategies, marketing plans, and more. So consider making an analysis presentation to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of a specific business strategy.
• Portfolio Presentation : Showcase your best projects and works. Why should anyone be interested in you if they haven’t seen your work? Presenting your best projects in a compelling and attractive format will increase your reputation quickly.
• Current Trends : What are the current trends in business and management.  Always keep an eye on them to stay one step ahead of your competitors.
• Challenges : Who doesn’t agree that challenges are tough? Making a creative presentation on challenges and the ways that you have overcome them will help you keep track of your development and also prepare for the future.
• Reporting Progress : Why don’t you make weekly or monthly presentations on your performance, such as financial statements? Measuring and reporting your performance will smooth your path toward your goals.
• Customer Testimonials : Present your customers’ responses and feedback on your product/service to see what steps you need to take to improve your offerings.
• Profiles of Successful People : Encourage your team by introducing them to the experiences and achievements of successful people.
• Tips and Tricks : If you want to cheer your audience up, provide them with hacks and tricks to deal with certain issues. This can include technical tricks and some tips on teamwork, for example.

• Rules and Regulations : What are some of the rules that your company never breaks? Discuss the rules and regulations that apply to your team.
• Top Criteria : Selecting a new quality management system is not easy, is it? Introducing the top criteria for a specific task can be a great presentation topic. How about making a presentation on “Top Criteria for Selecting a New Quality Management System?”
• Product Development Process : Sometimes, we are interested to see how a product was created. Showcase the development process of your product through a presentation.
• Most Effective Ways : It’s always good to be introduced not only to what to do but also to how to do it. So make a presentation on the best ways of conducting surveys, research, or anything else.

• Success Factors : This is something all of us are interested in. Introduce the success factors in different areas such as managing successful teams or product design tips.
• Cause and Effect : This simple and informative presentation structure will be ideal to dive deeper into the intricate world of cause and effect.
• Past vs. Present vs. Future : Growth will become more visible and obvious once you start comparing what you had before to what you have now. This can turn into a great summary of the major changes within a certain time period.
• Comparisons : Compare different products/services. It’s a good strategy that will help you emphasize the good and the bad sides of a particular thing.
• Positive and Negative Effects : It’s always important to show the two sides of a coin. Consider presenting the positive and negative effects of a certain thing. For example, the positive and negative effects of social media is a debated topic nowadays. Pick your topic and reveal it from both perspectives.
• Problem-Solution Presentation : Identify a relevant problem. A great presentation format would be to introduce not only the complicated problem but its solution as well.
• Training : Your presentation can become a training session. You can organize a theoretical part and add a practical portion too, like quizzes and discussions.
• Graphs and Charts : One of the best ways to introduce your info is through statistical graphs and charts, combining survey and observational data. You can use visual animated scenes and infographics.

• Popular Misconceptions : People are often mistakenly drawn from one end to another due to inaccurate data. Help your audience avoid misunderstandings about entrepreneurs, investors, and business management in general. Your presentation will guide them in the right direction, drawing the line between truth and lie.
• Introduction to Business Topics : No matter the topic, it’s always useful to present basic ideas. Keep it short and clear. This can include an introduction to income statements, or any other important business concept.
• Stages of a Process : Don’t leave your audience confused with theory but let them see the practical stages of how things are accomplished. (e.g., “The Stages of User Journey”)

• Management : How do you efficiently manage a business? You can prepare dozens of presentations on management: be it resources, public relations, time, money, or anything else.
• Competitor Analysis : Know your enemy! You’ve probably heard the famous saying, haven’t you? Track down your competitors and share the info with your team.
• Appreciation : This presentation should be devoted to the team members who have done an exceptional job.
• Unknown Facts : Pick a topic and reveal facts that are unknown to most people. What are some of the interesting and truthful facts that they don’t know about branding?

• Restrictions : No matter what business you have, restrictions are guaranteed. Make a presentation on the restrictions and limitations you face. (e.g. “Restrictions in Integrated Web Design”)
• Big Breakthroughs : Want to feel proud of yourself and your team? Here is how you can do it: Reveal some cases when you have successfully overcome the toughest of obstacles and learned lessons as a result. Talk about the long path you have been on with your company.
• Partners and Investors : Tell about your partners. Give info about investors. Cooperation is way more successful when team members are acquainted with the investors. Your presentation can have a strong influence on the performance of your team.
• Business Ethics : As a significant part of business, it’s important to understand ethics. How about “Ethics in Marketing Research?” There are countless ethical issues.
• Theories : Gather some of the most important theories that you find useful and prepare a good presentation with examples and visuals.
• Product/Service Improvement : A briefing like this might include a recap of your product or service or a discussion of any possible improvement before the product is ready for the market.
• The Rise and Fall of Brands : Don’t avoid talking about the failures and successes of other brands. Doing so can help you with your own journey.
• Upcoming or Recent Events : Talk about exciting events that you are planning to organize or already have. For upcoming events, you can make a welcoming presentation, announcing the date and venue. Check out an example below:

• Inspiration : Get ready to give a professional and motivational talk to inspire your audience to take action towards targeted goals.
• Explain Business Concepts : How does a certain idea or concept work? Give a specific and clear presentation on the concepts that not everyone is familiar with. How does a franchise work? How do partnerships work?
• QA Presentation : Assure that your audience knows that your product/service is of the best quality.
• Announcements : Is there a cool and intriguing event that’s coming? Give an announcement through your presentation. It can be short and clear, covering all the key points.
• Discovery, Invention, Innovation : Share the most interesting discoveries and recent innovations in the business world.
• How-to Presentations : If you are skilled at something, then you can make a presentation to guide others. Present a step-by-step guide for a specific task, such as conducting surveys or managing conflicts.

Whether it’s a school project or an online class presentation, you need to make it attractive and engaging. So, choose the topic wisely. Below are some education presentation ideas you can use for your next project.

• Academic Presentation : If you want to educate and share info, then academic presentations with supporting visuals, presentation slides, and videos are what you need.
• Explainer : Explainers are a powerful way of sharing essential information. You can make short and engaging  explainer videos  to include in your presentations.

• Pros and Cons : Make a presentation explaining both pros and cons of a certain issue at stake.
• Best Methods : Talk about various effective methods, be it methods of teaching, learning, or preparing for an exam.
• Dos and Don’ts of Making Presentations : You can make a whole presentation just talking about presentation best practices . Separate what’s recommended and what’s not and then present those to your audience in a simple way.
• Guidelines : Present the most effective guidelines for teaching, studying, and co-working.
• Personal Experience : What can be more helpful for an audience than to learn from someone’s real-life experience? Make a presentation on your personal experience and share your most valuable insights.
• Quiz-Presentation : Test your students. Make a presentation quizzing their knowledge and competence in a certain field. Why presentation? Because it’s both visually and technically effective.
• Research : An attractive slideshow is one of the best ways to present your research. Try working on a visual and multimedia presentation to showcase the whole potential of your research in a visually appealing format.
• Problem-Solving : Decide on an issue and prepare a set of solutions to offer. Don’t leave any questions uncovered. If a problem exists, so does its solution.
• Project Proposal : How are you planning to get approval for your projects if you don’t propose the main idea and expected outcomes in a professional way? Give your project a classy presentation with this Minimal Titles Pack . 

• Listing Presentation : Lists always work when you have big sorted data to introduce to your audience.
• Controversial Topics : Attract your audience’s attention and keep them engaged with a controversial slide deck. Bring forward debatable issues such as euthanasia, AI, and more. Let your audience join you or argue against you.
• Textbook Presentation : Introduce a textbook in a creative way through interesting visuals and supporting multimedia.
• Curriculum : What if presentations are the best way of getting your audience acquainted with a curriculum. Alternatively, you can make your next presentation about how to develop a well-organized curriculum.
• Dissertation : Prepare a presentation for your dissertation. But keep in mind that it has to be accompanied by proper supportive media.
• Predictions Presentation : What will happen next? It’s fun to predict, isn’t it?
• Instructions : Do you like giving instructions? Sometimes that’s what you need to do. Structure your presentation in a how-to format, giving instructions for certain actions, like “How to Work Out the Best Schedule?”
• Precautions : Prepare your audience for the worst and hope for the best. Make a presentation on a set of warnings.
• Case Studies : What’s the best way of demonstrating your case study? A multimedia presentation can be the answer.
• Tricks and Hacks : Tips and tricks are always appreciated by your audience. Create an informative presentation on studying tips, time management tips, or anything else you might find interesting.
• Success Stories : We are always eager to hear success stories. Why? Because they motivate us to move forward with hope for what’s to come. So, make a presentation, telling success stories to motivate teachers, learners, and everyone else.
• Fact or Fiction : Draw a line between truth and lie, fact and fiction. Bust some myths about a topic of your choice to educate your listeners.
• Data Analysis : Is a presentation the right place to start with data analysis? Not really. But once you have analyzed your data, showcase it in your presentation, demonstrating your analysis through charts and graphs.
• Techniques : What kind of techniques can you cover? How about “Techniques for Memory Improvement,” or “ Teaching Techniques ?” You can make up a number of similar topics to share.
• Recent Advancements : Share the recent advancement in the field of education. What are some of the newest teaching methods? What advanced methods do we need to implement to make the learning process more effective?
• Steps in the Process : What are the best steps to take towards certain goals? Each path is different and thus requires different steps.
• Interesting Facts : Gather a set of creative ideas and facts to cover in your presentations.

Recommended Reading

• 35+ Best Presentation Software: Ultimate List 2023
• The Art of Consulting Presentations
• Timeline Presentations: Extensive Guide to Creating Visual Narratives

Here we have random presentation ideas that can inspire you. Make your next presentation a blast by introducing a new creative topic through a unique presentation design.

• Introduction to a Topic : Often, we don’t really want to go deep into complex concepts but just need a short and clear intro to get a grasp of them. Make a presentation on the basics of the most intriguing and puzzling themes.
• Ethics of a Certain Field : There are a number of important fields that need to be discussed in terms of ethics. For example, ethics in journalism is a very trendy and essential topic to discuss nowadays.
• The Future : We are always interested in the future, aren’t we? We make plans for it. We carry hopes for it. Let’s make a compelling presentation that discusses the future of various fields, such as AI or the Internet.
• Benefits : What are the benefits of a bilingual brain? Try to cover the benefits of a number of issues, such as digital transformation, or a healthy diet.
• Risks : Discuss the risks of taking certain steps. When we know the risks we can circumvent them, can’t we?
• Evolution : How do things evolve? It’s super important to present the ways that certain things unfold and change. How did artificial intelligence grow and evolve to such degrees?
• Components: Pick some topics to discuss the components of. How about making a presentation on “Components of Web Applications?” Pretty interesting, isn’t it?
• Alternatives : We always feel a need for alternatives. Make a presentation offering alternatives for different tools and objects. One example could be a presentation covering “The Best Free Alternatives to Microsoft Office.”
• Memoir : Tell the stories of influential people or your own in a value-packed presentation.
• Video Games : You can reveal the pros and cons of a game or just talk about the trendiest games as of now. You could also reveal statistics about the influence they have on gamers.
• Music Album Presentation : Present a music album, composers, and musicians. You can talk about their tours, also including videos and audio files of the tracks.
• Reviews and Reports : Do a book or a film review. Present your criticism and reflections on a book or movie of interest.

• Scientific Presentation : What are the recent scientific discoveries? Not all people are aware, right? Bring forward some intriguing info about the latest discoveries.
• Job Interview Presentation : Impress your potential employers with a structured and clean job interview presentation.
• Important Skills : What are the top skills needed in your industry? Create your list and share it.
• Requirements and Qualifications : What are some requirements for a specific job position or a field in general? Share your experience and knowledge on this topic.
• “Best of ” Compilation : Gather a list of the best movies, games, books, tools, meals, and anything else, really.
• News : Sometimes, people don’t care to sit and listen to an hour-long news report. So, how about making a brief and informative summary of the most noteworthy news?
• Experiments : Make a scientific or social experiment and reveal your results; they might be different from what you expected.
• Life Story : Use presentation slides to tell about the life of a famous or personal story of an influential person. Use images, videos, and any other visual elements to make your story more vivid.

Making a compelling presentation doesn’t purely depend on presentation software , even though that’s also very important. To make an impactful presentation, one has to first figure out how to approach the topic and decide on the presentation design. 

We hope you found your topic on the list of creative presentation ideas presented above. Best of luck with creating presentations!

Ready to create your video presentation? Find hundreds of slideshow video template options, browse stock images to find a background image, use hand-drawn illustrations, add your color palette, customize your entire presentation the way you want, and share your creative presentation idea in an interesting way. Click the button to get started:

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120 Presentation Topic Ideas Help You Hook Your Audience

Updated: January 15, 2024

Published: August 09, 2023

Cooking is easy. The puzzle is figuring out what to eat. As soon as you know that, you can get started. The same holds for presentations. The sooner you can whip up a good, informative, and catchy topic, the easier the rest of the process becomes.

Pick a good topic that resonates with you and your audience to set a strong foundation. But select the wrong topic, and it becomes difficult to connect with your audience, find mutual interests, or hold their attention.

So, let’s learn how to develop thought-provoking and relevant topics for your presentations. You’ll also find some best practices to make your presentation memorable.

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Table of Contents

How to Choose a Great Presentation Topic in 5 Steps

120 presentation topic ideas, 5 presentation tips.

4. Choose an appropriate presentation style.

There are many ways to present a topic. Your personality, the topic at hand, and your audience’s personas will help you determine which style would best fit you and your audience.

Select a presentation style that will communicate the main idea clearly and have a lasting impact on your audience.

For instance, explore a freeform style presenter by Sir Ken Robinson.

5. Engage with your audience.

Work on your presentation skills to make a strong connection with your audience, get through to them and leave a mark.

Think of the presenter as the link between the topic and the audience. A strong or a weak presenter can make a difference between a presentation being a thriving success or a boring failure.

Hone your skills by engaging and interacting with your audience. Make them feel like a part of the presentation and not just spectators. 70% of marketers have found presentations with interactive content to be more effective than those without.

Here are a few ways you can make your presentation interactive:

• Start your speech with uncommon questions to your audience. Involve them from the get-go, like ask to raise their hands if X.
• Make eye contact to build credibility and show confidence. Don’t stare at your slides or notes. Smile occasionally and talk to the audience directly.
• Have an active and confident body language. Don’t stand in the same place the entire time. Move around the stage.
• Don’t be monotonous. Speak as you would to a colleague — with enthusiasm.
• Ask close-ended questions in between to keep the audience engaged without losing time. Address them using their names to keep things interesting.
• Share personal experiences and stories that your audience will find fascinating and relatable.
• Practice thoroughly before you present so you’re fluent with the material and delivery.
• Energy and excitement can be quite contagious. Make sure you exude enough to spread some to your audience.

Feeling Inspired Yet?

Now you have all the right ingredients for choosing amazing topics and a hundred ideas to drive inspiration from. So, go ahead and start cooking presentations that will blow your audience away.

Don’t forget to choose a super-relevant topic and add meaty information. Do it with excitement to make it enjoyable for you and your audience. Best of luck!

Don't forget to share this post!

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Blog Data Visualization 120+ Presentation Ideas, Topics & Example

120+ Presentation Ideas, Topics & Example

Written by: Ryan McCready May 08, 2023

Did you know that 46% of people can’t sit through a presentation without losing focus? 

That’s why I wanted to learn how to make a presentation that will captivate an audience. After looking at hundreds of different authors, topics and designs, I’ve assembled over 100 presentation ideas and tips on how to design a compelling presentation for:

• Social media
• Online courses
• Pitch decks
• Lead generation

In this blog, you’ll find 120+ presentation ideas, design tips and examples to help you create an awesome presentations slide deck for your next presentation.

To start off, here’s a video on the 10 essential presentation design tips to make sure that your presentations don’t fall under the YAWN category.

1. Use a minimalist presentation theme

CREATE THIS PRESENTATION TEMPLATE

The best designs can also be some of the simplest you see. In the Airbnb pitch deck below, they use a minimalist color scheme and font selection.

A minimalist design is sleek, organized and places the most important thing in focus: your information. There are no distracting stock images, icons, or content. Everything on this unique presentation feels like it belongs and works together perfectly. 

Learn how to customize this template:

2. Use a consistent design motif throughout your presentation

Here’s a go-to tip to for a cohesive presentation design: use a design motif. The motif could be a recurring shape (like circles, lines or arrows) or symbol (like a leaf for “growth” or a mountain for “goals”). For more ideas, check out our guide to common symbols and meanings used in design .

For example, this  presentation template uses circles as a design motif. The same circle icon is used in three different colors to add a bubbly touch to the design. The team photos are also incorporated using circle frames:

3. Use an eye-catching presentation background image

Like with any type of design work, you should want to catch the eye of your audience. In a presentation, this should be done from the beginning with a  compelling background image or a color gradient.

In this presentation template, the creators were able to do just that with a landscape photo. When a presentation like this is seen on social media, during a webinar or in person, your audience will definitely listen up.

4. Visualize your points with icons

Icons are the perfect visuals to include in presentations. They’re compact and can convey a concept to your audience at a glance. You can even combine multiple icons to create custom illustrations for your slides. 

Use the Icon Search in Venngage to find illustrated and flat icons:

5. Use a black & white color scheme for a corporate presentation design

In the presentation below there are only two colors used: black and white. Now, you might be worried that only using two colors is boring, but it all comes down to balance.

Playing off the ideas of classic minimalism, the designer made this presentation look sleek and professional. And now your content can be the main attraction of your presentation as well!

6. Repurpose your slide deck into an infographic 

Different types of presentations serve different purposes and sometimes it helps to work smarter, not harder when you are creating a unique presentation. In fact, the spacing, layout, and style used in this presentation makes it easy to repurpose the same images into an infographic.

This allows you to create two unique pieces of content from one idea!  Which is exactly what  Officevibe did .

Join Venngage’s CEO, Eugene Woo, to learn how you can design impactful infographics that will help maintain trust, increase productivity and inspire action in your team.

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7. Break your genre mold for a fun presentation idea

When I first clicked on this creative presentation from SEMrush, I was not expecting to be transported into a comic book. I’m glad I clicked because it may be the most unique slide deck I have ever seen. Going this extreme with your presentation ideas may seem a bit risky, but to be able to break the mold in this age of cookie-cutter presentations is worth it.

To leave a lasting impression on your audience, consider transforming your slides into an interactive presentation. Here are 15  interactive presentation ideas  to enhance interactivity and engagement.

8. Make your presentation cover slide count

As I was scrolling through all of the presentations, this one made me stop in my tracks. It could be that I have a life-long love of Star Wars, or it could be that their presentation cover slide was designed to do just that: grab your attention. That’s why you should not stick with a boring, text-only title slide. Don’t be afraid to use icons and illustrations to make a statement.

9.  Alternate slide layouts to keep your presentation engaging

Keeping your audience engaged throughout an entire presentation is hard, even if you have been working on your presentation skills . No one wants to look at slides that look exactly the same for an hour. But on the other hand, you can’t create a unique masterpiece for each slide.

That’s why I’m very impressed with what the designers did in the presentation example above. They use a consistent visual theme on each slide, but alternate between vertical and horizontal orientations.

The swapping of orientations will show people that the presentation is progressing nicely. It can help you make a strong, almost physical, distinction between ideas, sections or topics.  

10. Make your audience laugh, or at least chuckle

Sometimes you need to not take your business presentations too seriously. Not sure what I mean? Go check out slide number 10 on this slide deck below.

If you did not actually laugh out loud, then I don’t know what to tell you. Small illustrated embellishments can be very powerful because they evoke an emotional response and to gain your audience’s trust.

Did you know 70% of employees think that giving a good presentation is an essential workplace skill? Check out the top qualities of awesome presentations and learn all about how to make a good presentation to help you nail that captivating delivery.

11. Supplement your presentation with printed materials

Printed takeaways (such as brochures and business cards ) give audience members a chance to take home the most important elements of your presentation in a format they can easily access without using a computer. Make sure you brand these materials in a way that’s visually consistent with your slide deck, with the same color scheme, icons, and other iconic features; otherwise, your recipients will just end up scratching their heads.

If you’re giving people multiple materials, try packaging them all into one convenient presentation folder. There are over 100 styles with a wide range of custom options, so feel free to get creative and make your folder stand out. Sometimes a unique die cut or an unusual stock is all you need to make something truly memorable. Here are some brochure templates to get you started.

12. Only use one chart or graphic per slide 

Having too much information on a slide is the easiest way to lose the focus of your audience. This is especially common when people are using graphs, charts or tables .

In this creative slide deck, the author made sure to only include one focal point per slide, and I applaud them for it. I know this may sound like a simple presentation tip, but I have seen many people lose their audience because the slides are too complex.

13. Keep your employee engagement presentations light   

Sometimes you need to get away from stuffy, professional presentation ideas to capture your audience’s attention. In this case, Officevibe used some very colorful and playful illustrations to stand out from the crowd.

I mean, who could not love the plant with a face on slide number 9? And if you want to see some more icons and illustrations like this, be sure to check out our article on how to tell a story with icons.

14.  Feature a map when talking about locations

Including a map in your creative presentations is a fantastic idea! Not only do they make an interesting focal point for your slide layout, they also make location-based information easier to understand.

This cool presentation example by our pro designers at Venngage uses maps to visualize information. This map both dominates the screen, and also displays all the locations being covered.

15. Use a font that is large and in charge 

If you are presenting to a small group or a packed stadium, make sure your audience can see your text! Use a large and in charge font that can be read from even the nosebleed seats. 

Honestly, you really never know where your unique presentation will be seen. It could be seen in a conference room or conference hall, and everything in between. Be ready to present almost anywhere with a bold and easy to read font.

16. Use pop culture references to build a fun presentation 

Using a meme or pop culture reference is another way that you can jive with your audience. It can be used to quickly get a point across without saying a word or create a moment that you can connect with the room. For example in this presentation, they used Napoleon Dynamite to give the audience feelings of nostalgia.

17. Use more than one font weight on your presentation cover slide

Just like you would never use one font on an infographic, you should never use just one font on your presentation (for more tips, read our guide on how to choose fonts ). In this presentation example from HubSpot, they use a bunch of different font weights to add emphasis to key words and ideas.

As you can see, they use a bold font on the presentation cover to bring attention to Steve Jobs name. This makes it easy for the audience to know what your presentation is going to be about from the beginning as well. 

18. Use a color theme for each idea 

Color is another extremely powerful nonverbal tool that you can use to guide your audience. By using a different color for each section of your creative presentation, Dell is able to clearly indicate when they are switching points or ideas.  Going from green to orange, and even red almost effortlessly.

This is a great way to design a list, guide, or a  how-to presentation as well. And each color can be assigned to a different step or number with ease. 

Need help picking the perfect color palette? Start here !

19. Use illustrations instead of pictures 

An easy way to keep your design consistent throughout your unique presentation is to use illustrations like in this slide deck by Domo.

They used illustrations instead of pictures to show off their subject on slide numbers 4-10 and it looks fantastic. This will ensure that the audience focuses on the content, instead of just the photo they could have used.

It also helps that illustrations are a top design trend for 2020 .

20. Use contrasting colors to compare two perspectives or sides of an argument 

Contrasting colors can be used to quickly show each side of topic or an argument. For example in this presentation, they use this trick to show the difference between their company and the competition.

They use color very effectively in this example to show their company is better, in a nonverbal way. With a lighter color and illustrated icons, the company is able to position them as the better choice. All without saying a word.  

Now if they would have used similar colors, or a single color the effect wouldn’t have been as strong or noticeable.

21. Include your own personal interests

This example is one of the most interesting and cool presentations I have seen in awhile, so I suggest checking out the entire thing. The creator inserts a bunch of his personal interests into the slide to make his presentation about education fun and relatable. And they even use a Super Mario Bros inspired presentation cover, so you know it has to be fantastic! 

22. Try to stick to groups of three 

How many major ideas should be present on your presentation aid? Never break your  presentation layout down into anything more than thirds. This means there should be at most three columns, three icons, three ideas and so on.  A great example of this idea starts on slide number 9 in this slide deck and continues throughout the rest of the presentation.

 Here is a great three columned slide template to get started with.

23. Add a timeline to help visualize ideas 

One of the best ways to visualize a complex process or historical event is to use a timeline presentation. A list of all the steps or events is just not going to cut it in a professional setting. You need to find an engaging way to visualize the information.

Take the presentation example above, where they outline the rise and fall of Athens in a visually stimulating way.

24. Label your graphs & charts 

If the people at Pollen VC had not added those annotations to the graphs on slide number 5, I would have definitely not known what to make of that graph.

But when you combine the visuals on a graph with descriptive text, the graph is able to paint a picture for your audience. So make your graphs easy to understand by annotating them (this is a chart design best practice ).

Create a free graph right here, right now!

25. White font over pictures just works 

There is a reason that you see so many quotes or sayings in a white font that are then overlaid on an image. That it is because it just works in so many situations and the text is very easy to read on any image.

If you do not believe me, look at the slide deck example above where they use a white font with a few different fonts and about 100 images. Plus the presentation template is chocked full of other tips on how to create a winning slideshow.

26. Color code your points across the whole presentation 

Here is another example of a presentation that uses color to keep their points organized. In this case, they use 10 different pastel colors to match the 10 different tips for employee engagement.

Check out our guide for how to pick the best colors for your visuals .

27.  Use a simple flow chart to break down a process

If you’re a fan of the movie Step Brothers , you may have heard of Prestige Worldwide before. In this fun presentation example they are back to sell you on their business model and growth plans.

This time, the presentation will be effective because it actually talks about what the business does.

Instead of making a music video, they use a helpful flowchart template to explain their business model. I would recommend following their lead and creating a dynamic flow chart to visually break down any process.  Try making your own flowchart  with Venngage.

28. Make your slide deck mobile friendly 

As more people move to mobile as their main device each year, making your presentations mobile-friendly is becoming increasingly important. This means that the text is large and there aren’t too many small details, so everything can scale down. Just like in this presentation example from the creators at Globoforce.

29. Don’t be afraid to include too many examples 

If you are presenting a complex idea to a group, especially a large audience, I would recommend having a ton of good examples. Now, I would try not to overdo it, but having too many it is better than having too few.

In this creative presentation, the people at With Company spend about 20 slides just giving great examples of prototyping. It doesn’t feel too repetitive because they all are useful and informative examples.

30.  Use consistent visual styles for an elegant presentation design

I have already written extensively about using icons in all of your design projects . I haven’t talked as much about matching icons to your presentation template.

But that’s just as important, especially if you want to create a professional presentation for your audience.

As you can see in the example above, the designer used minimalist icons that fit the slide designs. All of the other graphics, charts and visual elements fit together nicely as well.

Plus the icons don’t distract from the content, which could ruin a stellar presentation.

31. Use a consistent presentation layout 

In this example from Bannersnack, they use a consistent layout on each of their slides to help with the flow by using the same margins and text layout.

It’s a solid presentation example because they help the user know where to look immediately. It may seem like they are playing it safe, but anything that can speed up the time it takes for a user to read the content of the slides, the better.

32. Use loud colors as much as possible 

This is one of my favorite presentations because of the highlighter yellow they chose to use as their main color. It is actually very similar to one that I saw presented live a few years ago and I have used this same approach in a few presentations ideas of my own.

33. Pull your design motif from your content 

If you are talking about an interesting topic, why not use the topic as the main design motif in your creative slide deck? For example, in this presentation about sketchbooks, the creator uses a sketchy, handwritten motif. It is something simple that helps the audience connect with the topic. Plus, it allows you to include a ton of great examples.

34. Utilize a call & answer cadence

In this SlideShare about how to create a presentation, Peter Zvirinsky uses a two-step process to present a point. First, he presents the header presentation tip in a speech bubble. Then he shows a supporting point in a responding speech bubble. This gives the presentation a conversational flow.

35. Repurpose ebook content into a creative presentation

This slide deck was adapted perfectly from a Seth Godin ebook into the presentation example you see above. In the slide deck, they take a piece of content that would usually take a while to read and cut it down to a few minutes. Just remember to include only the most important ideas, and try to present them in a fresh way.

36. Add a timed outline to your presentation

We have already covered how important it is to have a table of contents in your slides but this takes it a bit further. On the second slide of the presentation below, the creator added how long each of the slides should take.

This is great because it helps your audience know the pace the presentation will take and will help keep them engaged. It also will help them identify the most important and in-depth parts of the presentation from the beginning.

37. Use a “next steps” slide to direct your audience

One of the worst things you can do as a presenter is to leave your audience without any idea of what to do next. A presentation should never just end because you ran out of slides.

Instead, use a conclusion or “next steps” slide like in the example above to finish your presentation. Sum up some of your main points, tell your audience where they can get more information, and push them to take action.

38. Go a bit crazy with the design 

Sometimes you need to throw convention to the wind to create something unforgettable. This presentation from Velocity Partners does just that, and I think it is one of my favorite ones from this entire roundup.

They use unconventional typography, quirky icons, and unusual presentation layout to make each slide surprising.

39. Make your slide deck easy to share 

If you are looking to get a lot of eyes on your presentation I would make sure people will want to share it on social media. How do you do that? By presenting new and interesting value. This means your content needs to answer a common question and your design needs to be clutter-free. For example, look at this very social media-friendly. The slides are simple and answer questions directly.

40.  Use shapes to integrate your photos into the slides

Want to include a bunch of images in your presentation? I say do it!

Now most of the time you would add a raw image directly to your slide. However, if you want to present images in a professional way I would recommend using an image frame .

Like in the example above, you can use these frame to create a collage of images almost instantly. Or provide a similar visual theme to all of your slides.  

Overall, I believe it’s a great way to add a new visual component to your presentation.

41. Hijack someone’s influence in your marketing slides

If you are stuck in the brainstorming phase of your presentation, focusing on a brand or influencer is a great place to start. It could be a case study, a collection of ideas or just some quotes from the influencer. But what makes it effective is that the audience knows the influencer and trusts them. And you are able to hijack their awareness or influence.

42. Put y our logo on every slide 

Whether you have a brand as powerful as Moz, or you are just getting started, you should always have your logo on each slide. You really never know where a presentation is going to end up–or what parts of it will! In this presentation template, Moz does a good job of including their branding and such to get others interested in Moz Local. Don’t have a logo yet? Our logo design tips will help you create a logo that’s iconic and will stand the test of time.

43. Lead your audience to it 

In this example, the creator uses something very similar to the call and answer approach I mentioned above, but with a little twist. Instead of just throwing all the info up at once, they use three slides to build to a particular point and include a subtle call to action in the third slide.

44. Make visuals the focal point of your presentation slides

If you haven’t noticed, illustrated icons are having a revival in 2020 and beyond. This is likely because minimalist icons dominated the design world for the past decade. And now people want something new.

Brands also like using illustrated icons because they are seen as genuine and fun.

And because they are so eye-catching you can use them as focal points in your presentation slides. Just like they did in the creative presentation example above.

Picking the perfect icon is tough, learn how you can use infographic icons like a pro.

45. Use a quirky presentation theme 

In this slide deck, the authors show you how to become an Animation Ninja…and they use ninja graphics and icons extensively. This caught my eye immediately because of the amount of work that I knew was behind this. It takes a lot of time and effort to line all of the content and graphic up to create a cohesive theme, but the payoff can be massively worth it.

46. Use a consistent background image 

I am a big fan of the way that Aleyda Solís uses only a single presentation background image throughout her presentation.

By using this tactic the audience is able to focus on what is happening in the foreground. Plus it gives the whole presentation a different feel than all the other ones I have looked at.

47. Summarize your points at the end

It’s a good idea to summarize your points before you end your presentation , especially if you’ve covered a lot of information. In this presentation example, Deanta summarizes exactly what they do on slide numbers 16-18. They also provide their contact information in case their audience has any more questions. I think that every presentation should use this same approach, especially the ones you are presenting outside of your company.

48. Use a minimalist presentation template

This slide deck from QuickBooks uses a minimalist theme to help the audience focus on what is important, the content.

There were only five colors used in the entire presentation and the graphics were simple line drawings. This made it easy to read and very pleasing to the eyes.

49. Split your slides length-wise 

Here is a simple template you can use to separate your headers, or main points, from your body text in a presentation.

Instead of using a solid presentation background, split the slide in half like Sequoia did in their slide deck. They used their brand color for the title portion and a neutral white for the supporting content.

Use this company report template to create a very similar slide right now!

50.  Embrace a bold color scheme throughout your presentation

My favorite part of the creative presentation example above is the use of complementary colors in each slide. As you can see, not one of the slides use the same color scheme but they all feel related connected.

This approach can be used to make your presentation visually unique, without abandoning a cohesive theme or idea.

51. Put text in the top left corner 

English speakers will instinctively try to read text from a top to bottom, left to right orientation. I would recommend using a left alignment for your text and adding additional things from top to bottom, just like Aaron Irizarry did in this presentation layout.

52. Break up your tables 

A plain table with a white background with black or gray lines are difficult to read on a computer screen, so why would you create one for viewing on a large presentation screen? You shouldn’t!

Instead, follow Intuit’s lead and break up the rows with a bit of color. This applies to data visualization in general , but think it is even more important when it comes to presentations.

53.  Present connected information in a visually similar way

In this startup pitch presentation example, they have a ton of information to get through. But they present their most important slides, the problem and solution, in a visually similar way.

By using a similar layout on each slide, the audience will be able to quickly make a connection. If you want to present two connected pieces of information, use this tactic.

From the font to the layout, it’s all basically the same. The main message they’re trying to impart is a lot more impactful to the reader.

If they would have used two wildly different presentation layouts, the message may have been lost.

54. Roundup expert tips into one presentation 

If you are looking for useful insights into the topic of your presentation, talk to some influencers in your niche. These are called “expert roundups” in the content marketing world and they are incredibly shareable.

Plus, they are pretty easy to create and have a great shelf life. In the example above, we talked to a gaggle of marketing experts about what makes a SlideShare great.

55. Use bold & brash colors throughout 

B old colors usually make your presentation template a lot easier to read and remember. Like at this slide deck made by our talented designers, which doesn’t shy away from bright, bold colors.

Want to pick a perfect color palette for your presentation? Read this blog on the do’s and don’ts of infographic color selection .

56. Make your graphs easy to read & interpret 

It should not require a Master’s degree in statistics to understand the graphs that someone uses in a presentation. Instead, the axis should be easy to read, the colors should enforce the point, and the data should be clearly plotted.

For example, in this presentation on slide numbers 14 and 25, the graphs nail all of those tips perfectly.

57. Condense your presentation into a memorable line 

If you can, try condensing your information into a simple one-liner to help the message stick with your audience. In slide number 36 of this presentation, Mika Aldaba does just that and shows that “Facts + Feelings = Data Storytelling.”

He does this again a few times throughout the presentation with other memorable one-liners.

58.  Bring attention to important figures with colorful icons

If you’re including a figure or number on your slides, I’m guessing you want the audience to actually see it.

That’s why I would recommend using an icon or graphic to highlight that figure. Maybe use a color or icon that isn’t used anywhere else in the presentation to make sure it really jumps off the screen.

In the presentation example above, all that’s used is a simple circle to make each figure a focal point. It’s really that easy, but many people leave it out of their presentations.

59. Anchor Your Text With Icons 

Having your text or content floating out in the white space of your presentation is not a good look.

Instead, you should use anchor icons to give the text something to hold onto and draw the audience’s eye. If you need some examples of good anchor icons, check out slide numbers 4, 7 and 9 in this presentation example.

60. Add semi-opaque lettering as a presentation background 

A neat way to keep your slide deck organized is to number your slides or points using semi-opaque lettering in the background.

Then, place your slide content on top of the opaque lettering. This helps your audience know that you are on the same point or idea, plus it just looks really good when done right.

61. Use simple or minimalist borders

An easy way to class up your slides is to put a border around your text. Take this presentation from Venngage that uses a couple of different types of borders to make their slides look professional.

Plus it helps keep all of your content contained on the slide!

62. Feature one idea per slide

Nothing is worse than a confusing, cluttered slide. Instead of trying to pack a bunch of ideas into one slide, focus on one core idea on each slide. If you need to flesh the idea out, just make another slide. 

Having trouble condensing your slides? Our presentation design guide can help you summarize your presentations and convey a singular idea with a clear focus.

63. Keep your style consistent with your brand 

You might be tempted to switch up the style of your creative presentations each time, but think again. If your brand is known for fun and lighthearted content, like Officevibe, let that be your style throughout all of the presentations you publish under that brand. This will make your slide decks recognizable and will enforce your brand’s message .

64. Use accent fonts to emphasize important numbers

Some people hate pie charts with a passion, but I think they are perfect for presentations. Especially if you want to bring attention to a figure or percentage point .

In this simple example, the pie charts are used to visualize each figure in an interesting way. Plus the pie charts fit the circular and fun theme of the rest of the presentation very well.

65. Use patterned and textured presentation backgrounds

Source  

Adding some subtle textures, icons or shapes to the presentation background can help make your slides more interesting. This is especially effective when you are only showing one point per slide, because it makes the slide design less sparse.

You can even switch up the colors on your shapes or textures to match the theme of the slide like DesignMantic did in this presentation.

66. Illustrate complex or confusing concepts with icons 

Ideally, you don’t want every slide in your deck to just be text. Instead, switch things up every few slides by using just pictures.

This slide deck by Gluwa uses icons to create little diagrams to illustrate their presentation ideas. Their slides still communicate concepts to the audience, but in a new way.

67. Overlay stock photos with color 

One problem many people encounter when creating a presentation or slide decks are finding photos with a consistent style. An easy way to edit photos to make them consistent is to add a transparent color overlay. In this example, Change Sciences uses a blue overlay on all of their photos. Plus, the color you choose can also help convey a particular mood.

68. Use black and white blocks 

An easy way to make your text pop, particularly on a photo background, is to use white font on a black blog background (and vise-versa). Check out this slide deck by Abhishek Shah, which uses this trick in an effective way.  

Now if you want to become a better leader this year, check out some of our favorite leadership infographics .

69. Use photos with similar filters 

Using a bunch of photos with wildly different filters can be jarring in a business presentation. To maintain a consistent flow, use photos with a similar filter and color saturation.

Take a look at this example from HubSpot across slide numbers 1-6 and you can see what I mean.

70. Visualize your points with diagrams 

Sometimes the best way to get your point across is to throw some diagrams into the presentation mix. But be sure to make is something that the audience can pick up on in three to five seconds tops.

For example, Jan Rezab uses a diagram to illustrate what takes up time in our lives on slide numbers 4, 5, 7 and 9!

71. Get experts to share tips

If you want to provide even more value to your audience than you can offer yourself, why not call in some expert reinforcement? See what experts in your field have to say on the topic of your presentation and include their tips and insights. Plus you can hijack their influence and expand your audience fairly quickly. 

72. Mimic a popular presentation style 

Uber’s pitch deck helped them raise millions of dollars in venture capital eventually leading to the glorious moment when they IPOed this year.

Aside from our sleek design upgrade (hey, we love good design!), this pitch deck template is the exact same one that Uber used to go from Idea to IPO.

And who knows? Maybe you might start the next Uber. But to raise money, you will need to create flawless business pitch decks to impress investors and raise those dollars.

73. Plan your presentation idea ahead of time

I know that minimalist designs are all the rage this year, but there is a big difference between a well-thought-out minimalist design and a lazy design without the finish touches. The same goes for a cluttered design with too many things going on at once.

That’s why it’s worth it to take the time to really plan out your presentation ideas and design concepts. Take this slide deck about storytelling by HighSpark. A quick glance will tell you that they put a lot of thought into designing their slides.

74.  Use tables to compare your brand to the competition in sales presentations/pitch decks

There are a lot of ways to visually compare similar things in this day and age. You could use a comparison infographic , or even a venn diagram!

However, when it comes to presentations I think that the simple table is best. Especially if you are comparing more than two things, like in this presentation example.

With a table, you can clearly lay out all the pros and cons of each idea, brand or topic without it being overwhelming to the audience. Plus, virtually everyone knows how to follow a table, so your information will be easy to consume.  

See more examples of the best pitch decks .

75. Blend icons & content effortlessly

Usually, icons are used as eye-catching objects detectors or anchors for text in a slideshow. But they can be used for so much more than that!

Like in this marketing presentation from Constant Contact they are very large but do not distract from the content.

76. Make your audience want more 

This tactic has been used by everyone since the idea of marketing was invented (or close to that). In this presentation example called “100 Growth Hacks, 100 Days” the creator only shows the audience the first 10 days of it and then uses a call to action at the end of the presentation to encourage them to seek out the rest.

The only risk with these kinds of presentation ideas is if your initial content is not great, you can’t expect your audience to seek out more information.

77. Use memes (for real, though) 

Usually, memes do not have a place in a serious business setting, so maybe don’t use them for formal presentations. But if you’re covering a lighter topic, or if you’re going for a fun presentation that will connect with your audience, don’t be afraid to throw a meme or two into the mix.

The audience immediately knows what you are trying to say when you use a popular meme in your presentation. For example, on slide number 7, the creator uses a meme to show that it will be hard to create great content

78.  Include a slide that introduces your team in pitch decks

In this presentation example, the creators decided to include their team on a slide. I think it’s a great gesture.

Showing your team can help the audience put a face to your brand and make the whole company feel more genuine. So if there is a team that has helped you get where you are today, give them some recognition!

79. Feature a complementary color palette

Even though I am not a formally trained designer, I still understand that proper color usage is the base of any good design. Although not all of the tenets of color theory work great for presentations, complementary colors are always a great pick.

Take a look at the color usage in this business presentation from Gary Vaynerchuk below . The purple and Snapchat yellow, which are complementary colors, look fantastic and the content jumps off the screen.

80. Use a heavy or bold font 

The very back of the room should be able to read your content if you are giving a group presentation. To ensure that your entire audience can read the slides I would not only use a large font, but also use a heavy font.  If you are confused by what I mean by a heavy font take a look at this unique presentation example by Slides That Rock.

81. Do the math for your audience

If you are going to use a graph in your presentation to compare data you should do the match for your audience. Do not make them do the calculations in their head because you will quickly lose their attention. For example, on slide number 5 the people at Sickweather lay out exactly what figures they want the audience to take from the slide.  

82. Use unique colors for different sections

The example below has 145 slides but it does not feel overwhelming or confusing.

That’s because each section has a different corresponding color, which makes it easier to flip through the slide deck and find a particular part.

83.  Give your presentation a catchy title that anyone can remember

What I really love about the presentation example above is that it features a catchy tagline on the second slide–“The 3S Framework.” It’s simple but it works!

This motto helps outline the structure of the presentation, and each slide referring back to it. Plus, the tagline will give the audience something to latch onto and remember from the presentation.

84. White backgrounds are not always bad 

A lot of people think that plain white background is a boring presentation faux pas. So the first thing they do is add color or image, which is not a bad thing at all.

But I also think that when used correctly, like in this example, plain white backgrounds can lead to beautiful presentations.

85. Split the header text from the body text

This idea is very similar to the one-two punch tactic that I talked about above, but it spreads the content over two slides as opposed to a single slide.

Use this design choice when you have fairly easy to follow presentations, like the one below from Steve Young. I know that this is effective because it allows the audience to focus on the main point before he drives it home with the supporting details.

86. Feature circle image frames 

I am a big fan of the design choices that Frank Delmelle uses in this slide deck about content strategy. He uses circles as his main design motif and frames his images in circles as well.

87. Talk directly to your audience 

This slideshow tops out at 70 slides but it’s a breeze to flip through. That’s because the creator, Ian Lurie, decided to present it in the form of a conversation instead of a classic slide deck.

While each slide only has one or two sentences, it flows just like a friendly chat. He also includes the necessary pauses, breaks and other conversational tics that helps make it even more convincing.

88. Illustrated icons are key this year 

Icons add a fun and functional element to your designs. In this presentation by Iryna Nezhynska, they use illustrated icons to make a potentially intimidating topic seem manageable.

89. Highlight key numbers and percentages 

Surprising percentages have the ability to excite and shock an audience. To make the percentages on your slides even more impactful, present them in a different color or font than the rest of the text.

In the presentation example above, Contently uses that exact tactic to bring more attention to key numbers.

90. Use a gradient as your presentation background 

Just like bold color schemes, gradients are a current social media graphic design trend . They may feel retro to some, but I believe they will be around well into the future.  

Gradients are perfect for presentation backgrounds because they are so versatile and eye-catching. I mean, you can literally create a gradient with any colors you can think of! And they look a lot more interesting than a simple flat background.

So embrace the future and use a gradient in your next presentation!

91. Track the steps in a process 

In this example, the creators from O.C. Tanner add a very interesting feature to their slides, starting on slide number 6. If you take a look at this business presentation template, you will see that they number the steps in a process and track which step they’re on at the bottom of the slides.

92. Use mind blowing font pairings 

The creator of this slide deck uses at least 10 different types of fonts. And it looks fantastic because they know that one font choice is boring. But this does not mean that you should use a bunch of random fonts–pick font pairs that play well together and keep your font choices for different types of information consistent throughout the presentation.

93. Make your ideas as obvious as possible 

Your audience shouldn’t be guessing at what you mean. That is why I think that this presentation example from In a Rocket is so powerful because they make the information easy to digest.

Learning to code can be challenging, but they break the information down with simple diagrams and clear examples. Heck, I have not touched CSS in a few years and I could still follow what they were instructing.

94. Use images that will actually scale 

A large mistake that you can make in your slide deck is using low-quality images. They may look great on your computer, but as soon as the slides are put up on a screen, the low quality will show. In this example by ThoughtWorks, all of their presentation background images look great and will scale well to a bigger screen. And that is even after the image compression that LinkedIn most likely does!

95. Take risks with your presentation layout

I honestly was blown away the first time I saw this presentation because it capitalized on such a risky design idea. The creators from Weekdone literally turned their presentation into an 8-Bit video game. A nd if you are looking for something that will stick with your audience, I would take a few creative cues from them!

96. Seriously, you better use memes 

In this day and age memes are mainstream, so why wouldn’t you use them in a creative presentation? These do not have to be the coolest meme that all the hip kids are sharing, they can be some of the classics. Like the one that Dana DiTomaso uses on slide 16 to emphasize that it’s a trap!

97. Follow a clear design rhythm

I really like how this presentation introduced each new point in three or four steps, using the same design. It gave the presentation a rhythm that flowed almost like a song!

I would recommend using this approach if you have to introduce multiple points per slide.

98. Use LOTS of icons

If you have made it this far in the list you have already probably seen how effective icons are in presentations. They are the perfect way to support your ideas and make your presentation more pleasing to the eyes.

For example, take a look at all the icons SlideShop uses in this presentation. Almost every slide has at least one icon and a few have more than ten!

99. Give each slide its own spark

I know this goes against earlier points I had about creating a cohesive theme in your presentation layout, but everyone knows that rules are made to be broken (if you can do it better)!

In this slide deck, the team at Officevibe literally created different designs for all 27 of their slides. And to top it off, each of the designs fit the quotes they used extremely well.

100. Use LARGE header cards 

An easy way to stick to that “one piece of content on each slide rule” is to use header cards. They are basically the header that you would normally use in a blog post or article, but it gets is own slide before the content. Here is an example of that idea in the real world in this presentation from Brian Downard.

101. Ask your audience questions 

I think one of the most common elements I saw in all the slide decks was that they asked the audience questions. You can use questions to engage with your audience and get them thinking a bit harder about the topic. The Site By Norex team did an exceptional job of this when they explored what the topic of what makes up a brand.

Need some more info about creating a memorable brand? Check out some of the best branding stats for 2020 and beyond!

102. Introduce yourself and your brand 

I would say that a majority of presentations that I looked at in this list just jumped right into the content without an introduction to the author or brand in the actual slide deck.

This introduction is very important because it establishes your credentials from the beginning, especially if someone is just reading the slide deck. In this example from Losant, they do just that by spending the first few slides telling the audience who they are.

103. Mix up your mediums 

Finally, this slide deck effectively marries two very distinct content forms together: digital images and hand-drawn illustrations. In this example, Freshdesk uses the timeless classic of a comic strip, Calvin & Hobbes, in something so modern to inform the audience in a fun way.

104. Show off your credentials 

Just like with any piece of content, people are more likely to believe what you are saying if they know what your company does. That is why I really like when people insert their qualifications right into the presentation slides. Just like Andreas von der Heydt, from Amazon, did at the beginning of this presentation about thinking big.  

105. Highlight key data points 

If you are presenting a chart or graph on a dry topic, I would recommend using a single color to highlight the most important data point. For example, the investment firm a16z uses orange to highlight the data points they want their audience to focus on in each of their charts.

Check out some examples of how to highlight your key information in bar charts .

106. Show your audience where to find more information 

A lot of people end their presentations by literally just running out of slides, and that is the wrong way to do it. Instead, CBInsights consistently pushes their readers towards another piece of content at the end. This is also where you can insert a call to action!

107. Tell your origin story

  Source

This idea is kinda similar to showing off your company qualifications at the beginning of your presentation. But with this approach, you are trying to make an emotional connection with your audience instead of just showing off accolades.

And Rand from Moz does this extremely well in the presentation example above.

108. Use one focused visual 

This presentation uses a central visual of a structure, with each slide moving down the levels of the structure. This is incredibly powerful because the entire presentation is about sinking your company, and the visual they designed mirrors that idea perfectly. Using one focus visual also makes your slide deck design cohesive.

109. Don’t take presentation design too seriously

Sometimes we get caught up trying to make the perfect presentation and it ends up making us crazy!

But in this presentation example, Jesse Desjardins uses a mix of wit and hilarious retro images to create a memorable and light-hearted presentation.

110. Use size to your advantage 

I am a big fan of using bubble charts and other charts that use size to compare two pieces of data. That is why I like this pitch deck from the ShearShare team that utilizes a size-based chart on slide number 9. The chart is used to illustrate the massive growth potential in their industry.

111. Split section headers from the main content with different background colors 

In this presentation, Seth Familian uses alternating colors in a very interesting way. For each of the title slides, he uses a black color background, but for the content slides he uses a white background.

This helped the readers follow along and comprehend what was on the page even faster. And when you are presenting to hundreds of different types of people, this can make or break your presentation.  

112.  Have a conversation with your audience 

Take a conversational tone in your presentation is a great way to encourage your audience to participate.

In this slide deck example, we presented a simple storyline and use questions to engage with the audience throughout. And it helped create a flow throughout the  presentation template  that is easy to follow.

113.  Include your branding throughout your presentation ideas

Another thing that people seem to forget when they are working on a presentation is to include their business’s branding. You honestly never know where your work is going to be shared, so it is important to make sure people know it’s yours. HubSpot does an outstanding job of this on all their presentations, as you can see in the bottom left corner of each slide.

Plus you have spent a ton of time creating your  brand guidelines , might as well use them.

114.  Include multiple slides to build to your main point

Try using multiple slides to build to your main point. This helps you walk through the components of one overarching point while also building suspense. In this slide deck, the creator uses 6 slides to build up to one main point, adding a new illustration to the diagram on each slide.

115.  Split the difference 

Use either the left or right side of the slide to hold your text and the opposite to display an image. If you are using a photo or graphic as the main background in your slides, this is a great way to keep things organized. 

116. There are millions of fonts out there…use them

Hey, I love simple fonts just as much as the next guy, but sometimes you need to step up your font game to stand out. For example, WebVisions uses a very gritty, probably custom font in their unique presentation that fits the topic extremely well. Take a look!

117.  Build your presentation content around icons 

Try using icons as the focal points of your presentation layout. This example from Omer Hameed  uses icons to draw the audience’s eyes  right to the middle of the presentation, where the main points and headers are located.  

118.  Mix up font style to emphasize important points

If you would like to draw some extra attention to a certain word or idea,  switch up the font  to one that is bolder. For example, in this oldie but goodie presentation from HubSpot they use a heavy sans-serif font to highlight ideas, as opposed to the serif font for the other text.

119.  Add personal touches to your presentation

If you want to create a truly unique presentation, add personal touches. In the slide numbers 6-13 from this presentation, the creator adds something to their design that no one else could ever have: they use original drawings they did themselves.

120.  Harness the power of your own brand colors

Sometimes people forget that they already have a battle-tested color palette that they can use in their  brand colors . I try to incorporate one of our brand colors in most of my designs and it makes so much easier to choose colors.

In this simple presentation example, Spitfire Creative used a palette that had both of their brand colors throughout the slideshow.

121.  Used dark-colored blocks to highlight words

I have seen this trick used in a lot of presentations and it works well. Highlight certain words or phrases by laying them overtop a colored rectangle. Take slide number 7 in this presentation example as a great guide. Use it to bring attention to a saying or idea you really want your audience to remember.

122.  Show the audience your mug 

This presentation example comes from the same presentation as a previous one, but it was too good not to share. Throughout the slides, you will see Rand from Moz pop up to add a human element to the design. Using an image of your team or yourself can put the audience at ease and make it easier to connect with the presenter.

123.  Include a helpful table of contents 

I only saw this presentation idea used a few times throughout my research, but I believe it should be used a lot more. A table of contents will help the audience know what to expect and keep their focus throughout. Especially if you are creating a presentation that is a bit longer than normal.

124.  Do not post just screenshots, do more

Screenshots of a program or app are very common in any blog post, but I think you can do a little better when it comes to presentations.

So instead of just posting a boring screenshot, add a little more to the slide by using illustrations and product shots. If you are not sure what I am talking about, just check out how great the screenshots look at slide numbers 7 and 8 in this presentation.

125. Highlight keywords using BOLD color 

Here’s another slide deck that uses different colors and blocks to highlight keywords. If you are going to use text-heavy slides, then make sure the key points are easy to pick out. Take this slide deck: starting in slide number 4, they highlight exactly what they want you to take away from the text on each slide!

Enough presentation ideas for you?

You made it! I applaud you for making it through all those presentations. Hopefully, now you have a few nifty presentation ideas ready for when you need them.

The next step is to create a presentation that will captivate a meeting room, an amphitheater, and even the world (hey, it doesn’t hurt to dream big).

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20 creative presentation ideas to captivate your audience

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

Michael Lee June 17, 2019

The ultimate aim of every presentation is to etch a memorable mark that lingers in the minds of your audience long after the final slide fades away. Memorable presentations should be a creative blend of captivating design, innovative elements, and engaging delivery. To ignite your presentation prowess and set your creativity on fire, we’ve handpicked a treasure trove of 20 ingenious creative presentation ideas that will transform your presentations from bland to brilliantly unforgettable:

1. Experiment with color

It’s surprising what a little color can do. The way you use and pair colors in your presentation design can grab an otherwise disinterested audience member’s attention. Just make sure you do it tastefully and carry the theme across all frames. When in doubt, you can simply choose from one of Prezi’s existing content layouts , each with an appealing color palette.

Try experimenting with a two-toned design by adding different accents to your presentation background and other visual elements. You might start with a black-and-white design, then add a bright pop of one color throughout. Contrasting color palettes (think yellow and blue, pink and mint green, etc.) can also create this eye-popping effect. Alternatively, you can use neutral shades to give off a more subdued vibe.

Another idea? Add a color filter to your images to tie them into your color theme. Learn more about presentation colors in our guide.

2. Use a striking background theme

Looking for more presentation ideas and creative ways to present? Put some thought into your background image, as it’s what your audience will be looking at during the entire presentation. If you want to use a photo, choose one that’s beautiful, sentimental, or has action and flow. Just make sure you pick an image that has enough negative space on which to place text. You can also play around with textures and patterns, such as ripples or wood, or themes that are symbolic of your message, such as a passport, billboard, rocket launch, road trip, etc.

Additionally, make sure your chosen background image isn’t distracting. You want to keep your audience’s focus on the foreground — the graphics, text, and special effects you’ve created. Prezi already has a large library of effective and high-quality backgrounds and images you can search for when designing your presentation, so no need to source them from somewhere else.

3. Put thoughts into speech bubbles

Other creative ways to present information include using speech bubbles to communicate key points to audience members. Use them to illustrate an idea or to reveal a character’s thoughts or fears in your story. Have them pop up as notes or commentary in the frame you’re presenting. Similarly, you can use speech bubbles to show milestones on a timeline. If you’re revealing poll or survey results about a product or service, for instance, place data or participant feedback in bubbles.

But, like anything in a presentation, don’t go overboard with it. While speech bubbles can be a fantastic addition, excessive use might divert your audience’s focus from the core message. So, using speech bubbles in the right places to create impact can be effective for engaging your listeners, but scattering them throughout every slide might be a little excessive and cause the opposite effect. Balance is key when using speech bubbles. 

4. Abandon the slide-by-slide style

Free your presentations from the confines of slides. As an interactive presentation tool, Prezi allows for dynamic designs to take your audience on a journey as you tell your story. Zoom in and out on key points. Navigate between topics and sections of your presentation in any order. Go vertical instead of horizontal. Make transitions between ideas look like pathways or scenes instead of simply clicking sequentially from frame to frame. All of these elements come together to make a memorable presentation.

These types of tactics will give your presentation a cinematic feel that will captivate and inspire your audience. An open canvas design also makes it easier for you to tell a story , which people tend to process and remember more easily than straight facts. Prezi’s ready-made templates and striking graphics make it simple for you to share your narrative via one of these seemingly complex designs. If you want to transform a static PowerPoint presentation into a dynamic moving story, simply upload your file and try Prezi’s PowerPoint Converter feature .

5. Tell your story with a video

Presenters have been incorporating video into their slide decks for decades. Video is one of the most creative ways to present projects. It allows you to tell your story using visuals instead of big blocks of text. Now, however, it’s time to elevate the video so it captures your audience’s attention and enhances your narrative. Embed videos that play automatically when you navigate to certain parts of your Prezi canvas.

Just be sure to use videos that aren’t distracting and that work with the rest of your presentation’s flow. They should still complement your presentation’s overall design theme and message. If you’re not producing a video yourself, you can find thematic ones from stock video sites or on YouTube. Just be aware that you might need permission to use some videos.

It’s important to select videos beforehand and place them strategically so that they hit hard in the right places. Selecting the perfect videos is like choosing gems to adorn your presentation’s crown. These videos should harmonize seamlessly with your content, elevating the story you’re weaving.

Imagine, for instance, using a time-lapse video of a bustling cityscape to represent the rapid pace of change in the business world during your presentation on industry trends. Blending your videos with the theme of your topic in this way goes beyond just catching your audience’s eye, it actually adds depth to your story while also making your message more impactful.

6. Bring your story to life with audio

Another presentation idea to minimize text and maximize audience engagement is to add sound to your presentation. Tell your story using pre-recorded audio. This creative presentation style turns the viewer experience into just that — an experience. While the audio plays, you can move around the stage and navigate to various parts of the presentation that support the narrative visually. Again, the effect is almost movie-like.

Another auditory presentation tool is music. Use music to set the tone of your talk, or inject it periodically to regain the audience’s attention. The appropriate song choice can get the entire audience into the mood of your presentation. Choose upbeat tunes to convey excitement or dramatic ones that will trigger an emotional response . Plus, if you play a catchy tune that sticks in people’s heads, that’ll help them remember your presentation that much more.

7. Add animations

Another creative way to present is by bringing an otherwise static design to life is animation. Go beyond video by borrowing from stop-motion principles for your presentation. Stop motion is a technique in which you film objects one frame at a time to simulate motion in a scene or a story. You can recreate this effect in Prezi by using zoom, fade, and pan animations to tell a moving story frame by frame.

Animations can inspire and engage your audience, but just be sure to use them sparingly and as a complement to your story or message.

7.1. Make it fun with GIFs

Adding animated GIFs to your presentation can not only make it more fun but also help catch your audience’s eye. Because they’re trendy and often reference pop culture or common emotions, GIFs can help you get your point across without having to use just words.

However, it’s crucial to exercise moderation when employing these elements. While animations and GIFs can enhance engagement, excessive use of them can become distracting. There’ll be certain presentation topics or subjects where GIFs will look misplaced, so just make sure you think carefully about whether they correlate with your message before you use them. However, GIFs are a great way to inject humor and light-heartedness right after slides filled with heavy information. When executed skillfully, animations and GIFs transform your presentation into a dynamic and interactive visual journey, leaving an enduring impression on your audience.

8. Create a timeline

The timeline is nothing new. It’s how you apply it to a presentation that can really wow an audience. Prezi’s dynamic designs let you use the timeline as the basis or focal point of the presentation and then navigate along as you tell your story or plan of action.

Zooming in on specific elements of your timeline as you discuss them adds another layer of clarity and focus. It helps make sure your audience stays on track with your story and doesn’t get lost in the details or complexities. This laid-back way of highlighting key moments or steps keeps people interested and makes it easier for them to remember what you’re talking about.

9. Use maps

Deliver a creative presentation with maps, especially if there’s a geographic or location-based topic in your content. Set a map as your background or focal point, and prompt different regions to change colors or pop out as you navigate over them. When it comes to designing maps , make sure you’re purposefully selecting colors, as the color palette you choose can change the way people respond to your data. Don’t pick colors that are too similar when you’re making comparisons, for example. Use Prezi’s zoom function to zero in on areas for more details, or pull back to reveal the larger context.

You can also go the thinking map route, which is a visual learning technique that can convey complex ideas simply and creatively. Start with a central theme, then branch out into paths or surrounding points. The eight variations of thinking maps include circle maps, bubble maps, flow maps, treemaps, and more. These can be effective interactive aids in educational presentations as well as for small businesses.

10. Do away with bulleted lists

To truly transform your presentations, consider stepping away from the conventional bullet-point lists that often lead to passive learning. Instead, harness the power of visuals to inspire active engagement from your audience. Visual content stimulates the brain’s cognitive processes, making your message more memorable. Engage your listeners by replacing bullet points with visuals .

Prezi’s open canvas design is a valuable tool in this transformation. It shifts the focus from passive delivery to interactive engagement. By using visuals, you prompt your audience to actively process and respond to your content, fostering a deeper understanding and connection with your message. This shift from traditional bullet points to a visually driven, interactive approach can significantly enhance the impact of your presentations.

11. Communicate with images

Presentation images are nothing new. However, when standing alone, photographs, paintings, and other images can have a really powerful effect. Instead of trying to talk over an image, use it as a stepping stone in your presentation, a point of reflection. Once in a while, let visuals do the talking.

Also, a study has found that people process visuals 60,000 times faster than text . So, incorporating more images will make your presentation more memorable.

However, be careful with your selection of images – make sure that they’re relevant to the topic and aren’t just filling up an empty space.

Also, If you’re using Prezi for your presentation, you can access a huge library of images that takes away the headache of finding that one perfect shot. It’s like having a cheat code for making your presentation pop. So dive into the library and pick out visuals that’ll make your presentation not just informative, but engaging.

12. Play with transitions

Using slide transitions is one of the simple yet creative ways to present a project. They create visual continuity and add movement to slides. However, choosing the right page transition for your slides is truly a form of art. You have to consider the topic, tone of voice, and your presentation design. Page transitions should match the overall design, create flawless continuity, highlight key areas in your presentation, and do all that without stealing the show. Ultimately, you want it to compliment your presentation.

If you are looking for inspiration, check out Prezi Present ‘s wide selection of templates . You can play with transitions by adding additional animated elements that will make your presentation even more dynamic.

13. Swap for an infographic

To truly stand out and make a lasting impression, consider departing from the traditional slide-based approach and exploring infographics. Infographics are powerful visual tools that condense complex information into digestible, visually appealing formats. Instead of the conventional slide-by-slide progression, imagine scrolling through your presentation, seamlessly transitioning from one section to the next. This fluid movement allows you to verbally expand on key points while displaying the core information visually.

When you’re adding infographics, aim for designs that are easy to understand but also match your brand’s vibe. You want something that looks good and fits well with the rest of your presentation, so everything feels like it’s part of the same story. This helps make your presentation both easy to follow and hard to forget.

14. Get social

Employing a unique hashtag associated with your brand can significantly amplify the impact of your presentation, extending its reach far beyond the confines of the physical venue. This hashtag acts as a vital link between your presentation and the vast world of social media. Inviting your audience to dive into the live-tweet action with a dedicated hashtag during your talk isn’t just a savvy move; it’s a dynamic double play. You expand your reach, drawing in more eager participants, while simultaneously igniting a thriving online symphony of ongoing discussions and insights.

This approach effectively transforms your presentation into an active, two-way conversation. As you speak, people can immediately share their thoughts, favorite parts, and main lessons, creating a sense of togetherness and active involvement. Furthermore, the utilization of a branded hashtag allows you to monitor and engage in these conversations, strengthening your connection with your audience and providing an avenue for addressing questions or feedback. 

Even after your presentation concludes, these online discussions continue to thrive, ensuring that your message remains fresh in the minds of your audience members long after they’ve left the physical venue. This lively and extended interaction adds an exciting twist to your presentations, transforming them from just informative sessions into lively hubs of ongoing conversation and learning.

15. Use creative props

Physical props add a memorable dimension to your talk. Props serve as powerful visual aids, helping to illustrate key points, provide tangible examples, and offer visual cues. Props can be particularly useful for educational presentations, especially if you need to demonstrate an example. Another situation where props are paramount is if you are a brand that’s launching a new product and doing a promotional presentation. 

With Prezi’s creative tools at the forefront of your presentation along with your latest product at hand- you’re bound to persuade your audience. Integrating props at the right time in connection to your current presentation can really create a connection between you and your listeners. Put yourself in your audience’s shoes, would you take in the information by just reading and listening, or would seeing and touching physical props add a layer of interest that enhances your mental absorption?

16. Utilize virtual reality (VR)

VR technology allows you to transport your audience into a different environment or scenario closely related to your presentation topic. Transforming your presentation into a new virtual world takes it far beyond the expectations of mundane slide-by-slide presentations.

With VR, you can engage your audience with a dynamic three-dimensional world where they become active explorers, engaging directly with your content. Picture this: You’re showing off architectural wonders, recreating epic historical events, or unraveling the inner workings of intricate systems. VR takes your presentations to a whole new level, letting your audience not only see and hear but also experience and genuinely feel your message. It’s like inviting them to step right into the heart of your story.

17. Use gamification

Picture turning your presentation into an exhilarating game that dares to captivate and thrill your audience. When you add a little playfulness to your presentation, your audience is going to absorb your information without it feeling like a chore. Making aspects of your talk into fun learning experiences is going to keep your audience switched on throughout the whole presentation. 

You can achieve this by incorporating various interactive elements like puzzles, questions, or interactive storytelling that turn your presentation into an immersive and educational game. Encouraging your audience to think and respond will result in active participants rather than passive observers. 

18. Employ live demonstrations

Incorporating live demonstrations into your presentation is a potent strategy for effectively conveying your message. Whether you’re showcasing a product’s functionality, conducting a captivating science experiment, or engaging your audience in a hands-on activity, live demonstrations actively involve your audience and leave an enduring mark.

Live demonstrations can transform presentations into captivating journeys where your audience doesn’t just listen but also witnesses concepts coming to life before their eyes. This physical approach creates curiosity and entices active participation, effectively transforming your message into something tangible. When people can see, touch, or take part in live demonstrations, it makes a strong connection. It brings your audience right into your content and makes sure they take the message away with them afterward. 

19. Design comic-style frames 

Using comic strips as a presentation style is great when you want to make your presentation engaging and easy to remember. It works well for topics where you want to tell a story, explain things step by step, or simplify complex information. Comic strips contain the best of both worlds, combining visuals with storytelling. This means they’re versatile for various topics, such as education, marketing, and product demos.

The clever approach of comic strips crafts an animated, captivating experience that keeps your audience glued to their seats and sparks their eagerness to participate. Not only that, but it also makes your message highly memorable.

Creating a comic strip in Prezi is straightforward. Start by planning your content and breaking it down into bite-size sections that will be arranged in sequence. Then, use Prezi’s features to design each section as a comic frame, inserting relevant visuals and images. Prezi’s text and shape tools help you add speech bubbles or captions to guide the story you’re telling. As you present, take on the role of a storyteller, guiding your audience through each frame of your comic strip presentation with captivating explanations that hold their attention.

20. Emulate the style of TED talks

The TED-style approach is a powerful method of delivering presentations that revolves around the core principles of clarity, simplicity, emotional resonance, and compelling storytelling. In this approach, speakers focus on distilling complex ideas into easily digestible narratives, using relatable language and impactful visuals to engage their audience. TED-style talks typically center on a single compelling idea , conveyed with passion and authenticity, making them concise, memorable, and inspiring for a wide range of viewers.

Learn how you can excel in storytelling and develop TED Talk presentation skills in the following video:

Staying current with creative presentation ideas

Just as technology and communication methods constantly change, so do presentation audience preferences and expectations. Keeping your creative presentation ideas fresh and aligned with contemporary trends can significantly impact your effectiveness as a presenter.

Why keeping up matters

Adapting to audience expectations.

This is the key to making a memorable impact with your presentations. In the modern world, audiences want more than the ordinary; they seek thrilling, dynamic experiences. To make this happen, you must wholeheartedly embrace cutting-edge technologies and innovative concepts to make your presentations highly engaging. So, why stick with the mundane when you can captivate your audience’s imagination and curiosity with creative presentation ideas? Break free from the conventional and explore new concepts using Prezi. 

Maintaining relevance

Staying relevant is the cornerstone of success. To connect deeply with your audience, demonstrate your strong dedication to delivering top-notch content consistently. Your presentations should stand out with innovation and creativity, signaling that you’re not merely keeping pace with the times – you’re setting the tempo. With Prezi’s toolbox, you’ll be ready to explore a range of creative presentation ideas that leave a lasting impression on your audience. 

Fueling engagement

Elevating your presentations from mere information-sharing sessions to immersive experiences can be a game-changer. By staying in the loop on fresh creative presentation ideas and cool interactive tricks, you’re all set to captivate your audience. Adding some of these new, interactive touches can help you grab and keep people’s attention way better than just repeating the same slideshows.

Where to get your inspo 

If you’re ready to improve your creative game, there are plenty of helpful blogs, webinars, and online courses about fun presentation ideas you can dive into. Prezi offers a lot of useful tips for making your presentations stand out. Think of Prezi as your toolbox, always within reach to unlock your presentation’s potential and make a lasting impression. For presentation inspiration , check out Prezi’s presentation gallery and explore our highly engaging and creative templates .

Watch this video and learn more about creative presentation ideas:

Get inspired for more presentation ideas

The world isn’t flat, and your presentations shouldn’t be, either. Step outside your comfort zone, and play around with these 20 creative ways to present. Better yet, come up with your own creative ways to present and incorporate them into one of Prezi’s dynamic content layouts. Using this presentation software’s open canvas approach, you can tell your story conversationally and spontaneously so that audience members will engage with and remember.

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1) structure your presentation like a story, 2) make it minimalist, never design a presentation again, 3) color theory is your friend, 4) black and white with pops of color, 5) add music to your presentation, 6) ask your audience questions, 7) visualize your data with engaging graphics, 8) pop culture can be your friend, 9) pair fonts to keep your presentation dynamic, 10) make the right impression with visual metaphors, 11) place your images into unique frames, 12) juice up your presentation transitions, 13) turn your presentation into one moving slide, 14) make room for quotes, 15) get your presentation ideas from history, 16) engage your audience with activities, 17) give your presentation a seasonal theme, 18) be forward thinking with a futuristic design, 19) keep it fresh with a modern presentation, 20) enter a new dimension with 3d graphics, 21) come up with a motif inspired by your content, 22) include your logo in every slide, 23) color code your themes, 24) make it fun with gifs, 25) shoot for the moon with an outer space theme, 26) keep it lighthearted with humor and memes, 27) format each slide like a social media post, 28) bring your presentation to life with motion graphics, 29) get everyone involved with interactive elements, 30) make it cohesive with photo overlays, 31) alternate your slide formats, bonus: give your presentation a pro polish with penji, 31 creative presentation ideas to captivate your audience.

Presentations are about sharing important info with the right folks – bosses, coworkers, or future clients. Making a good impression matters, and a creative presentation can push you ahead.

Stuck on how to begin? Check out these 31 awesome presentation ideas to spark your next successful pitch.

A fantastic presentation carries its audience through a journey. Consider your key message as the driving force that propels the audience through the storyline of your presentation. You can deconstruct it as follows:

• The current situation : Where are we now?
• The transition : What’s changing?
• The future : What’s on the horizon?
• The conclusion : Where will we ultimately land?

Especially in a business setting, you want your PowerPoint design to be simple, stylish, and inviting. Minimalism can be a great way to give your presentation slides a professional look without sacrificing style. A simple backdrop also helps important facts and figures stand out.

Get unlimited presentations + any designs you need with Penji

As you’re designing your presentation, remember to use colors that complement each other. Is your company’s color pale green? Combine it with an equally pale pink. To get more in-depth, there are plenty of tools online like Coolors that help you make full color palettes.

On the other end of the spectrum (no pun intended), sometimes one color is all you need. For a more minimal presentation, a black and white aesthetic with a single accent color can really stand out. You can use that color to emphasize key facts and figures, because the audience is already drawn to it.

Want to take your presentation up a notch from mere static slides? Harness the power of musical cues – a swift and engaging strategy. While incorporating music into slideshows can sometimes lead to technical hitches, mastering the technique can yield remarkable audience engagement.

“How do I engage my audience?” Have you tried talking to them? Question and answer sections can be a great tool for team-building presentations, and they can turn potential buyers into engaged participants.

Try creating questions that will feed into your point. Rather than saying “You need ___,” ask your audience what they need and bring it back around to your product or service.

Data visualization is a key part of any presentation (okay, most presentations). Looking for presentation ideas to make your data pop? Don’t settle for basic charts.

Highlight key figures with bold fonts and colors. Use imagery that conveys what your data means. It’s easy to zone out in a meeting—it’s up to you to visualize data in a way people can’t ignore.

Whether you’re guiding a team meeting or captivating customers, pop culture references can pique interest and bridge gaps. Even in formal presentations, a quick pop culture nod can foster connection. But always consider your audience—avoid references that might leave them puzzled.

A common error among novices in presentation design is sticking to a single font. To maintain visual interest, embrace diversity. Experiment with eye-catching fonts for titles, complemented by polished sans-serif fonts for body text. Further enhance variety with distinct weights, styles, and colors for various text elements.

Ideally, everyone would pay attention to you. But since you can’t account for that, you want your audience to understand the ideas behind your presentation no matter how much attention they’re paying. On top of emphasizing key data and words, visual metaphors are a great way to ensure that even the least attentive listeners are getting the gist of it.

Is your presentation appearing outdated, confined, and lacking in dynamism? The reason might be your fixation on squares and rectangles.

Incorporating distinctive image frames isn’t just visually appealing; they also expand your slide’s spatial dimension. By steering clear of rigid squares and borders and opting for circles, hexagons, and other shapes, you create a sensation of suspended freedom.

One of the classic marks of a middle schooler’s first PowerPoint: every transition under the sun. Using different transitions for each slide will make your presentation feel amateur. Instead, stick to one style of transition, or make your use of transitions thematically consistent (e.g. moving in the same direction).

This is an advanced transition technique for all you presentation design pros out there. Elevate your slideshow by giving it the sense of a literal living document. You can create a flipbook or folder motif (as in the example above) or create a scrolling graphic format. If nothing else, you can mesh transitions and design to make each slide seamlessly morph into the next.

Whether you’re getting a point across or just trying to inspire your audience, a quote is a great addition to any presentation. Quotes by experts can help lend your point some authority. Meaningful quotes can open up the floor to discussions. Funny or inspirational quotes can provide some levity without sacrificing professionalism.

Much like references to pop culture, integrating historical elements into your presentation provides a shared language with your audience. Like the alien species from the Star Trek episode “Darmok,” incorporating historical moments can resonate deeply with your audience. For instance, if you’re aiming to evoke a sense of romance, a backdrop inspired by Shakespearean times could be remarkably effective.

First of all, yes, a presentation is a great idea for facilitating a group game in a classroom or office setting. But believe it or not, any presentation can benefit from capturing the audience’s attention through activities.

For team-building presentations, build trust and relationships through simple games. For pitches, create space to “test out” your product or service. The possibilities are endless.

Pop culture references can ensure your presentation is current, but depending on your audience, you may have to avoid being too current. Seasonal themes, on the other hand, keep you timely no matter who you’re presenting to. You can go all in on a theme, like the Halloween example above, or incorporate subtle elements for a more corporate presentation.

In the business world, particularly in the tech sector, projecting a cutting-edge image is paramount. When presenting a novel product, service, or strategy, it’s crucial that your audience perceives you as a forward-thinking entity.

That’s where a futuristic design can help. Implement sleek shapes, dark colors, and interactive elements to make your presentation futuristic. Sometimes, it’s as simple as adding images of modern tech products.

Futurism has its place, but if you want to convey a cutting-edge feel in a more subtle way, a modern, artistic presentation design is the way to go. Unique shapes and color combinations—as well as bold, sans serif fonts—can help your slides look effortful and fresh. You can work with an expert designer or design service to really make your presentation unique.

3D illustrations are relatively novel, and even freely available models are underused in presentations. Even in 2022, they still convey a sense of novelty, whether they’re playful, artistic, or scientific. On top of lending flair to your slides, they can also be great for visualizing data in informative presentations.

Elevate your presentation to a masterpiece with a well-chosen motif. Delve into your key presentation points and the emotions you aim to stir.

For instance, a lighthouse motif can symbolize navigating challenges or pioneering innovative solutions. Meanwhile, a whimsical animal theme can evoke a sense of coziness and tranquility. Embrace creativity, while ensuring meaningful content takes the lead.

A presentation can be a great way to propose a new logo design , but your logo is a great fit for any type of presentation. For pitches, they make your brand look professional. For internal meetings, they help make it feel official, boosting engagement from your audience. Design your slides to make room for your logo and try to balance colors and fonts to fit your brand.

While we’ve emphasized the importance of a central theme in your presentation, it’s also true that many presentations encompass various topics or subcategories within the overarching theme. Employing diverse colors to mirror distinct subjects or slide types can infuse your presentation with nuanced depth.

GIFs have become a crucial part of the online ecosystem. However you pronounce it (team “jif,” for the record), a GIF is a casual, effective way to evoke emotion, humor, or otherwise build a relationship with your audience. There’s a reason Twitter is overrun with these things; there’s a GIF for every occasion.

Space is one of the most versatile themes to use in a presentation design . Where a futuristic slideshow places you on the cutting edge, space creates the impression that your ambitions go even bigger. Whether you’re trying to pump up your coworkers or attract new clients, placing your presentation in the final frontier is bound to inspire them.

While certain presentations are all business, remember that public speaking often centers around forging a connection with your audience. A surefire approach to achieve this is by strategically incorporating a meme or a clever punchline.

Yes, it’s true that meme culture travels fast, and it can be hard to tell what will still be fresh when you’re presenting. But if there’s one place where you can get away with an old-school, impact-font -over-JPEG meme in 2022, it’s in a business presentation.

Here’s an out-of-the-box idea: what design layout are people most familiar with today? Chances are, a format inspired by social media is one of the best ways to make your audience feel at home. This is best for a presentation where social media is relevant, but it can also serve a similar function to memes, creating a fun dynamic with your audience. Your slide text shouldn’t be longer than a tweet, anyway.

We’ve already gone over transitions, the animations taking you from one slide to the next. But that doesn’t have to be the only animated thing about your presentation. Motion graphics can help each slide come alive, as well as emphasizing key facts and helping visualize data. Just try not to make the graphics too distracting.

Ever sat through dull vacation photos? Well, a lackluster presentation can feel the same. To truly involve your audience, interactive elements are a must.

Think animations and clickable transitions or even a lighthearted quiz. It’s all about sparking engagement.

Maybe you’re showcasing your photography work. Maybe you’re presenting a product with a series of photos. You might just be using stock photos to illustrate your point.

Either way, most presentations will involve at least a few photos. If you want a slick, artistic look, you can use color overlays and filters to make these photos part of your slides’ aesthetic. Use complementary colors and keep them consistent for each photo you put in, or go black and white for a luxury look.

Here’s a common rookie blunder, and it’s easy to overlook. Even with a striking design and captivating content, if you sense something’s amiss, your presentation could be too monotonous.

To infuse dynamism, mix up slide formats, particularly for text-heavy ones. Just shifting text from left to right can work wonders. It’s a vital trick to keep your audience engrossed.

These presentation ideas are all about shaping a presentation that delivers real results. But if you’re aiming to craft a truly impactful PowerPoint, you might not want to go the DIY route. Opting for a presentation crafted by a certified pro is the ultimate method to impress your audience. And if you want consistently professional designs every time, then you want Penji.

Our unlimited design service works with the world’s top design talent to provide you with stunning presentations, logos, websites, packaging, and everything else you need.

Still have questions? You can request a design today from our marketplace with no strings attached, or sign up for a demo to see how Penji can work for you.

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50 PowerPoint Ideas to Inspire your Next Presentation

It’s vital to bring something new, fresh, and dynamic to your presentations, so your audience gets the unexpected. With these 50 killer ideas for PowerPoint presentations, you should have no shortage of inspiration for your next talk.

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Ah, Microsoft PowerPoint, the mother of all presentations. At some point in your creative entrepreneurial career, you’ve likely had to give a presentation to a room full of people. Maybe they were prospects, leads, or freelance graphic design clients and their associates.

Whoever the audience was, one thing was probably dogging your entire presentation: you had a hard time coming up with fresh ideas to present the points you were trying to communicate. That resulted in a stale presentation that didn’t live up to its potential. What turned out to be a ho-hum presentation could’ve instead been a veritable homerun that could’ve garnered you more business and connections.

Next time you give a presentation, don’t fall victim to your PowerPoint rut. Here are 50 useful PowerPoint ideas for your next presentation.

Idea #1: Use Only Images

This radical idea takes advantage of the reality that human beings are visual creatures by nature, so why not give them what they want? The bonus is that you’ll have to develop your explanative skills instead of just reading off of the slides.

Idea #2: Follow Guy Kawasaki’s 10/20/30 Rule

Guy Kawasaki is a venture capitalist. You can bet that he’s given his fair share of presentations in his lifetime. He recommends that presentations should include no more than 10 slides, last no longer than 20 minutes, and use 30-point font size: the 10/20/30 rule for PowerPoint .

Idea #3: Use Inspiring Quotes

The superb thing about quotes is that they’re instantly memorable. The next time you want your slides in your presentation to be remembered, simply use powerful quotes by influential people more often. Websites like BrainyQuote provide a plethora of thought-provoking material.

Idea #4: Personalize Your Slides

Relate to your audience as much as possible. If you’re talking to clients from the healthcare industry, reference a health issue you had. If you’re presenting to leads working in the automotive sector, talk about the very first car you owned.

Idea #5: Talk Instead of Read

Never read off of your slides like you’re reading a speech. Your audience will get bored and just read your slides before you’re done reading them aloud. Make a real presentation out of your slides by verbalizing the broader concept to your audience – slides should only have short lines of text.

Idea #6: Infuse Passion Into Your Presentation

Passion in any presentation is more persuasive to your audience. When they see how excited, moved and confident you are in your talk, they can’t help but also get caught up in that conviction.

Check out these passionate-speaking tips for powerful effect.

Idea #7: Use Hard Data and Stats

Human beings love data. We’re powerless when it comes to resisting hard numbers, and your audience is no exception. Lumen Learning credits statistics with being a “ powerful persuasive tool in public speaking .†Your slides should be full of figures, numbers, and data in their proper context and communicated clearly.

Idea #8: Storytelling

Your PowerPoint presentation will be better received if you use it to tell a story in whatever idea or message you’re trying to communicate. Psychology Today says that storytelling takes us to an authentic experience , and connecting with your audience sincerely should be your aim.

Idea #9: Use the Right Kinds of Fonts

PowerPoint presentations are affected greatly by the font/s you use. Although you’re not going to use a lot of text, the little text you use should be very legible and readable. Larger serif fonts are often regarded as more legible, but feel free to experiment by asking coworkers to decide among a couple of variations.

Idea #10: Encourage Tweeting Engagement

Encourage your audience to live-tweet stats, information, and quotes from your presentation that they find helpful. Asking them to take to social doesn’t just promote your brand, but it also prompts them to be more invested in your talk and, therefore, more attentive.

Idea #11: Choose Well-Designed Templates

Templates can be your answer to using a presentation design and format that’s not only easy on the eyes, but also communicates the info you’re presenting in a frictionless way. Check out the Creative Market marketplace for thousands and thousands of well-designed presentation templates .

Idea #12: Insert a Question!!

Do this to throw your audience off-guard and to encourage engagement in your presentation. When your audience has been conditioned by slide after slide of info and you talking, it’s refreshing to throw them a curveball by asking them to participate in this way.

Idea #13: The First Slide Should Be the Catchiest

Dive right into your presentation by making it a point to grab your audience’s attention right from the get go. You can do this by making the first slide the catchiest – whether it’s controversial, humorous, or surprising.

Idea #14: Rely on Icons

People are visual creatures, so use another strategy to visually communicate with them: icons. Icons efficiently and instantly communicate a central idea with a sole, visual representation. Form your talk and explanation around a slide’s iconography .

Idea #15: Bring Along Some Props

Your audience is likely expecting an all-talk and all-text presentation. Switch things up by using a prop to grab their attention and draw their interest. Fast Company declares that using props can make your presentations easily stand out .

Idea #16: Hit Them With Humor

Make your presentation a bit humorous. There’s no need to go overboard so that it’s not serious, but do insert a joke or two in specific places to put the room at ease. Nothing breaks the ice quite like a good dose of humor.

Idea #17: Use Bullet Points

Bullet points distil complex information and direct your audience’s attention to the most important tidbits. They’re the perfect antidote to an audience that has a hard time paying attention. In addition, bullet points help you not to merely read your words, but expand on them in a more natural way.

Idea #18: Quality, not Quantity!

Your audience’s time is valuable and precious, so don’t waste it. Fight the temptation to add filler into your presentation and instead distil it down to only feature useful info and to-the-point messages.

Idea #19: Practice Before Presenting

Practice beforehand, so your presentation goes off without a hitch, and you sound confident as you move through your talk. Do this by recording your presentation onto your smartphone and play it back. You’ll be surprised at what your voice actually sounds like, and you may even consider switching up the order of the slides.

Idea #20: Look at Other PowerPoint Presentations

Sometimes, you draw inspiration, what to do, and what not to do by looking at the work of others. Nothing beats evaluating existing presentations – both good and bad – to understand what’s appealing and what doesn’t work. LinkedIn’s SlideShare is the world’s biggest repository of presentations; start there.

Idea #21: Make It Colorful

Use vibrant colors when designing your presentation or choosing your presentation template. Colors give your presentation life and create unique psychological reactions in people. For example, use more red in your slides to evoke intense and excited emotions in your audience.

Idea #22: End on an Actionable Slide

Here’s a beautiful way to end your presentation with a bang: use an actionable command in your last slide that encourages your audience to take action the moment they leave the room! This’ll help them transition from theory into practice.

Idea #23: Incorporate Video

Video is easier to absorb than reading. Change things up by including short videos in some slides to get your point across easily and without any misunderstandings. This will also increase engagement since videos are interactive.

Idea #24: Know Your Audience

Never go in blind to a PowerPoint presentation . Take some time before to research whom you’ll be presenting to. Are they entrepreneurs? What are their interests? Do you have any common bonds? Understanding them empowers you to create a more relevant presentation.

Idea #25: Go Big With Every Slide

View each slide as a veritable advertisement for an idea, message, or point you’re trying to make. Wow your audience with big fonts, images, and communication! This way, you’re able to draw their attention to the big picture immediately.

Idea #26: Try Some Infographics

The beauty of infographics is that they succeed at taking complex topics and converting them into viewer-friendly cartoons that still communicate information efficiently. They turn otherwise boring stats into something engaging and attractive to look at.

Idea #27: Write an Outline

Before you even begin to assemble your presentation, start with a basic Word document or Google Doc, so you can write the outline and flow of your presentation. This blueprint planning of your presentation will ensure a better order of ideas during the actual talk.

Idea #28: Think Clean and Minimalistic

Format your presentation to be clean and minimalistic. Go with clean lines, fewer elements on each slide, and a direct and simple idea per slide. Formatting in this way greatly helps with readability and retention (not to mention, your audience won’t be frustrated with you).

Idea #29: Keep Exclamation Points to a Minimum!

Exclamation points detract from the speaker’s job to emphasize his points while talking during the presentation. That’s why they should be kept to a minimum! If something needs emphasis, go into the idea in more detail while speaking.

Idea #30: Don’t Rush Your Speaking Cadence

Talk slowly during a presentation. Doing so will prevent you from communicating unclearly and creating obstacles in audience retention. Speaking slowly means your words have more impact and lend themselves to more thought among those in the audience, according to Inc.

Idea #31: Pause More Frequently

Forbes highlights three benefits of pausing while giving a talk . The most successful speakers pause intentionally to achieve a certain dramatic effect, but also to establish rapport with the audience and ensure that the most important points sink in.

Idea #32: Use Various Focal Points

Where you look during your presentation makes all the difference in the world. It’ll look unnatural if you just stare at one spot the whole time. Instead, focus equally on the left, right and middle of the room, so it looks like you’re talking to everyone.

Idea #33: Look at Yourself in the Mirror

See how your audience will see you when you give your presentation. Look at yourself in the mirror while you’re doing your presentation.Doing this will take the edge off presenting, as you’ll know exactly how your audience will receive your presentation.

Idea #34: Do a Mock Presentation First

Practice your speech in front of a live audience before the real thing. You’ll get incredible benefits for your real presentation , such as feeling at ease in front of real people and receiving feedback to help you improve.

Idea #35: Take Some Deep Breaths

Deep breathing has been proven to calm nerves and help people perform better. Take a good number of deep breaths, even right up to the point of your presentation. You’ll be happy you did when you nail your presentation with the calm of a Zen master.

Idea #36: Eliminate the Sound Effects

Don’t use sound effects like chimes, swooshes, and dings to your PowerPoint presentation . While that’s an option, it’ll make your presentation sound amateurish and, ultimately, annoying. It’s best to avoid sound effects unless you really need them.

Idea #37: Go With High-Quality Images Only

Low-resolution images will make your presentation look juvenile, so don’t use them. To be taken as a serious speaker, you should choose only high-quality images that look like they were taken by a professional. Creative Market is a great place to find unique lifestyle images to convey your points.

Idea #38: Look at Your Audience, Not Your Screen

Never, ever look more at your presentation than your audience while speaking. Your audience will take that as a cue, tune you out, and just read the slides on their own. You want them to engage with you, so keep looking at them while speaking.

Idea #39: Don’t Use Paragraphs

Never use paragraphs in any slide in your presentation. Having a longer block of text is going to mean a) that your slide is all text and b) that the audience will find it too arduous to read all that.

Idea #40: Wear Something to Capture Attention

Pick something unique to wear. This could be a vibrant piece of clothing or a snazzy necktie. Maybe it’s a pair of glasses (even though you don’t wear them, normally). The more the audience focuses on you , the more it’ll pay attention to what you say .

Idea #41: Use Charts

Charts are an efficient and orderly way to organize the info you’re communicating to the audience. They’re also pretty commonplace in presentations, so the familiarity and sense of expectation your audience has with charts makes their inclusion a must.

Idea #42: Structure Your Presentation

Your presentation needs to have a logical start, middle and conclusion. This traditional, chronological order is wise to follow in your presentation. This way, the audience understands when it begins, the messages you’re communicating, and how it wraps up.

Idea #43: Don’t Put Words All in Caps

You may think that putting words all in caps emphasizes your message, but all that really emphasizes is your lack of presentation etiquette. Using all caps comes across as excessive and overkill, almost as if you’re shouting at the audience to pay attention.

Idea #44: Embrace Contrast

The idea behind contrast is to create slides that stand out at your audience and which they can easily read. For example, if you use white text on a black background, it’s super-easy to read because it stands out so very well.

Idea #45: Backwards and Forwards

You should be adept at using PowerPoint that you can seamlessly go back and forth within your presentation. It’s not uncommon for some audience members to request to see a prior slide, so be ready to quickly be able to give them what they want.

Idea #46: Test Your Screen Size

Ensure that your audience is able to easily see the content of your presentation by viewing it on the screen you intend to use during your talk. The info should be easily viewable even from the back row.

Idea #47: Settle on a Single Theme

Your presentation can benefit from the use of just one, unifying theme throughout. This helps to tie it together neatly and sensibly. For instance, select pictures that are all of the same subject or style.

Idea #48: Illustrate Your Own Characters

PowerPoint has an interesting feature that lets you make your own illustrated characters . You can make them look like you, someone you know, or someone completely unique. At the very least, this’ll show the audience that you’re exceptionally creative.

Idea #49: Be an Entertainer

Understand that your presentation shouldn’t be as dry as written text. Don’t be too shy to actually gesticulate, inject passion into your voice, and use animated body language. When you get into your presentation…your audience will follow suit.

Idea #50: Voice Projection

Speak loudly and clearly at all times! Project your voice to the very back of the room, so that anyone in the back room can follow along without a problem. There’s nothing worse than a presenter who mumbles his words.

Now Win Over That Audience

With these 50 killer ideas for PowerPoint presentations , you should have no shortage of inspiration for your next talk. It’s vital to bring something new, fresh and dynamic to your presentations, so your audience gets the unexpected. With these ideas, you have winning strategies that you can implement right now to make your presentation the best an audience has ever seen. So make that room yours and wow the audience.

A fun, friendly, FREE guide to build a stellar brand identity.

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Marc is a copywriter and marketer who runs The Glorious Company, a marketing agency. An expert in business and marketing, he helps businesses and companies of all sizes get the most bang for their ad bucks.

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50+ Fun Icebreakers For Your Next Presentation

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

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

What is an icebreaker?

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

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

In this article, you’ll find:

Icebreakers for one-on-one presentations

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Benefits of icebreakers

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

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

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

• It breaks down the awkwardness

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

• Icebreakers help people relax and have fun

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

• Help you connect with your audience

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

• Gives your audience an energy boost

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

• Gives a chance to network with others

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

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

• Creates a positive atmosphere

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

5 Practical Tips for a Good Icebreaker 

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

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

• Know your audience

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

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

• Identify your presentation objective

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

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

• Involve everyone

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

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

• Make sure you understand the context

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

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

The Ultimate Presentation Icebreakers List

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

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

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

Presentation Icebreakers for Every Audience Size

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

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

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

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

Icebreakers depending on your presentation’s tone

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

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

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

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

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

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

Virtual presentation icebreakers

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

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

Fun icebreaker ideas for playful presentations

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

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

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

10 Great Icebreaker Questions for Any Presentation 

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

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

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

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

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

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

You might also find these articles interesting:

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

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50 Creative Ideas For Your Next PowerPoint Night

TikTok is the newest, hippest (just ask any twenty-something year old) social media platform and arguably the biggest thing since Instagram’s launch in 2010. The platform boasts over 1 billion users and has been downloaded an upwards of 200 million times in the United States alone. You can find all sorts of videos on TikTok from food recipes and fashion, to presentation tips. Its diverse, entertaining, short-form content is what makes the app so favorable across many different age groups and demographics. 

Many trends and recommendations have come to light because of the ever-popular social media app like dances, sounds, and meals. But another TikTok trend that has taken millennials and Gen Z by storm is PowerPoint nights. PowerPoint nights became especially popular in 2020 during the pandemic when friends and family were looking for ways to connect with one another via technology. Essentially, friends create presentation decks about cheeky topics (unrelated to work or school) and present them to each other either in-person or through video calls. Oftentimes served with plenty of snacks and beverages, PowerPoint nights have become a new Friday night “thing” to do. A trend we can get behind. 

And of course, we’re thrilled that it put presentations on the map for something fun other than board meetings and thesis assignments. 

So we’re tapping in. Here are 50 creative ideas for your next PowerPoint night. Extra points if you use Beautiful.ai and tag us on TikTok. 

• Your colleagues as The Office characters
• Dating app contenders 
• Hot takes on a new album from your favorite artist
• Your Spotify Wrapped list
• Bachelor/bachelorette (or other reality TV show) predictions
• A song to describe each person in your friend group and why
• Suggest locations for your next friend trip
• Everyone’s love language
• Fantasy football updates
• Everyone’s favorite movies, ranked
• Water bottle brands ranked
• The best restaurants in a 30 mile radius according to you
• Dream wedding destinations
• Your friends as Disney characters
• The best nostalgic shows for your generation
•  Things you would do if you were president 
•  Pet names that you love and hate
•  The best and worst managers or bosses you’ve ever had
•  Your favorite memory with each friend
•  The best iPhone/android apps you can’t live without
•  Each friend’s toxic trait
•  Fashion trends you can’t get behind
•  Friend trivia or two truths and a lie
•  Office gadgets that just make sense
•  A [insert name] starter pack for all of your friends
•  Give each friend a superpower and explain why
•  Your colleagues as an alcoholic beverage
•  Things you hate: and everyone has a chance to try to change your mind
•  Everyone’s enneagram types
•  Unpopular opinions: things you like that no one else does
•  The emojis you need in the next update
•  The top 10 best celebrity couples
•  Things that just make sense to have in your home
•  Band names each friend would name their band
•  Things from Amazon that you would recommend to a stranger
•  Your friends as fast food restaurants
•  A song for every milestone in your life
•  How each person’s road trip snack preference defines them
•  The first five things you’d spend money on if you won the lottery
•  Bucket list items
•  Local coffee shops, ranked
•  The best and worst things about everyone’s jobs
•  Give all your friends a new name and persona
•  How everyone’s zodiac signs fit their personality
•  Your group as Friends characters
•  Holidays ranked from worst to best
•  Celebrities that would play your friends in a movie or TV role
•  Things you’d rather be doing than your current job
•  Each of your colleagues as dog breeds
• The best (most useful) things you’ve learned from TikTok

Want to create a viral-worthy presentation in half the time? Let DesignerBot take the wheel . While PowerPoint night topics are subjective, DesignerBot can help you pull in facts, images, or information on your topic. For example, for a presentation on "water bottle brands ranked" you can enter the prompt "top 10 water bottle brands" and watch DesignerBot generate the deck for you like magic. You can then edit the slide(s) to reflect your personal rankings and thoughts without wasting time sourcing brand names, photos, or logos. You might even ask DesignerBot to pick a PowerPoint night topic for you— the possibilities are endless.

Jordan Turner

Jordan is a Bay Area writer, social media manager, and content strategist.

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• Inspiration

17 fun presentation ideas (with video!) to wow your audience

• 30 Mar 2023

So you want to be the next Steve Jobs. Or Martin Luther King. Or any other dazzling orator you look up to. But you need a little something to add to your presentation ideas – you don’t want to bore people to death with Powerpoint.

Whether you’re creating a sales presentation, an event presentation, or just showing your travel video to Uncle Ron, we’ve compiled some of the best ways to get your audience seriously hyped up about your message.

Biteable offers online video presentation software, so we know a thing or two about making engaging presentation videos. In this guide, we share some of our favorite video presentation inspiration and show you some of the different types of presentations you might consider.

When you’re ready to make your own video presentation, head over to  Biteable  for hundreds of brandable templates, video scenes, and workplace-ready animations. With Biteable, making a video presentation is as easy as making a PowerPoint – only a whole lot more fun.

Create videos that drive action

Activate your audience with impactful, on-brand videos. Create them simply and collaboratively with Biteable.

Types of video presentations

If you’re looking to win over your audience with a presentation, videos are the best way to do it. According to Insivia, viewers retain  95% of a message  when they see it in a video, but only 10% if they have to read on-screen text.

When you’re making your presentation, you could either make your video the whole presentation, or just a part of the whole. Did you know, for example, that you can  embed a video in a Powerpoint document?  Either is possible with our video templates and it can be interesting to mix things up once in a while.

There are four main types of presentations:

• Informative
• Demonstrative
• Inspirational

Picking the right one will ensure you’re onto a winner with your video presentation. For example, if you’re onboarding some new employees, you might choose a video template that’s an informative presentation like this one:

Or, if you want to show off how something works, a demonstration presentation might be what you want to create:

A persuasive presentation would involve creating a video more like this charity infographic example:

And if you want something a little more inspirational, try something like this positive quote video template.

But that’s not all, folks! If you’d like to check out more awesome Biteable video templates, visit our  templates page here .

Creative (and fun!) video presentation ideas

You’ve now picked the type of presentation you need. But how do you get creative with your video?

First of all, it’s important your video is top-notch. Without high-quality graphics and production value, your message may fall by the wayside. Choose online  video presentation software  that’s easy to use and makes great-looking videos. That’s where Biteable comes in.

Whatever the topic of your presentation, your video format and design need to match the overall tone and message.

Delivering a corporate presentation on climate change? A fast-paced, wildly colorful template with upbeat music is going to feel a little off-message.

To identify how to design your presentation, think about the feelings you want to evoke in your audience. Want them to be crying with laughter? Moved to tears? Motivated into taking action? Pinpointing the emotions behind your presentation will help you choose the right template and make the best video possible.

17 great video presentation ideas

Now you’ve nailed down the type of video presentation you want to make, it’s time to master the finer details. Here’s just some of the ways you can make your message sing.

1. Start with a bold statement

A bold statement can capture your audience’s attention right from the get-go. Your statement should offer something slightly unusual and maybe even a little controversial. Something to make people sit up and take notice.

2. Tell a story

One of the best ways to get your audience’s attention is to tell a story – it’ll hit them right in the feels.

A personal, human story works because it the audience can relate to it on a personal level. Think about some stand-out examples of human stories that relate to your business or idea, and tell that story so people will connect with the central character. The bigger the emotion the better: love, longing, overcoming obstacles, things we’ve all had to deal with at some point in our lives.

Think about the  ‘story arc’  – how will you frame your message so the audience immediately empathizes?

If you’re selling trainers, perhaps you’ll talk about someone who’s training for a marathon. If you’re lobbying for women’s rights, perhaps you’ll tell a story of when a passing comment affected you deeply. Maybe you should think back to the decision that started your business, and start your presentation with that.

Here’s a great example of storytelling from one of the world’s top brands:

3. Use music

Music has great power to support and enhance the emotion in a video presentation, and has been proven to sustain an audience’s attention and aid in information retention. Music is used in movies to suggest an emotional state to the viewer, so why not in a video presentation?

Modern, up-tempo music will snap people to attention at the right moment, while slow, minor-key sounds relax the brain, which is useful for reviewing content so it can slip more easily into long-term memory.

It can be a struggle to find good quality  royalty free music , but here at Biteable we have a selection of great royalty free tracks (or you can upload your own if you’re that way inclined).

Music is one of the most critical (and often overlooked) aspects of any presentation. Here’s a good example of a Biteable template where the music does a great job of supporting the message.

4. Visual metaphor

Research has shown that combining pictures and text is one of the best ways to help people engage with and retain information. There’s something about how our brain works that makes text by itself far less memorable, so if you can combine something visual with your message, you’ll keep people’s attention longer and they’ll remember more of your presentation.

Talking to a group of people about taking action on something that scares them? A picture of someone diving or bungee jumping could work. Telling your boss how important that company retreat is next year? Show them an image of happy, relaxed people with their toes in the sand.

It doesn’t have to be obvious and clichéd, either. Closed doors, wide open roads, and lighting a candle all have subconscious messages that you don’t really need to explain. (Whatever you do, just don’t use the ultimate cliche: the overused  ‘water ripple’ .)

5. Use questions

Questions can be a great way to open a presentation, because they encourage the audience to think for themselves. It opens them up to a realm of critical thinking, which is perfect when you’re gonna sock it to them with your impactful message.

‘Did you know 15 billion trees are cut down each year?’

‘Have you ever considered what life would be like if you didn’t have to save money?’

The art of asking questions in a presentation means you can incorporate them into your video as a great lead-in. Combined with some appropriate music, it can really get your audience thinking about the issue, and then you’ll go on to explain exactly what your solution is.

Having a laugh can really do a lot to win over an audience. There’s no need to be too serious, and even if you’re dealing with a heavy topic, lightening the mood can work wonders.

Whether you’re looking to create a funny sales video, an event presentation, or a presentation for an interview — one thing’s for sure, you can’t go wrong by including humor.

7. Repetition

Simple. Effective. Powerful.

Repetition can be used in several ways: by offering several one-word sentences in a row (the repetition is in the rhythm), or by repeating a word or a key phrase several time throughout your presentation.

In his famous Stanford speech in 2005, for example, Steve Jobs concluded by saying  “Stay hungry. Stay foolish.”

Repetition is powerful. It drives home your key message and strengthens your position.

8. Motion Graphics

Motion graphics  are basically animation with text as a major component, and is a staple of what we do at Biteable.

When you use moving graphics in a presentation, it instantly captures attention. If your audience is just taking their seats, or are halfway through hearing your story, there’s no doubt they’ll sit up and take notice if you introduce some cool motion graphics, like this Meeting Tips example.

Although they can sometimes feel clichéd, quotes are a great way to impart a message in a presentation. Want your audience to understand something complex? A quote from Einstein should do it. Or would you like to say something meaningful and poetic? A couple of lines of Shakespeare should convey some wisdom.

10. Audio narration

Narration can give a different mood to your presentation, especially if the voice is powerful and the words are heartfelt. Use it to change the tone or pace of your presentation and it will certainly keep your audience hooked if there’s a danger of them losing interest.

11. Go bright with color

Color can have a huge effect on how your video comes across. Don’t be afraid to experiment. The contrasts of black and white can be extremely effective, but you can also grab people’s attention with some carefully-chosen primary and secondary colors, like in our Motion Graphics template.

12. Use illustrations

Illustrations are a great way to communicate information, especially if you’ve got lots to say. Whether you want to create a crowd of people or a cool depiction of some new fancy gadget, illustrations can draw the eye and make your presentation more interesting.

13. Infographics

When you utilize infographics, you can pack in a huge amount of data and information without confusing your audience. Think pie charts, digital numbers, and ascending animated graphs. These can show your audience boring data in an exciting way.

14. Create interesting transitions

The one advantage of video over a standard presentation is that you can do all types of funky things with transitions, like a whip pan transition, when the camera quickly pans between scenes. It’s a bit like a wipe, but much faster. Check out our full article on transitions  here .

15. Make it look cinematic

Adding a cinematic touch can help your audience feel receptive to your message because subconsciously, they will associate these elements with being at the cinema, eating popcorn, and generally having a good time.

16. Go retro

A cool, retro look for your presentation will make it hard to ignore. By going retro, you add a little bit of cheeky style to your message. You don’t need to go  quite as retro as the template below, but taking a step back in time is a sure way to add a little bit of zing to things.

17. End on a meaningful note

Your presentation will only give your audience a lasting impression if you end it right.

It’s important to let the audience know what you want them to do next: to visit a website for more information, to ponder an idea or new direction, or to take action toward a particular goal.

An attention-grabbing visual will work really well here, along with a meaningful end to the music – a change of pace, volume, or pitch.

What’s the takeaway message? A strong CTA (call to action) will ensure your presentation is memorable and much more likely to be talked about.

Video brings your presentation alive

Of course, we’re a little biased here at Biteable, but we’ve also sat through enough mind-numbingly dull presentations to know that video offers a delightful treat for your audience. It brings your message to life in a way no other medium can.

Ready to start crafting your presentation? Check out our range of templates  here .

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Quick Creative Presentation Ideas & How to PPT Tips (Video)

Watch this quick video to learn some easy PowerPoint tips and creative presentation ideas.

Discover even more tips and PowerPoint ideas in the written tutorial below:

Jump to creative presentation ideas in these sections:

• Use Speech Bubbles
• Create a Timeline
• Audio Narration
• Use Bright Colors
• Use Repetition
• Tell a Story
• Ask Questions at Crucial Moments
• Prepare and Practice
• Organize Your Presentation Into 3 Clear Points
• Break It Up With Humor
• Design Your PowerPoint for Persuasion, Not Distraction
• Don’t Read From Your Slides
• Use Visuals to Ground Abstract Ideas
• Highlight Important Points With Visual Metaphors
• Make Your Examples Personal
• Use an On-Topic Template to Guide Your Presentation
• Don’t Go it Alone: Embrace Teams and Collaborate
• Build for Big Rooms
• Watch Your Animations
• Style With SmartArt
• Turn to Videos to Add Interest
• Align Objects
• Create Quizzes
• Pay Attention to Body Language
• Address Audience Questions
• 27. Turn to Props
• Use Social Media
• Close Strong!
• Share Your Slide Deck After Presenting

30 Creative Presentation Ideas for 2024

Here are 30 cool presentations ideas you can use for your next presentation:

1. Use Speech Bubbles

A creative presentation idea is to put your thoughts or key points into speech bubbles. You can also use them to add notes, commentary, or milestones to a timeline.

When you use speech bubbles, be careful not to overuse them. The point of the speech bubbles is to make the text stand out. The text won't stand out if you use too many speech bubbles. Instead, it'll lose its effect.

2. Create a Timeline

A cool presentation idea that is great for organizing thoughts, facts, or information it to use a timeline.

Each step in a timeline is typically marked with an image icon or shape. So, a timeline can add visual interest to your information. They also help guide the audience through a narrative while also allowing you the ability to talk through specific points.

3. Audio Narration

Another unique presentation idea is to use pre-recorded audio in your presentation.

When you add narration to your presentation, you’re creating more of an immersive experience. Using narration with matching visuals can be more emotional and impact your audience more.

4. Use Bright Colors

A way to have fun presentations is to add bright colors. There are two ways you can do this:

• Use a colorful and exciting background that'll grab the audience's attention. Or use pops of color. When using pops of color, it's best to place your color strategically.
• If you've got an important bit of text that you want your audience to pay attention to, put your pop of color behind that text.

5. Use Repetition

Another creative presentation idea is to use repetition.

Repetition is the oldest trick to remember something. So, if you want your audience to remember a specific phrase, try using repetition.

Choose a phrase that's short and simple. If the phrase is too long, it’ll be harder to remember. Also, don’t repeat the phrase too often. If you do people could tune you out.

6. Tell a Story

The human brain is designed to respond to stories as both a survival mechanism and as an entertainment mechanism. That double role has helped develop it into one of the most powerful communication tools humans have known.

Stories are much more interesting than facts because stories entertain us. Storytelling grabs and maintains attention. It helps the audience understand and remember what was said long after the story’s over.

Instead of presenting your work as a series of facts that'll bore even the most kind-hearted audiences, organize your facts into a story. 

And use a professional design with captivating photo layouts and graphics. This connects your audience visually to your story. Consider the stylish Polarity PowerPoint Template : 

What interesting connections can you make between your facts? What story can you build around them that'll help your audience stay engaged from start to finish? Tell your story.

Learn more about the presentation writing process: 

7. Ask Questions at Crucial Moments

Statements sound trite and expected. Especially during a presentation. A presentation essentially consists of a series of statements strung together. So, one more statement isn’t likely to intrigue the audience—not even an exceptional one.

But what if you ask a question instead?

A question breaks up your regular presentation rhythm and helps mark what you’re saying as important. It turns your presentation from a passive story into an active quest that the audience can explore on their own through their answers.

Answering a question (even if only in their heads) makes your audience feel involved in your presentation and keeps them glued to your words.

8. Prepare and Practice

Ever wonder how the best presenters always seem relaxed, focused, and engaging? It’s easy to think that to be a great presenter, you need to be completely self-assured and comfortable in front of a crowd. 

Preparation really starts at the very beginning. To succeed, take your presentation topics and map them out. This happens before you ever open your favorite presentation app to edit slides.

A big part of that is outlining your presentations. Just as novelists outline their books, great presenters map out big ideas in advance. 

Think of your outline " roadmap " as a way to get your audience exactly where you want them to go. Following that outline as you build your slides helps you stay focused.

Once you've outlined and built your slides, it's time to rehearse relentlessly. It's not much fun, but it serves to build your self-confidence. You learn your content and become comfortable with it. 

This translates directly into a confident stage presence. By feeling better about yourself (and your presentation topics), you'll give a better presentation. And in turn, this fuels audience engagement. Your self-assurance ensures their involvement.

9. Organize Your Presentation Into 3 Clear Points 

The number three has been considered somewhat of a magical number in many cultures since antiquity. Something about things in threes fascinates the human mind and helps it retain information better. Consider these phrases: 

• body, mind, and soul
• lock, stock, and barrel
• pb and j (two ingredients, but three consonants in this abbreviated form)
• blood, sweat, and tears

Magical or not, the number three works like a charm. At the end of the presentation, we can all remember three things that were said. 

So instead of leaving those precious three things to luck, why not take charge? Organize your presentation into three main points or takeaways. Then you can be sure that your audience is paying attention to the important things and not the insignificant details. 

Even if you’re making more than three points, which you likely will be, you can find ways to organize all your minor points into three main categories. That way, you can easily address and summarize the gist of your presentation at the end. 

Cost, timeline, results. Problem, suggestions, solution. Beginning, middle, and end. Just remember to divide it into three!

10. Break It Up With Humor

Humor makes the world go around. And the same holds true for the business world. At the end of the day, no one likes to work with a stiff. 

So even when you’re presenting in front of a “serious” client or investor, remember to use humor in your presentation. This doesn’t mean you've got to crack jokes the entire time. It simply means being cheerful, lighthearted, and personable.

Humor not your strong point? No worries. You can even find presentations on creating presentations with humor!

While it can be challenging to nail the right tone with your use of humor it's one of the best presentation ideas to work on. Humor works to:

• break the ice between you and your audience
• puts everyone at ease, and helps them feel friendly, and well-disposed towards you (which can lead to improved results from your presentation)
• open people up to the fun presentation ideas you’re offering in your presentation

11. Design Your PowerPoint for Persuasion, Not Distraction

If you’re using a slide deck, have a goal in mind. That goal is typically to inform or to persuade (or both.) 

People see a ton of presentations - especially those key audiences like potential investors and customers! That means it's essential to stand out.

This is where Envato Elements comes in. It's loaded with designs that work perfectly for creative ways to present a project . Elements is the ultimate resource for presenters who need creative ways to present a project.

Elements offers thousands of PowerPoint templates . Each one is available for a flat monthly rate. That’s right: join today and you’ll have unlimited downloads of all the amazing templates you can ever use.

These templates are built by creative experts with you in mind. Many offer advanced features impossible to find in any free template. 

With Elements, you gain peace of mind thanks to the ease of use. You’ll save time and money and will impress even the most discerning audience.

This is a powerful offer. And Elements has far more than presentation templates. Your membership also includes stock photos, music, fonts, and more. 

All these are useful to build unforgettable fun presentations in 2024. Join today!  

12. Don’t Read From Your Slides

Reading from a slide that everyone in the room can see (and read for themselves) is boring and makes you look unprepared. Your PowerPoint isn’t there to remind you what to say, but to help your audience better understand the point you're making. 

When you read off your PPT presentation, your audience will inevitably read along with you. And it's been shown that our minds wander 20-40% of the time while reading. 

That means that while you’re reading your slides, your audience is distracted. They may be wondering if they’ve left the iron on or what they're having for dinner. And that’s not what you want them to be thinking about! 

Keep the text of your slides short. Only use it to highlight important points you’re making or to mark the headlines of different sections of your presentation. 

Your slides should never be a crutch to your presentation when you can’t remember what to say. And they should never contain more than a few lines of text on them. 

Slides aren't for reading, but for emphasizing your points quickly.

13. Use Visuals to Ground Abstract Ideas

If you can’t use a million bullet points to summarize your presentation on your slides, then what should your slides contain?

Visuals! Lots of visuals!

Graphs, charts, and pies that illustrate your point and help emphasize it. Also, include images that make an impact on the audience and make the gist of your argument memorable. 

There’s a difference between saying that your solution will cut costs by 20% and showing what that looks like on a graph with real numbers. It helps bring the idea from the abstract domain of theory into the concrete domain of facts. 

And don’t just stick to traditional presentation visuals. This isn’t 2010, after all. Remember that cool presentation ideas today aren't the same as a decade ago.

Bring your presentation into the current era by including a variety of your visual elements. Using graphics, emojis, and even GIFs where appropriate will help give currency to your presentation and bring it to life. 

If you want to make it even more dynamic, consider converting your presentation to a digital flip book , which will add more interactive options and real-page transitions on top of it.

Here’s one of our most popular PowerPoint templates, The X Note . It includes many innovative slide design options, from photo layouts, to timelines, and more:

Discover the best PowerPoint templates with great infographics in this curated article: 

14. Highlight Important Points With Visual Metaphors

Visuals, whether emojis, graphics, or images, shouldn’t be used gratuitously in your presentation. Instead, everything you put into your slideshow should have a specific purpose. 

A powerful way to use images is through visual metaphors. Don’t just tell your client that with your plan new followers will come to them like bees to honey. Illustrate it with an image to help the point stick in their mind. 

Visual images of a situation we’re already familiar with help retain points longer in our memory. They give us something easy to refer to. 

15. Make Your Examples Personal

Another creative presentation idea is to personalize your talk for the specific audience you’re talking to on each occasion. You can always adjust and personalize your presentation experience to the specific audience. 

Give examples in your presentation that involve the audience and show how your solution will benefit them. 

People may not care (or may think they don’t care) about your solution or talk if it just discusses the general. As soon as people realize that something can directly affect and benefit them personally, they start paying attention! 

Show your audience the direct effects of your presentation by including them in your examples. You’ll have their full attention and work your way halfway to that yes!

16. Use an On-Topic Template to Guide Your Presentation

Premium templates like those found on Envato Elements deliver unmatched style and content choices. Many focus on being flexible, offering the ability to quickly adapt to any topic.

Some of the most useful templates, though, take the opposite approach. These focus on a specific theme to offer creative ways to present a project.

Imagine for a moment you're launching a new mobile app. There are templates for that. Or perhaps you're opening a new restaurant and want to bring in customers. You're covered, thanks to custom templates.

The advantage here is twofold:

• You'll find razor-focused slides built for your industry or specialty. These help you to brainstorm new PPT presentation ideas and share them in creative ways.
• These very same slides save you valuable time and effort. How? Well, you don't have to build custom layouts from scratch. The tedious art of slide design transforms into a quick drag-and-drop exercise.

In other words, you can plan and build your next creative presentation more quickly, all thanks to on-topic templates. 

Even better: your audience will be “wowed” by focused layouts that look tailored for you.

17. Add Music! 

This may not be common practice in most presentations you've seen, but it's been proven to work by science. According to research done by Ronald A. Berk of John Hopkins University: 

“Music embedded throughout a PowerPoint presentation can sustain attention, while slipping the content into long-term memory.”

And it isn’t new science! We’ve all known this for many decades. Case in point: can you think of how many movies you’ve seen in your lifetime that had no music? I ’ll give you a hint: Zero!

Ever since we discovered how to add sound to movies, we’ve not only been recording dialogue but also music from them. Because music helps set the mood, gives the right emotional effect, and adds excitement.

What's another way you can use music? To lighten up the mood and give everyone a mini dance break! 

If you decide to use it, adding music can make for a really cool presentation that stands out in your audience’s mind.

So, try this innovative presentation idea and add the appropriate music to your next presentation to help bring it to life.

18. Don’t Go it Alone: Embrace Teams and Collaborate

Do you sometimes struggle to dream up unique topics for presentation use? You're not alone.

Nor should you be. Successful presentations are often fueled by collaboration. In other words, teamwork. There's no reason to do everything by yourself.

This can happen at any stage of the process, from brainstorming to the public delivery. By enlisting collaborators, your audience will enjoy the very best your team has to offer.

Suppose you've got a colleague who's a wizard with building amazing charts. Or you're presenting about a project and want your audience to hear from its architect. The possibilities for teamwork are endless.

Sometimes, it's great to add collaborators to break up the monotony. No matter how fabulous you are in front of a crowd, audiences may lose focus if you talk for too long. If you've got a lot to share, bringing in other voices helps them stay engaged.

Don't forget that you don't have to be in direct proximity to collaborate. With online team features, you can share files with others around the globe. 

And even as you present, you can bring in other speakers with online tools like Zoom. In today's world, this is more powerful (and useful) than ever before.

19. Build for Big Rooms

As you explore unique topics for a presentation, it’s easy to get caught up in the big idea. But that should never distract you from key tactical details. Chances are, as you build your slides, you’re working on a single screen. That means you might forget that major PowerPoint presentations are delivered in large spaces.

What looks great on your screen may be impossible to read for a viewer standing in the back of a lecture hall. Or, your slide might be too crowded, just like we’ve already seen. The takeaway here is: always build presentations for big rooms .

That means to keep slides neat and clean, use large and readable fonts, and linger on each slide to give every viewer the chance to absorb it. No matter what presentation topics you’re discussing, taking your time helps audiences engage with your creative mission.

Also, explore contrast. Often, dark backgrounds and light text are more readable than the reverse.

As you can see in this slide from The X Note PowerPoint Template, contrast is easier on the eyes. It also delivers bold and unconventional styling to your slide deck! Truly, a win-win for you and your team.

Above all, make sure viewers can see and understand your inspirational presentation topics—even from a distance.

20. Watch Your Animations

Many presentation topics will include a lot of different slides. And each of those slides might hold several different types of content. Thanks to PowerPoint, it’s easy to add custom animations and transitions with a few clicks.

These motions really pull your audience in by unveiling new items with a cool flourish. Plus, they’ll help you bring focus to key areas and ensure viewers engage with you.

But be careful.

Opt for clean and simple movements that don’t detract from your narrative. Fades and pushes are top choices for stylish and simple animations. 

It’s just as important to organize your animations. If they happen at the wrong time, or in the wrong order, it can absolutely derail your presentation in a flash. Luckily, this is amazingly easy to avoid. In fact, learn to do it in only 60 seconds with our quick tutorial!

21. Style With SmartArt

PowerPoint is built to bring your fun presentation ideas to life. One great way is by using SmartArt. We’ve already looked at some infographics and charts you may find built into PowerPoint templates. SmartArt takes this to a higher level. In a few clicks, you can build your very own custom infographics on any slide. Let’s add SmartArt to a slide.

SmartArt lives on the Insert tab on PowerPoint’s ribbon. You’ll find it under the Illustrations group. To add SmartArt, simply click on the button and launch the menu seen here.

You’ll see several creative categories for how to present ideas. These include:

• relationships
• hierarchies

Simply click on one, then fill in your relevant information. PowerPoint includes a host of built-in design options to help you fully customize your fun presentation ideas.

For example, you can add new steps to a process chart. Or you can change SmartArt colors to precisely match your branding.

Of course, like any slide feature, overusing SmartArt can distract. But, when used carefully, it’s a powerful tool to visualize relationships. Many infographics take a numerical focus, whereas SmartArt is more about ideas and how they connect with each other.

For more on using SmartArt, check out our post and screencast showing you exactly how to get started!

22. Turn to Videos to Add Interest

As you can already see, plain text is no way to inspire audiences to take action in 2024. It's essential to use other mediums, like photos, charts, infographics, and more.

One of these is video, and it's a category all its own. Have unique topics for presentation use? Bring them to life with video.

Imagine for a moment that you want viewers to hear from an expert on a given topic. Maybe they're unavailable to attend the presentation, or present live remotely. Here's your easy fix. Pre-record their narration and add it right to your slides.

Or perhaps you want to show off a scene that photos alone can't capture. Add a video to your slides. It instantly boosts audience interest - and it might give you a little break while they watch!

Your favorite presentation apps often include easy-to-use video features. In fact, you can add YouTube videos right to PowerPoint slides. 

In-slide video is becoming increasingly popular, and it’s a great way to add a bit of flair to your next slide deck for 2024. Learn more below:

23. Align Objects

Design for persuasion, not distraction. Organize. Use visuals. All those are big creative presentation ideas we’ve already explored. But they don’t tell the full story.

Let’s build a slide in the Neo PowerPoint Template to show you what I mean.

See the slide below? It features a cool infographic and bold text blocks.

It’s also a mess. Nothing is aligned, and content is thrown all around the slide. Any self-respecting viewer will take a single look and recognize sloppy work when they see it. All it takes is a few clicks to totally transform the layout.

Alignment means what it says: pieces of content on the slide are neatly arranged relative to:

• the borders of the slide and
• other content.

As you can see here, changing this layout makes the very same slide instantly appear neat and clean. The audience will now focus on the content, not your messy style.

24. Create Quizzes

Quizzes can liven up a presentation and help engage your audience by adding a game like element. Many viewers will enjoy interacting with the quiz. But don't forget to make it fun.

A creative PowerPoint presentation idea is to create little quizzes throughout your presentation if it's long. If your presentation isn’t long, you can create a quiz at the end of your presentation.

Asking questions ensures that people listen to your presentation. If you're offering a prize to the quiz winner, tell the audience about the quiz and prize at the beginning of your presentation.

25. Pay Attention to Body Language

Body language is essential when giving your creative presentation. If you’re hiding behind a stand, then you look nervous.

But if you walk around on stage and engage the audience, you’ll look confident and knowledgeable. Learn more about body language in this tutorial:

26. Address Audience Questions

If your presentation topic is complicated, then let the audience to ask questions anonymously. This makes the audience feel heard and allows you to make sure they understand the topic.

Plus, letting the audience to anonymously ask questions takes the pressure off the individual audience member.

 27. Turn to Props

A creative presentation idea is to use props. This works well if you aren’t presenting to a large audience.

Props can prove or reinforce a point. They'll make the presentation more interesting for your audience.

Besides, people are naturally more visual. So, using props allows them to visualize what you’re discussing.

28. Use Social Media

If your presentation audience is large, then it might be hard to do a quiz effectively.

If you use Twitter hashtags, you can read audience opinions to questions on Twitter. Just make sure you create a unique hashtag for your event.

29. Close Strong!

So, you’ve delivered an amazing presentation and shared stunning slides along the way. Now it’s time to wrap up with a strong finish.

No matter how good your slide deck, it’s absolutely key to recap and summarize at the end. After all, that’s one of the best ways to ensure retention and action.

There are a few things to keep in mind. Remember how you should organize your presentation into three clear points? It’s time to revisit those. 

Highlight key points, touching on each one and briefly recapping how it fits into the message. This locks your message into memory. As you can see in this slide from our MILD PowerPoint Template, a single slide will do the trick.

These interesting presentation topics for work truly drove the entire slide deck. Give them the attention they deserve.

The other big element of a strong close is the call to action. Chances are, you’re sharing slides to get an audience reaction. If it’s simply to educate them, your three clear points will suffice. But if you’re, say, fundraising or recruiting, the close is where you ask the audience to do something.

The call to action follows all the normal rules you now know well. Make it clear, bold, and concise. Make your intentions known and make your pitch inspirational. Like any good cause, people need to believe in you and your message.

30. Share Your Slide Deck After Presenting

We began by talking about presentation topics and their goals. Whenever you present, you're trying to inform and/or persuade your audience.

Either way, you want them to take your message home with them to be remembered, considered, and acted upon. 

Think of your favorite speeches, or the best presentations you've ever seen. Chances are, you remember a few key details be they quotes or memorable visuals. 

In other words, no audience can be expected to remember everything. And if you expect them to take detailed notes, you'll find them falling more and more behind you.

Your solution is simple: share your slides after the presentation is over. This is now easier than ever. 

You can upload slides to YouTube or share them in PDF format. It's digital, easy to access, and saves a few trees, too!

The Best Source for Simple PowerPoint Templates

Envato Elements is a subscription service where you can find top-notch premium presentation templates . To become a subscriber, pay a flat low monthly fee. Once you’ve subscribed, you get unlimited access to presentation templates, audio, stock images, and much more.

Discover how to create with Envato Elements .

Envato Elements is an excellent value if you need presentation templates or other digital assets often.

How to Come Up With Interesting PowerPoint Presentation Ideas (With Creative Examples)

Presentations have a place in nearly every environment. In this section, I'll share three of my favorite template options that give you fun PowerPoint presentation ideas. You'll see that there are templates for practically every purpose that you can use to launch your next presentation.

1. Educational and Scientific Topics

In the educational world, teachers and students alike put their presentation topics in PowerPoint presentations. When you're cramming for a presentation, you need creative presentation topics to be successful.

Check out these two articles with PowerPoint ideas for educational and scientific PPT presentation ideas:

2. Pitch Decks

Next, maybe you've heard of a pitch deck.  This is a specific type of presentation that startups and founders use to launch a new company or business.

Your potential investors have likely already seen every idea under the sun. So, it helps to use creative presentation topics to frame your company differently. Try these templates show you how to present an idea for a new company:

3. Marketing Presentation Topics

Another popular arena for presenting creative presentation topics is in marketing PowerPoints. No matter what you're marketing, you can use these two resources to put together creative presentations with a solid approach: 

For every presentation you build, using a template is one of the best ways to get creative presentation ideas. You'll find pre-built slides that spark the writing process.

How to Create Unique Topics For a Presentation

Still not inspired? It's possible to use techniques to generate interesting presentation topics for work.

Here are three tips that I use to generate presentation topics:

• Start with brainstorming . At first, you don't need to create structured ideas. A piece of paper and a pen away from your daily distractions can help you generate creative presentation topics. I typically start with a freeform mind map, connecting ideas that I want to share with my audience.   Naturally, connections between these creative presentation ideas will form and the story will develop naturally.
• Draw on personal experience . Not every presentation is personal in nature. But connecting the topic to your personal experience is a powerful storytelling tool. Think about how your personal story connects to the topic to generate creative presentation ideas.
• Take an unconventional view . Even if it isn't your personal view, thought-provoking presentations sometimes take unconventional views. You don't have to take a controversial topic to take an unconventional view. Instead, take a commonly accepted belief and challenge it to get creative.

Dig deep and you might be surprised how many creative presentation topics you might be able to generate. Creative presentation topics are easier to generate when you use this three-step approach.

How to Quickly Customize Creative Presentations That Inspire (In 2024)

Premium templates are one of the best creative ways to present a project. They’re quick and easy to use and deliver inspiring results. Let’s learn how to customize a slide deck to bring presentation topics to life.

Want to follow along? Start crafting creative ways to present a project with the help of Momentum from Envato Elements.

Let's get started:

1. Choose Slides to Work With

As you think about unique topics for presentation designs, it pays to consider your goal. That means choosing only the slides that work best for your idea. In PowerPoint, find the View tab, then click on Slide Sorter . 

Here, you can click on slides and drag them around to change up the sequence. Or you can hold down Shift on your keyboard and select those that you don’t want to use. Then, press Delete . Once you’re finished, click Normal on the View tab to start editing.

2. Add Your Text

Adding your own text is the best place to start. Slide decks like this include an array of text placeholders. All you've got to do is “fill in the blanks” - replacing the existing text with words of your own. 

Begin by highlighting any text you see on a slide. Then, start typing. Repeat throughout the slide deck as needed.

3. Customize Fonts

You might not think of text when you imagine creative, inspiring presentation topics. But it’s really one of the best ways to stand out! Any font can be changed, resized, or customized with things like bolds and underlines, along with different colors. 

To do that, select some text on the slide. Then, on the Home tab, find the Fonts group just left of center. You’ll see an array of buttons for every text effect and font change imaginable. Click on each to explore and apply.

4. Show Off Your Photos

Of all the creative ways to present a project, adding images is at the top of the list. And custom PPT themes like this make it easy. Many slides include pre-built image placeholders. 

To use one, simply browse to an image file on your computer. Then, drag it over the placeholder, and drop it into place. That’s all it takes. PowerPoint imports the image and adds it to your slide. What’s more: it’s scaled to fit perfectly. 

5. Change Shape Colors

Most templates are going to have a default color palette. They look great, but you don’t have to stick to them on every slide. In fact, changing a shape color is a creative way to add contrast. 

Click on a shape, then choose Shape Format on the menu. On the left side, click Shape Fill . You’ll see a color chooser drop-down, from which you can apply any custom color that you want.

5 Top Creative PowerPoint Presentation Template Designs for 2024

Want to bring your presentation topics to life? Turn to these five templates that are trending on Envato Elements. They’re the best out there for creative presentations today:

1. Rotario Creative PowerPoint  

Need a winning way to explore unique topics for presentation decks? Rotario is ready for you. With a retro color theme and minimalist style, it’s one of the best ways to share your favorite content. In total, there are 35 slides included.

2. Inspiring PowerPoint Presentation Template  

Inspire your audience with this powerful presentation deck for PPT. Over 70 unique slides feature every type of layout conceivable. Light and dark versions help you choose a color palette that’s right every time. Plus, you’ll benefit from included vector icons and many aspect ratios. It’s versatile, flexible, and easy to use.

3. Lakewood Professional PowerPoint Template  

For business presentation topics, you can still be creative and inspire your audience. In fact, inspiration may lead to funding, support for your projects, and more. Let Lakewood do the talking for you, in elegant and readable style. It includes a full set of infographics and diagrams to help bring data to life.

4. Halogue - Creative PowerPoint Presentation  

With unmatched style and funky graphics, Halogue is a top creative choice for 2024. Over 40 slides center around master layouts, making bulk edits a breeze. A unique custom icon pack lets you bring new life to every slide. In fact, each design element is totally customizable. This gives you the ultimate creative control.

5. Reddo Modern PowerPoint  

Think all the creative ways to present a project involve bright, flashy slides? Think again. Reddo proves the opposite, delivering a sleek and beautiful slide deck for your next project. You’ll find 120 layouts inside, some featuring modern infographics, Excel-based charts, and more. It’s a fashionable way to make that great first impression.

Learn More About Presentations

Want to give the best presentation? Read these articles to learn more:

More Creative PowerPoint Templates

If you're still looking for premium templates, check these articles out:

Download Our Free PDF eBook on Making Great Presentations

Want even more skills to make great presentations? Download our free eBook:  The Complete Guide to Making Great Presentations , which comes with a subscription to the Tuts+ Business Newsletter. 

This 30-page PDF guide with included checklist will help you with the complete presentation process. Learn how to write your presentation, design it like a pro, and quickly prepare it to present powerfully. 

Make Your Next Presentation Memorable! 

Simply presenting the facts makes for a baseline presentation. To impress, convince, and convert your audience with your presentation you’ll need to build some structure and excitement into your talk both verbally and visually. 

Take advantage of these creative ideas for making your presentation better. 

For even more ideas on how to improve your presentation, check out this article featuring presentation tips or browse through our featured  presentation material : 

How do you structure and design your presentations? And what will you do differently in your next presentation given these unique presentation ideas?

Use these creative presentation ideas now. Download a template. And start your next great presentation today!

Editorial Note :  This tutorial was originally published in September of 2016. It's been updated to include new information—with special help from  Andrew Childress  and Sarah Joy .

14 Fun & Interactive Presentation Games for Teams and Students

So you've got an audience to energize, students to engage, or a team that needs a little extra fun — playing an interactive presentation game is an easy way to do just that.

We've done the research and found the best of these games for you: we looked specifically for games that are simple to set up, fun to play, and flexible enough to be used with a variety of presentations and audiences. Most of these activities work virtually with Zoom/PowerPoint and can also be used in person.

Which of these 14 presentation games do you like best? Take a look and let us know your favorites:

1. Live Trivia Competition

A great way to ramp up the excitement and engagement is to enable a little bit of friendly competition. Trivia is an easy way to do this—plus, it can be whole-group inclusive and large-audience friendly (if you use the right tools).

Here's a great trivia game you can run with your team, students, or any large audience. It's already created for you with questions and scoring built in to make it even easier:

Here's how to play:

• Make a free account here: https://slideswith.com/  
• Click the slide deck and copy it. 
• Launch the trivia game by clicking "Start Event."
• Invite your group to join in and submit answers using their mobile devices (show the winners automatically).
• Interact and play during your presentation!

This trivia game has questions on many topics to keep your audience's attention and appeal to everyone. It only takes 10-15 minutes to play, so it's a great game for long discussions! Also, this interactive activity is free for up to ten participants and is totally customizable.

2. Sing and Swing 

To really liven up your group, encourage your listeners to play Sing and Swing. This activity is best for long presentations because it boosts energy, creates a fun, light-hearted environment, and makes people laugh a lot. 

Here's how to play: 

• Before your presentation, pick a well-known song and rewrite the chorus (replace parts of it with words and phrases from your presentation) 
• When you're ready to play, show the song on your screen. 
• Invite your audience to sing it with you!

If you have a fun group or a class of energetic students, consider adding choreography to engage your audience even more. 

3. 20 Questions

If you want a presentation game that requires your listeners to talk more than you, 20 Questions is the one to play! A classic and simple activity, this game immediately boosts engagement and gets people laughing. 

Here's how to play: Have someone put an appropriate image or word on the screen behind you (this can be an audience member you trust or a colleague or co-presenter). To make things more fun, put on a blindfold so that everyone knows you can't cheat. From there, ask 20 "yes or no" questions to guess what's displayed on the screen. Your group should respond "yes" or "no" to guide you to the correct answer. 

4. Scavenger Hunt Challenge

To get your audience out of their seats, a scavenger hunt challenge is one of the best interactive games for presentations. It'll immediately energize your audience , team, or students while giving them a fun way to learn.  

There are tons of in-person and virtual scavenger hunt ideas you can use to dive deeper into your topic or help everyone learn about one another. But if you want a ready-to-play game that you can instantly launch without having any tech skills, here's a fun one to play: 

• Use an email address and password to create a free account here: https://slideswith.com/ (a free account guarantees up to ten people can play at no charge). 
• Click the game and press "Copy and use this slide deck." 
• In the top right corner, click "Start Event."
• Ask listeners to join the game by using their mobile devices to scan the QR code. Players should continue using their mobile devices to submit answers to questions.
• Have everyone start hunting for items! 

This activity is a particularly fun game because it's a photo-hunt, show-and-tell challenge! That means your audience will not only get out of their seats to find items, but they'll also get to take pictures and share and discuss photos of what they find. This conversational element will help engage your group! 

5. Group Word Clouds

Whether you're speaking to team members, students, or conference-goers, this activity lets you ask questions and get your listeners' thoughts on specific topics. 

This game is the perfect way to start your presentation, especially if you're discussing something with a wide range of opinions or are unsure how much your listeners know about a certain subject. Group Word Clouds is also beneficial if you want to do a quick meeting pulse or know how your listeners feel going into your presentation—understanding their energy levels and mood can help you adjust (if necessary) to get maximum engagement and excitement.

To enjoy this activity, keep things simple by using a tool that already offers a ready-to-play Group Word Clouds game. Here's a popular one you can launch immediately: 

• Create a free account by entering an email and password here: https://slideswith.com/  
• Click the game and then copy it (the button to do so is right underneath the slide deck).
• Press "Start Event" in the top right corner. 
• Tell participants to play by scanning the QR code. 
• Create word clouds and have fun!

This interactive game only takes 5-10 minutes to play, so it's a fast, fun way to engage your audience and feel out the room. Players can use their mobile devices to answer questions. This activity is also free for up to 10 people and is easy to personalize.

6. The Get to Know You Game

This activity is one of the best presentation games if you have a small group that doesn't really know each other. The Get to Know You Game is a creative way to do introductions, and it's really simple.

Here's how to play the game: Before the event, ask group members to bring a favorite song or item to the presentation (you can do this by emailing them). When you're ready to play, ask each person to introduce themself, present their song or item, and explain why they picked it. For those sharing a song, have them play it on their phones before they explain why it's their favorite. 

7. Live Poll Questions 

When you have a large group, it's not easy to find ways to boost engagement—but poll questions are the solutions, especially when they're live and interactive. With this unique setup, large groups engage by answering questions and seeing their answers displayed in a fun way. 

Your job is to make sure you actually find a game that showcases responses uniquely to captivate your group. For a quick and great option, here's a popular icebreaker activity that promises to display responses using fun formats like word clouds, donut charts, live graphs, and per-player: 

• Create an account for free to access the game:  https://slideswith.com/  
• Click the slide deck and press the button to copy it. 
• Look in the top right corner of the deck and press "Start Event."
• Invite your group to play the game. They only need to use their mobile devices to scan the QR code. 
• Start polling your audience!

This activity is one of those fun presentation games everyone will want to enjoy, so invite all of your team members and students to participate. This game can accommodate up to 250 players and takes 5-10 minutes to complete. Tell your group to use their mobile devices to submit their responses. 

8. Assumptions 

This interactive game is a great way to break up your presentation to see who's paying attention and who can answer questions pertaining to your topic. 

• Ask your audience to stand up (for virtual presentations, make sure everyone's video is on). 
• Show true or false statements on the screen one by one. 
• Tell people to raise a hand if they think the statement is correct and sit down if they think it's incorrect.
• Continue until one person is left standing.
• Award the winner. 

This activity can be as short and challenging as you want. Also, if your presentation is long, you can play multiple rounds to break up your speaking time and test your audience throughout your discussion.  

9. Controversial Questions 

Want to see where your audience, students, or team lands on controversial topics? Then, energize your presentation with a fun, creative game called Controversial Questions. This activity has prompts that inspire lively debates, so it's a great way to get your group excited and chatty. 

However, to maintain a positive environment, make sure to find a tool that offers an office-friendly, classroom-friendly, and conference-friendly game. You don't want to sour the mood by creating uncomfortable division during your presentation. To make sure this game is fun and light-hearted, here's a popular one that's suitable for all audiences and ages: 

• Sign up for a free account by inputting an email address and password here:  https://slideswith.com/pricing  
• Click the game and press the button that says, "Copy and use this deck." 
• Press "Start Event" (the button is in the top right corner). 
• Have participants join the fun by asking them to scan the QR code with their mobile devices. 
• Get controversial and play! 

This interactive game for presentations asks fun (but appropriate) questions like:

• Does pineapple belong on pizza?
• Does the person flying in the middle seat get both armrests?
• Should the toilet roll go over or under? 

Players should use their mobile devices to submit answers. Up to ten people can play for free, and you can customize the game by updating the questions!

10. Word of the Day 

With this activity, you can keep your audience, team, or students engaged throughout your entire presentation. This  game requires listeners to be alert and recognize whenever you say the word of the day. 

Here's how to play: At the beginning of your presentation, tell your group the word of the day (it can also be a phrase if you'd prefer). Say that you'll weave the word into your presentation and that your audience must shout it out whenever you mention it. 

11. Mini Activity: Group Icebreaker

Whether you're doing an in-person or virtual presentation, you need to warm up your audience to get things started on a positive note. The best way to do that is with a quick icebreaker game. 

However, make sure your questions are fun, positive, and engaging. You can easily do this by finding a game that already has the best icebreaker questions included. Here's one that's ready to play (and requiring no tech skills to launch): 

• Input an email address and password to make a free account here: https://slideswith.com/  
• Click the deck and copy it (press "Copy and use this deck). 
• Click the button in the top right corner that says "Start Event."
• Invite participants to play by asking them to scan the QR code. 
• Break the ice to warm up your audience!

Your group should use their mobile devices to submit responses to poll questions. Also, this game accommodates up to 250 players, but only ten people can join for free.

12. Process of Elimination 

This activity is one of the best games for presentations because it's simple yet fun and great at helping listeners get to know each other. You can play it at the beginning of your presentation or in the middle to give your group a chance to stretch their legs. 

• Before your event, create a list of "yes or no" questions. 
• Once you're ready to play, tell your group to stand up (if you're doing a virtual presentation, make sure everyone's video is on). 
• Ask each question one by one. 
• Tell attendees to stand if their answer is "yes" and sit if their answer is "no." 

The questions can relate to your topic or be totally random. Also, if you'd prefer to thin out the number of people standing, you can take a creative twist and ask your questions by saying something like this: "Stay standing if (insert scenario)." When phrasing each question this way, the game will end with one person standing. To acknowledge the winner, you can give them a round of applause or award them a prize. 

13. Conference Opener Icebreaker 

If you're speaking at a big conference, you need an interactive game for presentations that can get everyone involved and ensure every voice is heard. To achieve these goals, you should create an icebreaker game that works for large groups . 

Using an easy, intuitive template is the best step to take. That way, you don't have to start from scratch or spend hours making your game. For a template that requires no code or tech-savviness to build on, here's the best option: 

• Sign up by making a free account here: https://slideswith.com/  
• Click on the game. On the next page, click the button to copy and use the deck. 
• Customize the template using the instructions HERE . 
• During your presentation, press "Start Event" in the top right corner. 
• Ask the group to use their mobile devices to scan the QR code and join the fun. (Also, make sure participants use their mobile devices to submit answers.) 
• Play and engage your audience!  

This template has fun, interactive features built in to keep your large audience engaged. Those features include polls, word clouds, and ratings. Just make sure you sign up for a paid plan to accommodate the large number of people in your group—the free account only works for up to ten players. 

14. Two Truths and a Lie 

This classic game is a fun, energizing way to help your listeners get to know one another. It's perfect for small in-person or virtual groups and is an ideal activity for the beginning of your presentation. 

Here's how to play: Pick any topic (for the purposes of this article, the topic will be "movies"). In no particular order, say two movies you've really watched and one you haven't watched. Ask your audience to guess which statement is the lie. The winner picks the next topic and says two truths and a lie. 

Be Memorable With Presentation Games

Oftentimes, people forget presentations within a week or even days, and that's because the discussions are boring. But you don't work hard preparing a presentation for it to be forgotten. If you want your message to stick, all you have to do is make it enjoyable without being corny.  

If you want to be remembered and actually get people engaged, you need to make your presentation fun and enjoyable, without coming off as corny or desperate to please. Ivan Dimitrijevic, 10 Secrets of Making Every Presentation Fun, Engaging, and Enjoyable

Luckily, the interactive presentation games in this article are unique and exciting—they're far from corny. So, use them for your upcoming presentations to make your messages compelling and memorable. 

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Microsoft 365 Life Hacks > Presentations > How to create an inspirational PowerPoint presentation

How to create an inspirational PowerPoint presentation

Creating an inspirational PowerPoint presentation involves more than just putting together slides; it’s about crafting a moving story that resonates with your audience and leaves a lasting impact. See how you can elevate your material to truly call your audience to agree with you or ask for action.

What is an inspirational presentation?

Easy and effective PowerPoint tools make it simple to assemble a compelling slideshow. You can choose from creative templates , make animated shorts , or implement video clips via Clipchamp .

However, PowerPoint works the best when you imbue it with a narrative that has the power to captivate. Whether you’re trying to motivate and uplift your audience, offer encouraging advice, or ask them to act or change their perspective, an inspirational presentation carries the same motivational speaking skills as a sales pitch.

Therefore, the key to a successful inspirational presentation is to deliver a clear, impactful message that is both engaging and memorable. Structure your presentation as a narrative, with a clear beginning, middle, and end. To elevate the storytelling qualities of your presentation, introduce a conflict or challenge and describe the journey of overcoming it. While not every topic that you choose to inspire others will involve a conflict, an inspirational presentation will nonetheless conclude with a resolution that leaves your audience inspired.

Tell your story with captivating presentations

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How to inspire others with your presentational skills

Any good presentation begins with a strong outline . The outline of your presentation should adhere to your goals:

• To persuade people to share your point of view.
• To present something new or give a new perspective on something old.
• To inspire, motivate, and call for action or change.

Keep these goals in mind when you begin outlining. Start your outline with a strong theme that aligns with the message you want to convey. This should be relevant to your audience and your objectives and serve as the backbone of your presentation in guiding the narrative and supporting your message.

Use motivational quotes and visuals

Sprinkle your presentation with quotes from leaders and famous thinkers that align you’re your theme. Pair these quotes with compelling visuals to enhance their impact. Keep in mind that in a presentation that uses visual aids, these quotes are the “icing on the cake” of the message you’re trying to convey; they can serve as powerful reminders of the key points you want your audience to remember.

Share success stories

Incorporating success stories that are related to your topic can convey a sense of success to your audience. Stories of achievable potential can provide examples on how the concepts or strategies you’re sharing can help benefit your audience. This can make otherwise abstract ideas more tangible—and therefore achievable.

Engage your audience

Audience interaction—in the form of quizzes, can make your presentation more memorable. Include questions to ponder, prompt discussions, or incorporate quick activities that reinforce the message. This engagement makes the experience more dynamic and personal for the audience, increasing the impact of your presentation.

Brush up on presentation skills

The key to an inspirational presentation is to balance the use of visual aids and public speaking skills. This can be easier said than done, of course—which is why it’s vital to learn how to practice your presentations , incorporate humor and wit into your speech, or overcome the fear of public speaking that plagues an estimated 73% of the population.

Creating an inspirational presentation requires thoughtful preparation, a balance of visual aids and speaking, as well as a creative approach. By following these guidelines, you can develop a presentation that not only informs but also inspires and motivates your audience.

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10 Interactive Presentation Ideas for Organisers & Speakers

It’s easy to create a simple PowerPoint presentation. You write the content, add some images, and add the information to your slides. And voilá — a presentation.

But in a world with endless content at our fingertips, is a simple PowerPoint presentation enough to hold your audience’s attention? After all, most people tune out of PowerPoint presentations after 10 minutes .

So, you need to ensure that your presentation holds your audience’s attention.

Every part of your presentation needs to be crafted with your audience in mind to keep them interested in what you’re saying. This is where interactive presentations can help.

In this article, we’ll show you what an interactive presentation is, why they’re important, and 10 ways to make your next presentation more interactive and fun for your audience. 

What is an interactive presentation? 

An interactive presentation is when the audience actively participates and engages with the speaker and the content being delivered. For example, instead of reading a monotonous PowerPoint presentation, you can make it come alive by interacting with your audience and getting them involved.

Engaging your listeners works both in-person and online. Think of activities, discussions, or technology that encourage your audience to take part in some way. The aim is to make the presentation more fun and memorable.

Why are interactive presentations important for event planners and speakers?

Let’s take a look at some of the reasons interactive presentations are important from the perspective of the people involved in organising and executing the event.

To engage your audience 

Engaging the audience from the offset is a great way to keep them interested throughout the rest of your presentation. 

Put yourself in the shoes of an attendee for a second. 

You’re at a presentation where the speaker runs a quick poll at the beginning of the presentation. Everyone in the audience uses their phones to submit their answers to the poll, and then the speaker discusses the results as part of the presentation. 

How would you feel in this situation? Would it pique your interest for the rest of the event and make you feel more engaged? Would it draw you out of your Instagram scrolling?

By playing an active role in the presentation, you’re instantly a part of it. It grabs your attention and keeps you focused on the rest of the talk. 

To enhance learning and retention 

When participants are more engaged, they’re likely to retain information longer. Take a look at this academic research as an example. 

The study compares long-term memory retention between active and traditional learning. Active learning is a learning method where students participate in discussions, problem-solving, and other activities. Traditional learning is the old-fashioned set-up where students sit in a classroom and listen to the teacher. 

The study found that participants who took part in active training had higher test scores one month after the training session than those who received traditional training.

In other words, active learners had better long-term retention of the new information.

To build trust

Interactive presentations help you capture your audience’s attention and build a connection with them right from the start. And when attendees feel connected to the speaker, they’re more likely to trust them and listen attentively.

It could be something as simple as a question-and-answer session with the speaker and the audience.

By encouraging the audience to participate, speakers show that they value their listeners’ thoughts and opinions.

This can help establish a relationship between the presenter and the audience, which is beneficial in a variety of events — from educational lectures and conferences to sales presentations and pitches. 

10 interactive presentation ideas that’ll engage your audience

Take a look at these 10 interactive presentation ideas that’ll hook your audience and build rapport. Plus, we’ll show you how to use these ideas in your own presentations. 

1. Start with an icebreaker

An icebreaker breaks down barriers and makes everyone feel more relaxed at an event (or in any other professional setting).

Here are a few icebreaker examples you might want to include in your next presentation: 

• Two truths, one lie. Everyone tells two truths and one lie about themselves, and everyone else has to guess which statement is the lie. 
• Survivor. You create a fictional emergency scenario (like being stranded on a desert island) that everyone has to figure out how to escape.
• The perfect vacation. Participants get into pairs and describe their ideal vacation to each other. Then, they must each describe their partner’s trip to the group as best they can. 

Although icebreakers are a simple way to get your audience involved in your presentation, they’re better suited to small groups. With too many people, it can be pretty overwhelming. 

Fortunately, an online game like Quiplash from Jackbox Games can help you run an icebreaker for a large group. 

Using Jackbox TV , participants can use their phones to take part in an online icebreaker. You create the questions, and everyone has a chance to submit an answer.

2. Use interactive video 

Interactive video gives your audience a visual medium to engage with and breaks up the monotony of delivering a slide-by-slide PowerPoint presentation. 

There are a couple of ways to incorporate interactive video in your presentation: 

• Use a digitally interactive video. A digitally interactive video allows the audience to click or tap certain elements. For example, if you’re delivering a presentation about health and safety in the workplace, you can use an interactive video to get your audience to click whenever they spot something that requires attention. All participants will need access to a phone or digital device to do this. 
• Stop and start an existing video. Use an existing video and ask the audience to raise their hands when spotting certain things. You could ask the audience to watch a video with workplace scenarios and raise their hand when they spot something unacceptable. A clip from The Office would be a fun and entertaining example to use here!

3. Use visual aids to get your audience involved 

Visual aids can make your presentation more persuasive and more effective at getting people to take action. They can also help participants retain information for longer, as this quote from Dr. Lynell Burmark outlines: 

“Words are processed by our short-term memory where we can only retain about seven bits of information […]. Images, on the other hand, go directly into long-term memory where they are indelibly etched.”

When delivering an interactive presentation, you can get participants to hold, manoeuvre, and handle the visual aids to make it even more engaging. 

Imagine that you’re trying to deliver a presentation about the history of marketing. To make it interactive, you might ask some audience members to stand along a timeline to represent different events in the marketing history timeline.

You could even turn it into a puppet show. A presentation would certainly be a unique take on visual aids in a presentation, which is sure to create a memorable (and funny) experience!

4. Encourage people to take part in a narrative

Engage with your audience by creating a narrative around your presentation, then asking them to take part in it.

For example, if you’re presenting to a room full of baristas, you could start your presentation by telling a story about your experience with coffee. Then, you can ask for their input to build the narrative or ask them to share their own experiences. As a result, they’re taking part in the presentation by contributing to the story.

Take a look at an example from across the pond — the Drunk Theatre Improv Show in California as an example of engaging the audience in your narrative.

At the Drunk Theatre Company’s shows, the audience and the performers collaborate to create the story. As a result, the audience becomes part of the show, which makes it more entertaining.

Pro tip: A compelling and interactive story can hook your audience and engage them for the entire presentation. So, try to weave the narrative through the entire event to keep people interested.

5. Host a Q&A with the audience

People’s attention spans naturally dwindle over time. In fact, a study from King’s College London found that almost half of people think that their attention spans are shorter than they used to be.

With a closing Q&A, you can re-engage with your audience and give them a chance to have their questions answered.

Here are a few tips for hosting a Q&A:

• Set clear expectations. Explain the purpose, format, and guidelines for the Q&A session at the beginning to make sure guests know what to expect and how to participate.
• Create a safe and respectful environment. To encourage people to take part, foster an atmosphere where participants feel comfortable asking questions without fear of judgement or criticism. To do this, make sure that you (or the event speaker) answer questions with sincerity and consideration.
• Repeat or paraphrase questions. Help other attendees understand questions by repeating or rephrasing each question before answering. That way, you can make sure everyone has the clarity and context to understand your answers.

Pro tip: Have someone in the venue available to head over to the audience and offer a microphone. If you’re doing the event online , be sure to select people to ask questions to avoid everyone talking simultaneously. 

6. Involve the audience in a panel discussion 

You can host an interactive panel discussion to run a lively debate by running a continuous Q&A session throughout the panel.

Here’s how it works:

• The event speaker lets the audience know they can continually ask questions throughout the event via an online platform like Eventbrite’s , which integrates with the most popular video conference tools.
• Participants submit questions (anonymously if they wish) for the panel to discuss.
• Questions keep coming in throughout the event based on where the topic of conversation goes.

By hosting your panel discussion this way, you give the audience some control over the discussion, which makes them feel fully engaged in the conversation.

Pro tip: Be sure to notify the audience beforehand that there’ll be an interactive panel so they have their phones available for the event. You can also use Eventbrite’s events management platform to communicate with attendees before the event to let them know.

7. Ask the audience questions

Ask the audience questions and get them to raise their hands depending on which answers they agree with. It doesn’t take much preparation, but it still involves the audience and holds their attention, which is what you’re trying to achieve.

Think about a tech event as an example. An event host might ask participants what topics they think are the most important in tech in the current year. The host provides some options and asks everyone to raise their hands based on what they agree with. 

After everyone has raised their hands, the speaker will discuss the results with the attendees as part of the presentation. 

Pro tip: Make sure you word the question clearly so everyone can easily participate. Don’t leave it open to interpretation, as this might prevent people from taking part. Plus, it could have a negative impact on their focus and how much they trust the speaker. 

8. Run a poll 

Ask participants to take part in a live poll and share the results as part of the presentation. This will help your audience feel involved and give them a chance to share their thoughts and opinions. 

For example, if you’re hosting an event about remote work, you could create a poll about people’s perceptions of remote work. This could include questions like:

• Are you more productive working at home? 
• Do you miss the office environment while working at home? 

Then, when everyone answers these questions, you can present the results and discuss them with the audience.

If you’re wondering how to run live polls during an event, take a look at Mentimeter . This platform lets you create interactive poll questions and easily share the results during your presentation.

Pro tip: Set a timeframe for people to complete the poll to make sure it doesn’t create a lull in the presentation flow. You should also be prepared to discuss the results off the cuff, as there might be some trends you weren’t prepared for.

9. Have participants use augmented reality

If you really want to create a memorable and engaging presentation, consider using augmented reality (AR).

Let’s say you want to show your audience a new product. With AR, you can design the product before the presentation and allow everyone to view it on their mobile devices — in the exact room you’re presenting in. 

You can also use it to create games and make presentations more fun for everyone. Just take Pokemon Go as an example. With this game, people can go to different locations to ‘catch’ new Pokemon with their phones. You can use a similar concept to create an activity or game during the presentation or as part of a break.

Take a look at Adobe Aero to find out more about how to use AR and how it can help you create an unforgettable experience for your guests. 

10. Consider running an unconference 

Unlike having a pre-set schedule, an unconference involves attendees deciding all of the topics of discussion, making it an engaging and compelling event. 

Let’s say that the topic for your unconference is ‘digital marketing in 2024’. The attendees want to discuss artificial intelligence, influencers, and social media. You consolidate their suggestions, and then attendees can take part in discussion groups.

Have a look at Venquis ’ Tackling AI & Diversity agenda as an example:

• What diversity means to us
• Unlocking diversity in tech jobs
• Why data teams thrive, IT struggles
• Attract & retain diverse talent
• Build a diverse talent pipeline
• Redefining work for inclusivity.

They leave all the discussion slots open for the attendees to decide on the topic and then have a roundtable discussion for each topic. 

Pro tip from Eventbrite: This type of event can be tricky if you’re doing it for the first time. Do a trial run with your event team members to make sure you know how the process works and what you need to do at every stage. 

Turn your interactive presentation idea into reality

If you’re planning to host a presentation, consider incorporating interactive presentation ideas like the ones we’ve described above. This will boost your audience engagement and ensure your event remains in your attendees’ memories for years to come.

To streamline your organisation’s process, use Eventbrite to plan your event . With our event management software, you can sell tickets, communicate with attendees, and track the performance of all your events in one location.

Are you ready to grow your next event?

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about the author

Noelle Buhidar

Noelle Buhidar is the Global Head of Content Marketing at Eventbrite and former Editor-in-Chief for The Real Deal by RetailMeNot. She's passionate about helping event organizers plan events, market to the right audiences, grow their businesses, and sell more tickets. When she's not at work, she's likely at a concert — either in her hometown of Austin, TX, or another city (experiencing live music in new places is one of her favorite ways to get to know local culture). She lives by the mantra, "Give me experiences, not stuff." And that motto is what fuels her purpose in and outside of Eventbrite.

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11 tips on how to make a presentation fun

Michael Duarte

We’ve all been there … sitting in the audience of a presentation, trying our very best to pay attention, stay alert, even worse — stay awake! They don’t call it Death By PowerPoint for nothing! But it really doesn’t have to be this way! So, you’re probably wondering — how do I make a presentation fun ?

The truth is — presentations can be as fun, as interactive, as exciting, and as engaging as you make them. But the same is true for the opposite. It’s not PowerPoint’s fault that the presentation was boring, it’s the presenter’s job to bring the message to life . So, let’s start where we don’t want to end up … with a boring presentation.

What makes a boring presentation?

Here are the ingredients to avoid making a boring presentation. For starters, boring presentations feel like a monologue, not a dialogue .

• They feel like the speaker is talking at you, not with you
• The pace is slow
• They use too many filler words ; every other word is an “umm” or an “uhh”
• The organization is non-existent, making it hard to follow along
• The speaker delivers in a monotone voice
• There’s a total lack of vocal variety
• The slides haven’t been updated since 2010 or are so busy you must squint to read the text and still struggle to grasp what’s relevant … woof!

Think back to the last boring presentation you sat through. You know, the one where you found yourself checking your emails or messaging your colleagues instead of listening to the message. Maybe you muted yourself and went off camera in the zoom call because it felt more productive to multitask than to stay engaged. Of course, this hasn’t happened with one of your presentations, but we’re here to give you some tips so you can be sure you don’t fall into this terrible trap.

I can already hear those voices …

• But what about when my content is dry?
• My content is boring!
• I’ve got to present a lot of data , there’s nothing I can do to make that fun
• Most of my presentations are via Zoom, there’s no way to make it engaging

We hear you and that’s why we’re here; to tell you how to make a boring presentation fun.

What makes an interactive presentation?

Every great presentation needs to start off by thinking about the audience.

• Who are they
• Why are they here
• What do they need to hear?

At every step of the presentation design , we should be thinking about our audience and how to make our message relevant to them. This is a great foundation for how to make a presentation fun and interactive.

1. Think about your content

Sure, there’s so much you can say about the topic you need to speak on, but consider your audience and edit out the stuff that isn’t relevant to them and your goals for the talk. Boring presentations often feel like streams of consciousness, wandering off into tangents. Focusing your message helps curate your content for the audience and helps to ensure they stay engaged.

Maybe there’s a good chunk of data you need to deliver. Consider ways you can make the data interactive. Add in animations to call out data you’re speaking to on that otherwise busy chart. Make the numbers meaningful for your audience by connecting to things that are relevant or familiar to them.

An example of connecting to your audience with data

For example, in a pitch to a Philadelphia-based organization, rather than saying, “We sold over 200,000 units last month alone,” you might say something like, “We could fill every seat in Lincoln Financial Field’s stadium three times over with the number of units we sold last month alone. That’s over 200,000 units.” Now they get a sense of the scale! And a solid dose of fun, which made that list of numbers much more engaging. Now your audience is paying a little closer attention because you’ve connected your message with something relevant to them.

2. Think about your slides

Slides should be a boon to your presentation, there to support, underscore, or enhance your message. Slides can be interactive when you select:

• And examples that keep your audience in mind

Bringing up a case study from a relevant industry, for example, is a way to show your audience you’ve thought of them and demonstrates you’re not simply delivering the same message to every person who will sit and listen.

Swapping out visuals or data points with your audience in mind is a great way to build engagement in your deck. Busy, noisy slides can also take away from how interactive your presentation is. Your audience should be listening to you speak, not reading paragraph by paragraph on the slide.

If that much content goes on the slide, consider sending it in an email instead, or as a pre-read via a Slidedoc™ . Audiences would rather just read it themselves than join a meeting for a corporate read-a-long. Remember, by simplifying and streamlining your slides, this opens up space on the screen for engagement.

3. Think about your delivery

And last but not least, being interactive in your delivery is key when it comes to how to make a presentation fun. No one likes feeling like they’re being talked at. And that’s the recipe for a boring presentation. You know, Peanuts teacher style, you just start to hear the wha, wha, wha, wha-wah, wha-wah. That does not make an interactive presentation. Build in engagement by asking rhetorical questions, getting audience involvement, when appropriate, and delivering with dynamism.

Why you should care about audience engagement?

Engaging messages stick. Engaging presentations are meaningful and memorable. And isn’t that the point of presentations in the first place? You don’t want your message to live in the vacuum of that single meeting or talk, but live on, be passed on to decision-makers and action-takers, or be applied by your audience well-beyond the 30 minutes that you had the presentation floor.

In addition to your message being memorable, you become memorable as well when your message is engaging. Good presentation skills are at the top of nearly every job skills list, whatever your industry. When you’re someone who can be relied on to deliver engaging messages, your opportunities expand significantly.

Needless to say, engagement can go a long way and has a ton of benefits, so let’s highlight some of the simple steps you can take if you’re considering how to make a presentation fun.

How do you make a presentation fun?

As we’ve already discussed above, there are so many ways you can make a presentation engaging and fun as well as some important things to consider when it comes to your audience, content, slides, and delivery. But what are some specific things you might do when you’re wondering about how to make a presentation fun.

• 1. Bring the energy and deliver with dynamism – If fun is what you’re looking to deliver, bringing energy to your message will help bring energy to the room. If you’re having fun with your presentation, your audience will too. So build in fun through vocal variety, movement, gestures, and facial expressions.
• 2. Make it interactive – Get the audience engaged early by asking for a show of hands. Integrate rhetorical questions to get them thinking. Or invite their participation by welcoming their thoughts throughout. Questions, polls, or even getting your audience in the zoom to pop an emoji in the chat can be a great way to build in a bit of fun.
• 3. Personalize the message – Whenever you can bring in examples, images, or stories that are relevant to your particular audience, do it. They’ll be so much more connected to your message, making it all the more memorable.
• 4. Bring in variety – Have fun with the mediums you use to get your message across. Presentations don’t have to just be one-way communication. A combination of speaking, interactivity, media clips or powerful images, and data bring variety to the presentation and keep your audience engaged.
• 5. Build in some breadcrumbs – Maybe your presentation starts with a question that doesn’t get fully answered until the end. Or maybe you offer breadcrumbs throughout inviting your audience to help solve the problem, answer the question, or consider solutions throughout. This approach, when it fits the message, is a great way to keep the audience engaged and have a little fun with it too.
• 6. Demo – Live demos are a great way to build in fun to your presentation, especially when you invite the audience in to help decide next steps, choose-your-own-adventure style.
• 7. Humor – Adding a little levity, when appropriate, is a great way to bring fun into your presentation. When our content writers are writing keynotes, they’ll often take a “levity pass” to see if there’s opportunity to bring in some humor and bring out the personalities of the leaders they are writing for.
• 8. Surprise your audience – A different format or approach brings an element of surprise and a bit of fun into presentations. Things like props, short sketches, playful videos, a hidden surprise under a seat in the audience, or dramatic lights-out moment deliver the unexpected and some fun. We’ve seen these used with great success and audiences leave delighted.

Take a presentation course

So you’re ready to build in that element of fun, now what? When it comes to training on how to make a presentation fun, look no further than these Duarte workshops.

Resonate ® is where to go when you want to make your content compelling and … you guessed it…resonate with your audience. Ideas have the potential to create groundswell, but often we give presentations that fail to engage and inspire action. Why?

Because we miss the opportunity to use the power of story to move our audiences. We’ve found that influential presentations use story principles. And what better way to infuse fun into your presentations than to integrate story. This course helps reshape the way you develop content, using story structure and audience empathy to make your presentations more persuasive.

Captivate ™ is where to go when you want to improve your delivery. You’ve finished your research, you’ve crafted relevant and compelling content. You may even have created stunning slides. But you still need to deliver perfectly . After all, great content cannot move people if it’s not delivered well. Luckily, great public speaking is a skill everyone can learn.

Captivate gives you the model and tools to become a more comfortable, dynamic, and empathetic speaker. This highly participatory workshop uses a mix of instruction, examples, and live coaching sessions so you can immediately put your new skills to practice.

VisualStory ® is where you go when you’re looking to ramp up your storytelling and visual design skills. The most persuasive presentations in the world today combine story with visual design. VisualStory gives you the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of both narrative and visuals in a consolidated format.

An interactive workshop built on the principles in Nancy Duarte’s best-selling books, Slide:ology ® and Resonate ®, this workshop combines the best of both worlds to build better, visually persuasive presentations.

Infusing fun into presentations makes them more engaging, more memorable, and helps your message stick. Elevating your content, slides, and delivery is a no-brainer on how to make a presentation fun. Are you ready to get started?

• Hire our agency to do it for you. Duarte’s talented, content writers, designers, and speaker coaches are ready to help you captivate audiences and inspire action for your next high stakes presentation. Learn more here .
• Take a course to do it yourself. Learn from the best when it comes to presentation design, content, and delivery. Whether you’re looking for ways to improve your storytelling, make your data meaningful, or elevate your presentation skills, we’ve got the training to help you. Learn more here .

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10 Secrets of Making Every Presentation Fun, Engaging, and Enjoyable

Not a lot of people are good at public speaking. You could even say that virtually everyone needs to get some practice, and preferably good guidance, before they can learn to stay calm when facing a room full of people. Having all eyes on you is an uncomfortable experience and it takes time to get used to. However, even if you can manage to control your stage fright and stay focused, it doesn’t necessarily mean that your presentation won’t put people to sleep. This is usually the case with long presentations on a very dull subject, with the presenter speaking in a monotone voice and dimming the lights to play a PowerPoint presentation.

You have to work hard to develop the right skills

If you want to be remembered and actually get people engaged, you need to make your presentation fun and enjoyable, without coming off as corny or desperate to please. I know, it doesn’t sound that easy at all! A good presentation during a promotional event or given to an important client can be a game changer for your business, so it is easy to get stressed out and fail to perform all that well. Luckily, giving an interesting lecture is something that can be practiced and perfected. There is plenty of advice out there on the topic, but let’s look at the most important aspects of giving a memorable and fun presentation.

1. Make your presentation short and sweet

With very long, meandering speeches you tend to lose the audience pretty early on, and from then on out it’s just a test of endurance for the few bravest listeners. Not only will people’s attention start to drop rapidly after sitting and listening to you talk for 30 minutes, but you also risk watering down your core ideas and leaving your audience with little in the way of key phrases and important bits of information to take away from the whole ordeal. Famous speakers throughout history have known the importance of condensing the information by using well thought out sentences and short phrases loaded with meaning.

JFK’s famous: ”It’s not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country,” expresses so much in very few words and gets the audience thinking. Ancient Spartans, for example were famous for their quick, dry wit, often demolishing their opponent’s argument with a single word or phrase . You’ll want to channel that ancient spirit and be as concise as possible when preparing your presentation.

2. Open up with a good ice breaker

At the beginning, you are new to the audience. There is no rapport, no trust and the atmosphere is fairly neutral. Even if some of the people there know you personally, the concept of you as an authority on a particular matter giving a speech will be foreign to them. The best way to encourage a warm and friendly atmosphere is to get some kind of emotional response out of the audience right at the beginning. It doesn’t matter what emotion it is, you just need to connect with them on a more personal level. It can be shock, curiosity, laughter, knowing smirks, nervousness – whatever gets them out of that initial feeling of indifference. There are different kinds of effective ice-breakers, but generally speaking, the most successful ones utilize one of these tactics:

• Tugging on their heart strings
• Dropping a bombastic statement
• Telling an interesting and relevant anecdote
• Using a metaphor or drawing comparisons

You can make a small, self-deprecating comment, stir the presentation one way and then suddenly surprise the audience, use sarcasm, open up with a short childhood story that taught you a lesson, quote a famous person and elaborate on it from personal experience, use an inspirational anecdote or hit them with a bit of nostalgia. Just remember to keep it short and move on once you’ve gotten a reaction.

3. Keep things simple and to the point

Once you’re done warming up the crowd you can ease them into the core concepts and important ideas that you will be presenting. Keep the same presentation style thoughout. If you’ve started off a bit ironic, using dry wit, you can’t just jump into a boring monologue. If you’ve started off with a bang, telling a couple of great little jokes and getting the crowd riled up, you have to keep them happy by throwing in little jokes here and there and being generally positive and energetic during the presentation. You need a certain structure that you won’t deviate too far from at any point. A good game plan consists of several important points that need to be addressed efficiently. This means moving on from one point to another in a logical manner, coming to a sound conclusion and making sure to accentuate the key information.

4. Use a healthy dose of humor

Some of the best speeches and presentations in the world, which have been heard and viewed by millions, all feature plenty of humor . No matter the subject, a great speaker will use natural charisma, humor and beautiful language to convey their points and get the crowd excited about what they are saying. A great example of building rapport with the audience through the use of humor is Barrack Obama talking about the government building Iron Man.

It is silly and fun, and absolutely not something that you would expect from a man in a position of power speaking in such a serious setting – and it’s exactly why it works. The more serious the situation and the bigger the accent on proper social behavior, the harder your jokes will hit.

5. Try to tell a story instead of ranting

Some people can do all of the above things right and still manage to turn their short and fun little presentation into a chaotic mess of information. You don’t want your speech to look like you just threw a bunch of information in a blender in no particular order. To avoid rambling, create a strong structure. Start with the ice breaker, introduce the core concepts and your goals briefly, elaborate on the various points in a bit more detail, draw logical conclusions and leave your audience with a clear takeaway message. You want to flow naturally from one part to the next like you are telling a big story chapter by chapter.

6. Practice your delivery

Standing in front of the mirror and practicing a speech or presentation is a technique as old as mirrors – well, come to think of it, as old as human speech, since you can see yourself reflected in any clear and calm body of water – and that means that it is tried and true. The theory is incredibly simple, yet the real problem is actually putting in the effort day in and day out. Work on your posture, your tone of voice, accent, pauses between sentences and facial expressions. The most important thing is to talk slowly and loudly enough to be heard and understood clearly. Many famous speakers, such as Demosthenes and King George VI , overcame speech impediments through hard work.

7. Move around and use your hands

Although you won’t instill confidence in your project if you are very jittery, moving around erratically, not knowing what to do with your hands and making fast movements, standing dead still can be just as bad. You shouldn’t be afraid to use your arms and hands when talking as it makes you seem more passionate and confident. The same goes for moving around and taking up some space. However, try to make slower, calculated and deliberate movements. You want your movements to seem powerful, yet effortless. You can achieve this through practice.

8. Engage the audience by making them relate

Sometimes you will lose the audience somewhat in techno-babble, numbers, graphs and abstract ideas. At that point it is important to reel them back in using some good, old-fashioned storytelling. Make comparisons to events from everyday life that most people are more than familiar with. By making things look simple, not only will you help your audience get a better understanding of the subject by enabling them to visualize the information more clearly, you will also draw a connection between you. After all, you are all just regular people with similar experience, you just happen to be performing different roles at the moment.

9. Use funny images in your slides

Although slides are not really necessary at all times, if you do need them to make your point and present your information more effectively, it’s best to liven them up. They say that facts aren’t always black and white, and your presentation should reflect this. Add a bit of color, make the information stand out and use an interesting animation to switch from slide to slide. You can use the slides to add some more humor, both in terms of the text and the images. An image that is used to elicit a positive response needs to be funny within the context of what you are discussing. For example, if you are discussing the topic of authority, an image of Eric Cartman from South Park in a police uniform, demanding that you respect his “authoritah,” is a nice way to have a bit of fun and lighten things up.

10. End on a more serious note

When all is said and done you will want the audience to remember the core concepts and keep thinking about what you have said after the presentation is over. This is why you should let things naturally calm down and end with an important idea, quote or even a question. Plant a seed in their mind and make them think. Let us turn to Patrick Henry for a great way to end a speech: “Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death.”

As you can see, there is quite a bit to learn when it comes to giving a good presentation, one that is both memorable and fun. Be sure to work on your skills tirelessly and follow in the footsteps of great orators.

Featured photo credit: Austin Distel via unsplash.com

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11 Fun Presentation Ideas That Will Help You Engage With Your Audience Liven up your next presentation by incorporating some fun presentation ideas. You will enjoy presenting much more and your audience will thank you for it too.

By James Robinson Edited by Dan Bova Mar 5, 2019

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Presentation can be many things -- engaging, striking, amusing, motivational -- but fun? It's not a description you often hear. For that reason, Buffalo 7 , which specializes in designing presentations, created a quick guide into making your next presentation stand out.

The graphic highlights that you should exclude all your text. Instead, treat your audience to a slideshow composed of images only. That way, you'll let them free their imagination and allow the power of the pictures to do the talking. If you feel like it, add some humor, but don't force it.

You can also try and use some emoji instead of text. This way you can easily engage with your audience. Especially when you "write" something in emoji and ask them to translate it. A bit of competition will help you keep your audience entertained.

If you are presenting a new product, try and engage your audience's senses. Play relevant music, hand out your product or open a jar of coffee beans. You'll receive some great feedback after delivering a presentation with a multi-sensory experience.

But don't forget, only you can decide whether there are grounds for livening up your presentation. Check out more tips in the infographic below.

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Try These 160 Insanely Fun PowerPoint Ideas for Your Next Presentation

Ausbert Generoso

In the modern-day PowerPoint presenting, slide decks don’t just inform, but also entertain and spark joy. PowerPoint shouldn’t just be confined to the monotony of bullet points and charts, but rather offers a unique canvas where imagination can run wild!

We get it. The thought of sitting through another mundane PowerPoint presentation might make you want to run for the hills. But fear not, because we’re here to spark some fun PowerPoint ideas for your your next presentation. Whether you’re aiming to captivate colleagues during a virtual meeting, add a splash of excitement to your classroom, or simply stun your friends at your next PowerPoint game night , we’ve got you covered with ideas that blend education and entertainment seamlessly.

So, fasten your seatbelt (or loosen your tie 😉), as we embark on a complete list through categories that will transform your next PowerPoint presentation into a rollercoaster of excitement. Whatever theme you’re thinking of for your next presentation, these fun PowerPoint ideas are poised to leave your audience not just informed, but exhilarated.

Why Settle for the Ordinary? Elevate Your Presentations with Fun PowerPoint Ideas!

You might be wondering, why bother with all the extra effort to infuse fun into your PowerPoint presentations? After all, the usual routine of bullet points and graphs seems to get the job done, right? Well, allow us to unveil why taking the road less traveled and incorporating fun PowerPoint ideas can be the game-changer you never knew you needed.

🤸🏻‍♀️  Unforgettable Engagement

Let’s face it – the human attention span isn’t exactly legendary. But when you introduce a touch of fun into your presentation, you’re not just holding attention, you’re capturing it in a delightful grip. Unconventional ideas, witty humor, and interactive elements transform passive listeners into active participants , making your message resonate and stick.

🧠  Enhanced Memorability

Ever noticed how the most memorable experiences are the ones that evoke emotion? The same principle applies to presentations. When you inject an element of fun, whether it’s a surprising twist, a clever visual, or an unexpected game , you create a mental anchor for your audience. Those who chuckle and engage are more likely to remember and recall the essence of your presentation long after it’s over.

🎨  Sparking Creativity

The world thrives on innovation, and that extends to the world of presentations too. Opting for fun PowerPoint ideas challenges you to think beyond the norm and come up with creative solutions . It encourages you to see your content from new angles, fostering a culture of innovation and resourcefulness that extends beyond the presentation room.

💬  Connection and Communication

Human beings connect through shared experiences and emotions. By introducing an element of fun, you’re forging a connection with your audience that goes beyond the screen. Laughter and engagement create a bond, facilitating better understanding and communication. In a professional setting, this can translate into improved team dynamics and a more open dialogue.

So, while the tried-and-true method might get you from point A to point B, why not embark on a journey that’s not only efficient but also exhilarating? Why settle for the ordinary when you can captivate, connect, and leave a mark with your fun PowerPoint ideas? The possibilities are limited only by your imagination. It’s time to break free from the mold and transform your presentations into extraordinary experiences that linger long after the last slide.

150+ Fun PowerPoint Ideas for All Presentation Types

Fun powerpoint ideas for social gatherings and events.

• Emoji Charades:  Use emojis as clues for a game of charades with friends.
• Virtual Costume Party:  Have participants dress up and share their costumes on slides.
• Name That Tune:  Play a few seconds of a song and challenge attendees to guess the title.
• Create Your Meme:  Provide images and have guests come up with humorous captions.
• Bucket List Share:  Have everyone share one item from their bucket list with images and explanations.
• Interactive Map Quest:  Share travel stories and ask attendees to guess the locations on a map.
• Party Playlist Collaboration:  Let participants add their favorite songs to a shared playlist slide.
• Personal Trivia:  Create a slide about yourself with facts for others to guess.
• Two Truths and a Lie:  Participants share statements; others guess which one is false.
• Virtual Escape Room:  Turn your slides into a virtual escape room with puzzles and clues.

Fun PowerPoint Ideas for the Workplace

• Emoji Icebreaker:  Start meetings with a slide displaying emojis representing moods.
• Reverse Role Presentation:  Present as if you’re the audience and vice versa.
• Meme Monday Updates:  Share weekly updates in meme format to keep things light.
• Interactive Polls:  Add clickable options for participants to vote on decisions.
• Choose Your Adventure:  Present a scenario with choices, letting the audience decide the outcome.
• Team Trivia Challenge:  Test knowledge with team-based trivia using PowerPoint animations.
• Inspirational Quote Showcase:  Share powerful quotes with visual design to motivate the team.
• Visualize Goals:  Use animations to show progress towards team goals over time.
• Role Play Skits:  Act out scenarios using images and text in a comic book-style layout.
• Name the Colleague:  Share humorous hints to have attendees guess the colleague.

Fun PowerPoint Ideas for the Classroom

• Science Experiment Journey:  Present the process and results of a science experiment.
• Historical Time Travel:  Create immersive history lessons with visuals and sound effects.
• Math Riddle Challenge:  Share math riddles and reveal solutions with animations.
• Language Learning Adventure:  Teach vocabulary and phrases in a foreign language interactively.
• Literary Parodies:  Analyze literature through humorous parodies of famous stories.
• Math Olympics:  Turn math problems into interactive challenges with medals for winners.
• Interactive Periodic Table:  Explore chemical elements with interactive info and animations.
• Geography Quiz:  Engage students with interactive maps and questions.
• Scientific Pictionary:  Play a Pictionary-style game with scientific terms and concepts.
• Art Appreciation Gallery:  Analyze famous artworks through an interactive virtual gallery.

Fun PowerPoint Ideas for Personal Projects & Hobbies

• Hobby Exhibition:  Display your hobbies, from painting to photography, using slides.
• Fitness Journey Timeline:  Document your fitness progress with images and data charts.
• Digital Portfolio:  Showcase your work and skills through an interactive digital portfolio.
• Travelogue:  Share your travel experiences with photos, anecdotes, and travel tips.
• DIY Tutorial:  Teach a craft or DIY project through a series of animated slides.
• Music Playlist Presentation:  Curate themed playlists and explain your song choices.
• Language Learning Journey:  Document your progress in learning a new language.
• Culinary Adventure:  Showcase international cuisines you’ve explored and cooked.
• Writing Journey:  Share your writing process and excerpts from your creative pieces.
• Art Evolution:  Display your artistic journey from early works to current creations.

Fun PowerPoint Ideas for Storytelling

• Virtual World Tour:  Craft a global adventure through storytelling and images.
• Mystery Detective Story:  Unravel a mystery using clues and interactive elements.
• Personal Evolution:  Share your life journey through milestones and anecdotes.
• Time-Traveling Adventure:  Create an interactive story that spans different eras.
• Fairy Tale Remix:  Reimagine classic fairy tales with a modern twist.
• Unsolved Mysteries:  Present historical or fictional mysteries and let the audience speculate.
• Myth vs. Fact:  Compare myths and facts through interactive scenarios.
• Character Development Showcase:  Create profiles of fictional characters with images and backstories.
• Epic Quest Narrative:  Craft an epic journey with challenges, choices, and consequences.
• Alternate Endings:  Rewrite the endings of famous stories with your creative twist.

Fun PowerPoint Ideas for Challenges and Quizzes

• Trivia Extravaganza:  Host a fun-filled trivia night with interactive questions and answers.
• Visual Riddles:  Present visual riddles and reveal the solutions with animations.
• Guess the Sound:  Play audio clips for attendees to guess the corresponding sounds.
• Brain Teaser Quiz:  Challenge participants with puzzles that test logical thinking.
• Quote Identification:  Display famous quotes and ask participants to identify the source.
• Word Association Challenge:  Present words and have participants quickly associate related words.
• Pop Culture Trivia:  Test knowledge of movies, music, and current events through a quiz.
• Speed Typing Challenge:  Display words, and participants type them as fast as they can.
• Guess the Logo:  Share partial images of logos for attendees to guess the brands.
• Memory Game:  Reveal a series of images, then ask attendees to recall the order.

Fun PowerPoint Ideas for Data and Infographics

• Data Storytelling:  Transform statistics and data into compelling visual narratives.
• Illustrated Concepts:  Use custom illustrations to explain complex ideas and concepts.
• Interactive Infographics:  Create clickable infographics with hidden details and insights.
• Process Flow Comics:  Present processes as comic strips with characters navigating each step.
• Comparative Timelines:  Compare historical events, progress, or trends side by side.
• Interactive Charts and Graphs:  Make charts interactive for deeper exploration of data.
• Explorable Maps:  Present geographical data with interactive maps and annotations.
• Evolution of Technology:  Visualize the evolution of technology and its impact.
• Visual Decision Trees:  Present decision-making processes as interactive branching scenarios.
• Illustrated Quotes:  Combine famous quotes with custom illustrations that capture their essence.

Fun PowerPoint Ideas for Motivational Talks

• Personal Growth Journey:  Share your personal growth journey with motivational lessons.
• Success Stories:  Present inspiring stories of individuals who overcame challenges.
• Motivational Quotes Compilation:  Curate a collection of powerful quotes for inspiration.
• Life Lessons Through Stories:  Convey life lessons using engaging narrative examples.
• Overcoming Adversity:  Share stories of resilience and strategies to overcome challenges.
• The Power of Positivity:  Explore the impact of positive thinking on personal and professional life.
• Leadership Insights:  Present leadership principles with examples from renowned leaders.

Fun PowerPoint Ideas for Futuristic and Imaginative Presentations

• Time Capsule:  Present predictions and visions of the future with a time capsule theme.
• Virtual Reality Showcase:  Use VR-inspired visuals to immerse the audience in your content.
• Space Exploration:  Explore the cosmos with interactive space-themed slides.
• Inventions of Tomorrow:  Present imaginative ideas for future inventions and innovations.
• Post-Apocalyptic Scenarios:  Craft a presentation depicting post-apocalyptic worlds and possibilities.
• AI and Robotics:  Discuss the future of AI and robotics through speculative presentations.
• Dystopian vs. Utopian:  Compare and contrast dystopian and utopian visions of the future.
• Future of Education:  Visualize how education might evolve with technology and trends.

Fun PowerPoint Ideas for Entertainment and Pop Culture

• Guess the Movie Scene:  Display screenshots and challenge your audience to guess the movie.
• Pop Culture Charades:  Act out pop culture references, from movies to memes.
• Fan Theories Discussion:  Present and analyze intriguing fan theories about popular shows or movies.
• Celebrity Look-Alike Game:  Share images of ordinary people who resemble celebrities.
• Music Lyrics Challenge:  Display song lyrics with missing words for attendees to complete.
• TV Show Mashup:  Combine characters and scenes from different TV shows for humorous outcomes.
• Pop Culture Trivia Tournament:  Host a tournament-style trivia challenge with various rounds.

Fun PowerPoint Ideas for Self-Care and Wellness

• Mindful Moments:  Guide attendees through a short mindfulness exercise during your presentation.
• Self-Care Bingo:  Create bingo cards with self-care activities for a wellness-themed meeting.
• Healthy Habits Showcase:  Present effective wellness tips and habits for a balanced lifestyle.
• Stress Relief Techniques:  Share interactive slides with stress-relief exercises and techniques.
• Gratitude Journal:  Encourage participants to share moments of gratitude during the presentation.
• Daily Affirmations:  Present daily affirmations to boost positivity and confidence.
• Wellness Goal Tracker:  Create interactive slides to track personal wellness goals.
• Mental Health Awareness:  Present insights and resources for maintaining mental well-being.

Fun PowerPoint Ideas for Cultural Exploration and Diversity

• Global Cuisine Showcase:  Present unique dishes from various cultures with images and descriptions.
• Folklore and Legends:  Share fascinating folktales and legends from different countries.
• Cultural Attire Exhibition:  Display traditional clothing and explain their significance.
• Language Showcase:  Teach fun phrases and greetings from different languages.
• World Festivals Journey:  Explore diverse festivals and celebrations from different cultures.
• Cultural Traditions Quiz:  Create interactive slides to test knowledge of cultural customs.

Want More? Download This Exclusive PowerPoint Ideas Book with 160 Fun PowerPoint Ideas! 👇

Best practices to maximize your fun powerpoint ideas.

Congratulations, you’re now armed with a treasure trove of fun PowerPoint ideas that are bound to leave your audience both entertained and enlightened. But before you dive headfirst into crafting your next presentation masterpiece, consider these tips to ensure your creative efforts shine:

• Tailor your chosen fun PowerPoint idea to your audience’s preferences and expectations. What might resonate with friends at a game night could differ from what engages colleagues in a meeting.
• While fun is essential, remember the purpose of your presentation. Make sure the chosen idea aligns with your message and doesn’t overshadow the content.
• Familiarize yourself with the technical aspects of executing your chosen idea. Smooth transitions, animations, and interactions contribute to a polished presentation.
• While creativity is key, don’t sacrifice clarity for novelty. Ensure your audience can follow your narrative and main points throughout.
• Manage your time effectively. Ensure your fun elements don’t consume too much of the presentation, leaving room for your core content.
• Maintain a consistent visual theme to tie together the fun elements and the main content. Harmonious design enhances the overall experience.
• Before the big day, gather feedback from colleagues or friends. Their insights can help you refine your presentation and identify areas for improvement.
• Embrace the fun you’ve planned. Confidence in your delivery will make your audience more receptive to the engaging elements you’ve integrated.
• Sometimes, unexpected technical glitches or participant reactions can arise. Be prepared to adapt on the spot to keep the fun flowing.
• If your fun idea involves interactive elements, make sure they work flawlessly. Test the technology and ensure everyone can participate seamlessly.

Remember, these tips aren’t meant to limit your creativity, rather, they’re tools to ensure your creative ideas are presented in the best possible light. By blending innovation, enthusiasm, and strategic planning, you’re set to deliver a presentation that’s both fun and impactful.

And there you have it – a whole bunch of exciting, innovative fun PowerPoint ideas ready to turn your next presentation into a showstopper! From parties to classrooms, meetings to personal projects, we’ve covered it all. Now, it’s your turn to run with these creative gems and make your slides come alive with laughter, engagement, and sheer enjoyment.

With over 150 ideas to choose from, you’re set to rock any occasion. So, don’t just settle for the usual slides – inject your unique style, tell stories, and keep everyone on their toes. Remember, it’s all about sparking connections, sparking ideas, and having a blast while you’re at it. Here’s to unleashing your inner presentation superstar – one fun idea at a time!

More Fun PowerPoint Ideas

Free PowerPoint Trivia Template for Different Difficulty Levels

How to Make a Jeopardy Game on PowerPoint (Playable Template)

Level Up Your Game: Free Family Feud PowerPoint Template and Step-by-Step Tutorial

Free Interactive PowerPoint Puzzle Template and Tutorial in 5 Simple Steps

About Ausbert Generoso

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48 Outrageously Fun Office Games and Activities For 2024 That Make Work Awesome

If you ask a lot of successful companies to define their culture, you’ll often hear something to the tune of “we work hard and play hard.”

Creating an enjoyable workplace is no longer something reserved solely for big tech companies in Silicon Valley. Companies around the world are making their offices a place where people get lots done while also having fun too.

Want to jump to a fun office game or activity that we recommend?

Some of our favorite fun office games & activities to check out:

• Office Scavenger Hunt
• “Chat n’ Chew”
• Holiday Games
• Eat Poop, You Cat
• Office Oktoberfest
• Conference Table “Ice-Curling”
• Local Foodie Tour
• Clue Murder Mystery
• Coworker Family Feud
• Invention Fest

So how can your company start injecting more fun into each day? We asked some awesome companies to share their fun office activities and office games to play at work (we also shared our favorites below) – basically, how they get people away from their desks for a bit and interacting with each other!

Looking for something to do with your hybrid team?  

These are five of our favorite team-tested activities to help managers engage fully remote and in-person employees:

There are some really cool ideas &  fun office games to play at work on Fridays (48 in total) that you can steal and use to bond with your coworkers.

Page Contents (Click To Jump)

Fun Office Activities

1) corporate scavenger hunt.

“Follow the customizations where no scavenger hunter has ever gone before.”

HR professionals everywhere are always on the lookout for fun, innovative ways to keep newly remote teams connected.

Put a spin on it: Create a short, sharable video series documenting your team’s progress.

This Office Game at Work – Amazon

A group of coworkers from Amazon recently explored the Seattle area where they created a custom remote scavenger hunt – inviting team members to explore their city with everyone coming back smiling:

“I was able to sit back and let the Outback team run everything including special requests I had. The vent coordinator was very accommodating and I loved watching the videos and photos roll-in during the event. Everyone came back smiling and laughing which is hard to do with 20 VP’s and directors. Everything was very efficient and ran in a smooth manner. 10/10”

Next step to get started: Your chase, your rules. Learn how to get started here .

Check out the Wild Goose Chase in action!

2) Charity Bike Buildathon

“Just as fun but more rewarding than riding a bike.”

This activity channels all those altruistic feel-good vibes that tap into the true  importance of team building . All the ingredients of giving back are ready and waiting for you and your team to show up to build some bikes, have some fun, and then donate them to a charity.

Put a spin on it: Rent tandem bicycles and go for a group joyride to celebrate your good deeds.

In this video testimonial, a team recently participated in a charity bike-building event. See what that had to say in the video below,

Next step to get started: These bikes aren’t going to make themselves. Explore the Charity Bike Buildathon details to see if this charity event is right for your office.

3) Holiday-Themed Games

“It’s not a holiday party. It’s a holiday having a party.”

Combine the festivities of the holiday  office party with the casual comfort of a game night to create an activity that’s a perfect celebratory but still low fuss. Just decorate or dress up according to a holiday theme and play whatever party games and activities you want, from board games like Pictionary to guessing games like twenty questions.

Put a spin on it: Plan a costume contest to celebrate the holiday!

This Office Game at Work – Harmless Harvest

Ruthana Smith over at Harmless Harvest shared how the raw coconut water brand has fun at their San Francisco HQ,

Here at Harmless Harvest we create weird and wonderful smoothies and variations of our Coconut Water to share with others in the office. We have also recently installed hammocks – picture below of my colleagues trying to flip me around in it. Every month we also have a massive lunch together also with a theme each time – last month was of course Halloween!

Next step to get started: You’re going to want to start celebrating  as many holidays  as possible, starting with  National Grab Some Nuts Day.

Other fun upcoming holiday activities :

4) Go Outside Together

“Take it outside in the best possible way.”

This is the team building activity for those who loathe the structure of team building activities. All you have to do is go outside together. Talk a little about anything you want. With hope, you’ll also smile a lot and want to do it again.

Put a spin on it: Layer on a structured sharing session that matches your team’s style. (Some teams may want to share gratitude while others enjoy sharing grievances.)

This Office Game at Work – Bonusly

What if you’re a smaller team with people spread out across the country? George Dickerson explains how Bonusly  manages to have fun together even though their team is thousands of miles apart:

“Half of our team is in Brooklyn, NY and the other half works in Boulder, CO. That provides us a great mix of things to do together. Although we’re not always all in the same space, we definitely make up for it each time we gather the full team. We’ve had some pretty riveting indoor bocce ball tournaments, team meals, and some excellent happy hours in NYC. In Boulder, we do more outdoor activities together like barbecues and hiking in the Rocky Mountains.”

Next step to get started: Get in the mood to  Walk .

Desk Scavenger Hunt 🔎

Instructions: Create a list of items commonly found around the office, such as a stapler, a coffee mug, a sticky note, a specific color pen, etc. Then, set a timer and challenge your team to locate and gather these items from their desks or the surrounding area. The first person or team to gather all the items and return to the starting point wins.

It's a light-hearted and interactive game that encourages movement, team collaboration, and a bit of friendly competition while also giving your team a chance to explore their workspace in a new way.

⭐️ For more motivation for your team, subscribe to The Assist for free.

5) Two-Day Invention Fest

“A team that creates together stays together.”

Bring the team together to make something. Sure this sounds a lot like work, but you might be surprised how much riotous fun you can have breaking into small groups and creating models, prototypes, plans, or productive fails during an uninterrupted spree of collaboration and creativity.

Put a spin on it: Close each day with a talent show. People can share the achievements or ideas they’ve had so far during the fest.

This Office Game at Work – Riot Games

A leading creator and provider of free multiplayer online games, Riot’s entire business structure is centered around games. When employees create, promote, and improve games for a living, what do they do to make work even more awesome? They play more games. They also plan an annual invention fest of their own called “Thunderdome.”

Rioters also enjoy hackathons, where teams with big ideas attempt to build marketable models and prototypes in a two-day invention fest. They call it the Thunderdome. Sure, the event is challenging and labor intensive, but it’s also engaging and fun. Thunderdome proves you can design engaging employee activities around doing more work—work without restrictions and limits, work that lets employees connect secret passions and inventions to their day-to-day lives. These activities maximize employee passion by focusing on the aspects of work employees are most passionate about. Maybe your company’s Thunderdome involves developing a business plan or an advertising slogan. Whatever it is, employees will love it.

Next step to get started: Get inspired to  innovate through failure .

Zoom & Online Office Games

6) clue murder mystery.

“Channel your inner detective.”

Even the latest page-turning crime thriller won’t immerse you as much as this virtual mystery. During this event, you actually get to live inside the mystery. It combines video conferencing and a specially designed app to make every aspect of solving the mystery, from examining clues to reviewing case files, flow perfectly.

Put a spin on it: Debrief after the mystery and assign everyone funny “superlatives” based on how they contributed to the solution. (Ex: Most likely to suspect everyone.)

This Office Game at Work – Facebook

The team at Facebook recently explored this office activity and found some initial success. Check out their testimonial here .

“Our point of contact at Outback provided top-notch customer service by reaching out to me immediately after booking, as well as following up with me several days before our event and after our event. He helped me get up to speed with the app and the event and was super professional. I also loved how easy it was to pay for our event and get all of the details to print out and to run the event. Whoever decided on Clue Murder Mystery is great!”

Next step to get started:   Don’t let them get away with it .

7) Virtual Code Break

“It’s like HIIT for your brain.”

Do you have what it takes to be a master codebreaker? Put your skills to the test during this virtual session packed with trivia, riddles, and puzzles to dizzy your intellect.

Put a spin on it: Tell everyone to come prepared with a riddle. Pause the game clock at random so teammates can challenge teammates with even more mind-bending fun.

This Office Game at Work – Swiss Re

Here is what Swiss Re said about their recent office team building activity,

“The Virtual Code Break scenarios were quite challenging and fun. The teams had a great time solving them. Your team provided great support to ensure we had what we needed for the event to be successful.”

Next step to get started: Face the ultimate  code-breaking challenge .

8) Virtual Office Games

“It’s actually all fun and games.”

Why choose between games when you can experience a spectacular combination of all your favorite virtual team-building activities? Remote teams will delight in a series of drawing prompts, trivia questions, and video challenges.

Put a spin on it: Choose an amount of time (say, 5, 10, or 15 minutes) and agree to break for a dance party at those intervals.

This Office Game at Work – Intel

After their most recent office game competition, Christine Smessaert from Intel had this to say about the event,

“Everyone enjoyed their experience with you guys at our team building event. We are discussing having another event for our Capital Partners. When I have more details/a decision, I will reach back out!”

Next step to get started: Did someone say virtual office games? Book an event here .

9) Office Olympics

“You won’t get any medals, but you’ll make gold memories.”

Bust out your home country mini flags. You’re about to dive into a virtual tribute of all things Olympics. Test your knowledge with trivia and taste an Olympian’s thirst for competition with a series of challenges.

Put a spin on it: Have everyone share throwback pictures of themselves either being athletic or trying to be athletic.

This Office Game at Work – Medtronic

The team at Medtronic talked about their most recent experience with Outback Team Building’s Virtual Office Olympics :

“It was fun for all of us. It brought us together across geographies — working together as teams and having a lot of fun. We really saw some skills that we didn’t know each other had. And you know what, a little competition, and a lot of fun.”

Next step to get started: Grab that torch.  Your team is waiting .

Fun Office Games

10) “chat n’ chew”.

“Chew on delicious food and brilliant ideas.”

Shared with us by a BrightFire staffer, this idea is similar to a classic lunch and learn , where everyone gathers to eat lunch and learn new things. The “Chat n’ Chew” aligns more with a classic team-building activity  because you learn from your team members. Instead of bringing in an outside expert, simply invite your co-workers to share new ideas or explain new technologies they’re excited about.

Put a spin on it: Maximize the teamwork aspect by inviting groups to collaborate on and pitch ideas during the session while enjoying a curated employee care package .

This Office Game at Work – BrightFire

Hannah Day shows us how BrightFire gets creative with their office fun:

Some of the favorite activities here at BrightFire are weekly Yoga sessions, and a “Chat n’ Chew” where we discuss new ideas, or new technologies over a catered lunch and swag give aways! Our close-knit and friendly feeling lends to an open-minded atmosphere for every one to bring forward ideas and new concepts.

Next step to get started: Make sure the centerpiece of this office event — the food — is delicious and healthy :

• 👔 Get “Chat n’ Chew” snacks for the office
• 🛋 Get “Chat n’ Chew” snacks for employees working from home

11) Doggie Play Date

“The dog days are so not over.”

Bring dogs to work to enable  24/7 fun and games in the form of petting and catch. It also brings employees together as they stop by each other’s desks, meet the pups, and schedule doggie play dates.

Put a spin on it: Open it up to every kind of pet.

This  quote from a Time magazine article  explains why pets make good office mates:

“Dogs in the workplace provide more social support for employees, as well as more opportunities for coworkers to interact in a positive setting, according to a number of studies.”

Next step to get started: Get that  pet policy in order.

12) Guess the Coworker

Guess the Coworker is a fun team building game perfect for larger offices. Employees try to guess who the mystery coworker is based on clues provided by the team.

👶 Baby Picture Version: Players can submit baby photos of themselves and the team must match each person to their baby photo.

💃🏻 Celebrity Doppelgänger: Write down celebrity names that resemble each of your coworkers and see who can correctly guess the most.

Put a spin on it: Have a bonus round with fun questions related to the mystery coworker.

This Office Game at Work: Beech-Nut Nutrition Company

Employees at Beech-Nut Nutrition Company had a blast playing Guess the Coworker “Baby Picture Version” and it turned out to be a great office game:

Next step to get started: Ask your team to submit baby photos and celebrity doppelgangers for the game.

13) Taco Tuesday – With Trivia

“An event so awesome, you can’t say it ten times fast: TacoTuesdayTrivia.”

It’s happy hour, Taco Tuesday (or any night of the week if you want to cheat), and trivia night all rolled into one spectacular event of awesomeness. Bring everyone, even people from different teams, together. If they can’t bond over a shared taste for taco toppings then they can at least bond during trivia.

Put a spin on it: Involve everyone, including people with families and those who don’t do happy hours, by doing the same event during the lunch break and with work-related trivia.

This Office Game at Work – Swag.com

We spoke with John Giunta, VP of Marketing at Swag.com , to find out what fun office activities they play. This is what he told us:

“At Swag.com we have a monthly afterwork Happy Hour where we try to incorporate games and team activities. We usually alternate months between going out and doing activities in the office. Recently we stayed in for a team trivia and taco night where we mixed-up the teams across departments to help people get to know each better. We are a quickly growing team, so these happy hours are great way for new members to meet gain talk with co-workers that haven’t spent much time with and the team activities and games can help break the ice.”

Next step to get started: Get your  trivia games and ideas  in order.

Fun Friday Games At Work

14) karaoke.

“Sound bad. Feel good.”

It’s time to shine or at least try to. Grow at least a million times closer to your team by embarrassing yourself with a round of karaoke. If you happen to be a good singer, then sit back and enjoy watching your co-workers’ jaws drop.

Put a spin on it: Pair this event with a chili cook-off. (This covers the food for the singers and the entertainment for the dinner crowd.)

This Office Game at Work – Hack Reactor

Hack Reactor is a bootcamp where programmers become software engineers in 12 weeks. They’re a group of hard-working individuals, but they also know how to have fun, says Jared Neil:

“At Hack Reactor we always love to have a good time together after work singing karaoke, hosting talent shows, movie nights, scavenger hunts, ice cream socials as well as casino night just to name a few! We work hard, play hard, and eat healthily!”

15) Virtual Taboo

“Shh…Can’t say that!”

A classic board game upgraded to the virtual world with a Zoom-friendly activity that any and all employees can jump into and participate in. To play the game, players will use the online platform to get their team members to guess the word at the top of each card, without using any of the other related Taboo words listed underneath. It’s really that simple!

Put a spin on it: Try out one of their themed games to celebrate a special time of the year!

Here is what Katie at Dropbox said about her recent Taboo experience,

Our team took a break in the day to play Taboo via Confetti and had a blast! We all got to know each other a little better, on a very silly level.

Next step to get started: Keep on guessing with Taboo !

16) Lunch & Learn & Game

“Combine learning and play to achieve office-fun equilibrium.”

Another variation on the classic lunch and learn is the lunch and learn and game. You eat. You learn. You play. It’s that simple. The details of each are totally up to you. For example, you could eat ice cream sundaes while learning about the decimation of natural gorilla habitats and playing a game of Jenga.

Put a spin on it: Have three different people select the three main components of this event (the lunch, the learning, and the games) — no collusion allowed! The resulting activity will be a delightful mashup of their preferences and personalities.

This Office Game at Work – monday.com

Omri Itzhak at monday.com explained how Friday (ironically enough) is always a fun day to be at their office:

A favorite monday.com office activity is getting together every Friday for team lunches, which are held on the rooftop floor of our building with an incredible view of downtown. It’s a chance to connect and get to know one another in a meaningful way. Some Fridays we play various activities and quick fun office games to play in the office. Other Fridays, we go around the table and share personal and company highs for the week. This allows everyone to stay in tune with what is going on with the business and to celebrate each other’s success (oftentimes they turn into a big love fest!). The best part of Friday lunches is the initiation activity that all the new team members have to partake in. We’d share, but it’s a company secret! 

Monday Team Lunch

Next step to get started: Pick your lineup of games and activities that lead to  fun at work .

17) Rock, paper, scissors competition

“Keep your poker face. Show your rock, paper, scissors face.”

Rock, paper, scissors is a brilliant office activity. It’s fun. It requires no equipment. Almost everyone already knows how to play, and if they don’t, it won’t take long to get them up to speed. You don’t even have to plan this competition in advance. Just blow a whistle and tell everyone it’s game time.

Put a spin on it: Whether you’re competing virtually or in person, you can combine this competition with a  happy hour to see if libations inspire anyone to change up their strategy.

This Office Game at Work – FUN.com

If you get competitive playing Rock Paper Scissors, then you’ll love what Marlon Heimerl over at FUN.com told me about their company:

Rock Paper Scissors Contest

At FUN.com you might imagine we’re all about promoting a Fun-loving culture.. Not only do we have an annual Mario Kart tournament and an annual Nerf Gun war, but we have an entire room dedicated to gaming on breaks. We also like to break up the year by attending things like Comic Con in Minneapolis and take some time of our “grueling” day jobs with another very popular rock-paper-scissors tournament. As you might imagine, the grueling comment was sarcastic! Promoting a fun environment gives people a reason to get up every day and do their best, not because you are working for a paycheck, but because you are working to help the friends beside you do well in the broader arena of finding a work/life balance while building lasting relationships.

Next step to get started: Be prepared. Get the  official rules of rock, paper, scissors .

Office Games For Small Groups

18) deduction games.

“It’s pretty much the opposite of a trust fall.”

Pick your favorite form of trickery mind games, such as Mafia, Eat Poop You Cat, and Werewolf , to embark on an adventure of laughter, treachery, and both big and little lies, all told in the name of fun. Get to know who spins the most clever lies and also who can spit them out while looking you straight in the eye.

Put a spin on it: Set up a laptop or webcam to capture all the silly faces people make when they’re trying to trick each other.

This Office Game at Work – TINYpulse

What the people at TINYpulse say about these games:

“One of our favorite activities at TINYpulse is playing simple games like Werewolf or Eat Poop, You Cat. Werewolf is a great way for people to loosen up and casually accuse each other of being a blood-thirsty werewolf that has been killing the villagers while they sleep. You can find the rules here. Eat Poop, You Cat is essentially telephone Pictionary. Each person writes down a phrase, passes it to the left. The person must then draw a picture based on the phrase, then fold the paper over so the phrase is hidden. Once it’s passed to the left, the next person must write a phrase based on the drawing. You continue to pass the paper until you get yours back. Another awesome way to get people laughing together!”

Werewolf at TINYPulse HQ

Next step to get started: Choose your challenge and learn the rules:  Mafia ,  Eat Poop You Cat , and  Werewolf .

19) Weekly Trivia

“Use trivia to create far from trivial bonds.”

Trivia is a lot of fun. Trivia that’s actually based on you and your co-workers is absolutely unforgettable. Take a variety of trivia quizzes and then peruse (and laugh about) the results to turn your work team into a family.

Put a spin on it: Ice cream and icebreaker games. Warm up the team with some sugar and a few casual icebreakers before you immerse them in a test of random knowledge.

This Office Game at Work – Accredible

Kim Lao from Accredible is on a team that spans across continents, so it was important that they could find some type of activity that would allow folks on either side of the Atlantic to participate. They settled on “asynchronous” weekly trivia contests .

“The weekly trivia contests from Water Cooler Trivia has promoted some healthy competition between our team members when we compete for the top three positions. Sharing laughs about the questions that stump us gives us a fun start to the work week. I even recently learned through the trivia contests that an international World Toilet Day actually exists! Since our team has members that are based in the UK and other parts of the world, it’s great to see a mix of questions that aren’t all US-centric, and it’s great that the quizzes are open for an entire day so people can fit it into their schedule.”

Next step to get started: Get support for your  weekly trivia habit .

20) Hungry, Hungry Ninjas

“Bring a classic board game to life.”

Invented by a team at Bigcommerce, this super physical, super collaborative activity will get your team from zero to laughter in record time, even after a long workday. Basically, you play the classic board game,  Hungry, Hungry Hippos , but you (with the help of a skateboard) are the hippo, your mouth is a laundry basket, your food are balloons, and the world is your game board.

Put a spin on it: Boost the camaraderie factor with matching team uniforms or jerseys.

This Office Game at Work – Bigcommerce

Here’s how Bigcommerce’s Austin office unwinds at work according to Office and Experience Manager, Elizabeth Rhymaun:

Here at Bigcommerce we work hard, but we also play hard! Whether its a small break for a ping pong tournament or our Friday yoga sessions, we like to find outlets to relieve stress and have a little fun. We love to throw in the random lip sync battle during a Friday afternoon happy hour or have holiday decorating contests for free breakfast tacos, or even make up our own office games ideas (Hungry Hungry Ninjas = skateboards, laundry baskets, and balloons). We definitely love to keep things a bit wild around the office!

Next step to get started:   Watch and learn .

21) Conference Table Ice Curling

“Discover yet another use for that old conference table.”

You don’t need ice, brooms, or even massive rocks to get the experience of  ice curling on a conference table . Just rally your teams and create flat targets, even with something simple like Post-Its® for example, on opposite ends of a table. Take turns sliding rocks or really any slidable objects (Matchbox cars, coasters, or snack bars) toward the targets. The goal is simply getting as close to the target as possible.

Put a spin on it: The losing team gets to challenge the winning team to a dare of their choice.

This Office Game at Work – Objective

Liz Van Camp told SnackNation about an epic monthly tournament the company competes in:

At  Objective , we have a monthly ‘Office Olympics’ tournament. The entire office gets to participate and relax while we hold the competition that afternoon. It has been a ton of fun and Events include the following, to name a few: Water Balloon Toss Nerf Shootout Conference Table ‘Ice Curling’ Dizzy Dash (where after being spun around with your eyes closed, you see how far you can walk/run down a curb in 10 seconds without falling off) This monthly competition brings the entire office together and keeps everyone laughing, but still trying their best, since the winner receives a prize. It’s the activity everyone most looks forward to each month. It also helps to break things up a bit and to encourage a fun atmosphere in the office.

Next step to get started: Get an  out-of-the-box game board  if you want to be fancy.

22) Drunk History

“One person’s history is another person’s comedy.”

Inspired by the beloved  Comedy Central series , this activity is more about testing your improv skills than your knowledge of history. The point is to have fun, not to be right about everything. Participants will be challenged to relay details about historical events. If they know absolutely nothing at all, then they can at least tell a good or hilarious story about what they imagined might have happened.

Put a spin on it: Add an  employee engagement spin by turning this event into YOUR Drunk History, where participants guess details about each other’s personal history.

This Office Game at Work – Point 72

Catie Cribbin and her team at Point 72 loved the flexibility to run a virtual event with her entire team in her testimonial,

Thanks for reaching out. The team loved the event we hosted in June! It was a great way to get to know each other and have fun while doing so. I am actually looking to host an end of summer event as well – can you tell me more about the Scavenger Hunt and if it’s possible to do that in a virtual setting?

Next step to get started:   Start laughing at history .

23) Old School Videogame day

“Get ready to game like it’s 1999.”

Time to dig through your closets and your attics. Dust off those vintage Nintendo consoles, Playstations, and maybe even a rare sighting of Sega. New consoles are welcome too of course. The only rule to this activity is that everyone comes together to play or at least cheer gamers on.

Put a spin on it: Come up with a silly challenge or victory dance people must complete each time they level up.

This Office Game at Work – Greenvelope

Alex Kelsey at Greenvelope reached out to SnackNation with these fantastic ways they create an enjoyable work environment:

The Greenvelope.com team works hard, but we also know the importance of stepping away from the computer and having some fun during the day. Daily foosball tournaments are never missed, and are occasionally supplemented by a corn hole tournament on our custom Greenvelope set. Weekly happy hours bring the team together, whether we are experimenting with new recipes and cocktails, crafting for the holidays, or exploring downtown Seattle’s bar and restaurant scene. The newest addition to the office is a Nintendo 64, so you know there are Mario Kart championships going down on the regs. And our CEO, Sam Franklin, also included the perfect dose of zen by including a yoga room in our new office, complete with workout equipment to help us de-stress or get a little workout in during the day.

Next step to get started: Getting excited during a visit to the virtual  Museum of Mario .

Office Games For Large Groups

24) basketball tournament.

“Is it a full-court press or a press full court?”

Skills or no skills, everyone will enjoy this game, whether they’re aspiring toward greatness on the court or laughing on the sidelines. All you need is a basketball, a hoop, and some able and willing bodies. A whistle would also be a fantastic addition. Just be sure to give it to someone responsible.

Put a spin on it: Turn it into the cornerstone event of an office  spirit week . Dress up in team colors, hold a pep rally, and just generally channel some old-fashioned high school enthusiasm and obnoxiousness.

This Office Game at Work – Limeade

As an  employee engagement platform also plays fun employee engagement games , it makes a lot of sense that Limeade pays special attention to their culture and their team. Here are the fun office games for employees to play at work that Andrea Augustine at Limeade shared with us:

From walking meetings to coloring and puzzle stations, there’s always something to get us out of our chairs (well, standing desks that is). Fitness challenges frequent here (planking and wall sits) and team competition gets fierce. When we need to blow off steam, we hop on a razor scooter or start a nerf war. Some enjoy ping pong and others 3×3 basketball, but our dance breaks are loved by all.

25) Mini Game Mash-Up

“A bunch of mini-games adds up to a lot of fun.”

Race through a series of games that challenge and stimulate your intellect and your funny bone. Improvise hand-sketched artwork, annihilate some riddles, and even play a round of surprise and tell.

Put a spin on it: Add lightning rounds of interactive games in between the other games. Some picks that bring out the most laughs and the most madness include egg drop, two truths, and a lie, foosball, and ping pong. You could even try to play ping pong while playing two truths and a lie if you really want a challenge.

What people say about Confetti’s Mini Game Mash-Up :

“The team LOVED the event! It was super fun and engaging and was the perfect activity for this group. Nik was also awesome! Perfect candor that meshed well with the team.”

Next step to get started: What do we say to fun?  Bring it on .

26) Office Raffle

“Find out who has Lady Luck on their side!”

Office Raffles are a fun office game sure to liven up any workday. Employees can purchase raffle tickets for charity or team building activities and then submit the tickets in a raffle for prizes. It’s an easy way to generate team spirit and excitement while giving back.

Get your team ready for the next office raffle with these fun game ideas:

▶︎ Bingo: Offer an exciting bingo raffle to your employees where they can select their lucky numbers, which they will then match up with the charity or team building activities that have been drawn.

▶︎ Charades: Inspire your employees to get creative and have fun by hosting a charades-style raffle, where they must act out their task or charity activity in order to win exciting prizes!

▶︎ Celebrity Heads: Get everyone involved in your office raffle by playing Celebrity Heads, where they must guess the celebrity name based on a randomly chosen card! Each player gets the name of a celebrity put on their head, without knowing which one they have. As the players start walking around and asking yes or no questions about their character – such as “am I an actor?” – others must answer while trying to get their own celebrity in the process!

Put a spin on it: Up the fun factor by offering a prize for most creative raffle ticket design.

This Office Game at Work – CEVA Logistics

Grace Wright, Admin & Compliance Controller at CEVA Logistics, participated in supporting Save the Children by raising money to help children across the world get the important healthcare they need:

“We finished off the Christmas festivities at UKPN with our annual Christmas Charity Raffle on the 21st December and we managed to raise an amazing £1,440 for Havens Hospice. The day was full of lovely food and winning some amazing prizes!”

Next step to get started: Ask your team for ideas on prizes and reach out to local organizations to find a charity partner.

27) Escape Room

“Live out a scene of your very own action movie.”

Think you’re an escape artist? Think you can keep your cool under extreme pressure? Find out by daring to enter an escape room. You and your team will bond as you work together to pursue your ultimate goal: freedom. Choose your adventure to wind up in anything from an art museum to a remote jungle.

Put a spin on it: Have everyone create a character that they must embody throughout the entire challenge.

Here is what one group of coworkers thought after solving an escape room together,

“Our group just completed their 4th escape room and this one was our favorite!!! So far we’ve done; the playground, gold rush, special ops, and the heist! The heist was our favorite partially because of JACOB!!! He is amazing and so much fun to have as a remote guide. He allowed us to really think about what we needed to do, which is the whole enjoyment of Escape Rooms! Thanks to EVERYONE involved at this location!!! Y’all are great!!! We’ve had a blast every time! See you in a few weeks!!!”

Next step to get started: Don’t wait — the  sooner you get in trouble, the sooner you can escape .

28) Office Fitness

“Experience the joy of wordless bonding.”

Personal genomics company 23andMe makes onsite fitness activities and treadmill desks available to their employees to get the blood flowing during the workday.

Reward employees  while also indulging in some fun team building. Office fitness (yoga, boxing, or anything else you want) covers all the bases. You don’t even need to talk that much; the synchronization of your movements provides a satisfying sense of bonding and unity.

Put a spin on it: Create a shared, team playlist for your workout fun.

This Office Game at Work –  OwnLocal

We reached out to Nicole Brooks of OwnLocal after seeing their company listed in an article on The Muse called “10 Companies That Are Just as Great as Google”. It sounds like there’s a good reason why they made this list:

“Work hard play hard is extremely cliche, but that describes our office perfectly. People at OwnLocal work extremely hard throughout the day, so we encourage people to blow off steam.”

Next step to get started: Explore a world of  corporate wellness possibilities .

Fun Friday Activities At Work

29) office oktoberfest + beer tasting.

“Oktoberfest is whenever you want it to be.”

Bust out the beer, the pretzels, and the das boot—lederhosen are strictly optional of course. To pull off this event, you simply infuse your office with that priceless festival vibe. Ask everyone to bring in beer (or nonalcoholic beverages) and snacks of their choice. The fun really gets rolling as you share and mingle.

Put a spin on it: Turn this Fun Friday into a feel-good spectacular by layering on one of these  recognition ideas , like giving everyone beer fest nicknames.

This Office Game at Work – Microsoft

A team at Microsoft had this to say about beer tasting with City Brew :

“City Brew Tours was amazing! They were so accommodating for our group and were very knowledgeable about beer and the breeding process. I will definitely be booking with them again!”

Next step to get started: Find the  best beers near you .

30) Mix N Mingle

“Bring them together and they will bond.”

The inventors of the Mix N Mingle, aka employees at Spark, explain that all you need to do is get employees from different departments together “to have lunch and get to know more about each other.” Easy enough, right? You barely need to manage or control this activity at all; the key service you provide is just that first step of bringing together people who usually spend little time with each other.

Put a spin on it: Layer on inspiration from musical chairs by having everyone switch seats every ten minutes or so.

This Office Game at Work – Sparks

When we reached out to Manisha Priyadarshan at Sparks, who specializes in live marketing experiences, we were blown away at all the fun things they do at their office. Their company’s core values are list as the “Code 10” philosophy, which you can check out here . Number 10 on their list is “Work should be fun”. Here’s what Manisha had to say about how Sparks makes work fun:

At Sparks, we strive for this every day. We greatly invest in our employees and want them to wake up looking forward to coming to Sparks, because, well, they have fun. Here are some of the ways we embrace number 10: We run a program called “Mix & Mingle”: employees selected from different departments to have lunch and get to know more about each other. We also run a program called “Food4Thought”, where employees can learn more about Sparks over lunch by hearing presentations from people in each department on projects they have worked on. HR runs a program called “TedEd”: an hour long live session including a screening of a Sparks-relevant Ted Talk followed by a round-table discussion. We have bimonthly “Flash Contests” with mini contests to inspire people to think about our company’s codes, i.e. send a story of a time when, “the client’s problem was your opportunity.” We’ve hosted a number of fun events throughout the year! Chili Cook-off, Halloween Party, Holiday Party, Valentine’s Cupcake decorating, Mini March Madness, Earth Day, and Summer BBQs. We have recently implemented a Bring Your Dog to Work committee, where a select panel of dog owners and dog lovers will help to decide which employees pets would make great workday partners by spending the day at the office!

Next step to get started: Warm up to this event by using a mingling tool like  Donut .

31) Local Foodie Tour

“Delicious is as delicious does.”

  View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Momofuku (@momolongplay)

Head out on a tasty field trip to sample local flavors even the foodies among you have never sampled. You’ll see cool things, have cool conversations, and meet cool artisanal purveyors of your new favorite foods.

Put a spin on it: Create a group food diary or Instagram story.

Next step to get started: Don’t wait — the foodies in your office are getting hangry.  Take them on a tour ASAP .

Office Activities For Small Groups

32) office-wide wine tasting.

“Office bacchanalia doesn’t get tastier than this.”

The flavors, the aromas, the company — every aspect of wine tasting amplifies all your team bonding efforts. You can bring the wine right into your workspace or bring your staff members to the wine. There’s really no wrong way to do a company wine tasting.

Put a spin on it: Invent your own wine rating system or lingo. (Yes, you can do it with emojis.)

Here is a recent review from a wine tasting provider that the SnackNation marketing team has used before,

“If the cuteness of the bottles doesn’t win you over – the selection will. EVERY bottle had something for someone to enjoy. This will make a great gift! I cannot say how well curated this selection is.”

Next step to get started: Every wine yearns for the day someone will drink it and love it.  Make wishes come true today .

33) The Sensei Session

“Feed your mind and the rest will follow.”

This is a recurring event, a team-wide personal development session you can do every Monday to start the week off warmed up for learning. Doing something exciting and mind-opening (instead of immediately tucking into that to-do list) gets people amped for every aspect of their job.

Put a spin on it:  Also have everyone come up with something they’re scared to admit they don’t know.

What the people at SnackNation say about this session:

“We instituted The Sensei Session . This incorporates a team-wide personal development session every Monday to start the week off learning something new. We recognize that getting people away from their desks and interacting with each other for a few minutes can have an energizing effect across the office. We also practice bi-weekly office yoga and scooter races in the parking lot to let employees enjoy themselves after working hard.

Next step to get started: Bring more  learning into your work environment .

34) Workout Class

“My fitness life would suck without you.”

We love office activities that accomplish two or more goals at once. This one helps you bond with your coworkers while you also pursue your fitness goals. Choose as much or as little structure as you want. Take a scheduled class at your local gym or just go for a freestyle jog whenever you feel like it. The only rule is that you do it together.

Put a spin on it: Share new experiences together. Everyone can put in a hat a workout or physical activity they’ve always been curious about. Randomly pull out one thing you can all do together.

This Office Game at Work – Voom

Having fun at work can also contribute to employee wellness. Here’s how Gabrielle Shultis says wellness company Voom incorporates fun into their company while staying true to their mission and values:

“We find that partaking in just 30 minutes of activity (which is the length of most of the classes) all together allows us to not only have fun together outside of a workplace environment, but we’ve had some really creative brainstorming sessions mid-plank! We return back to the office energized, and Wednesday afternoons after a class usually end up being our most productive time of the week.”

Next step to get started: Explore all the  group-ready workouts .

Office Activities For Large Groups

35) celebrate a company win.

“All for win and win for all.”

There’s no group too large for a classic office party, and there’s no party better than one that celebrates a big win. Engage even a  large group of employees by celebrating (via food, drinks, games, and prizes) a company win, such as meeting a revenue goal, completing fundraising, or launching something new.

Put a spin on it: Invent a totally unique win ritual. Maybe yours is balancing teacups on your head while walking backward on a Slip N’ Slide.

Here’s  an example  of celebrating ten years of success by sharing a top-ten list on LinkedIn.

Next step to get started: Read up on some  celebration strategies .

36) Costume Contest For Halloween

“See all your coworkers’ faces — including the fake ones.”

Do you really know someone before you’ve experienced their Halloween personality? Find out who favors classic fear, who likes to put a clever spin on costuming, and who could do work on the side as a makeup artist.

Put a spin on it: Use the  Nectar  platform to document and build engagement around your contest. Everyone can browse photos and award points.

This Office Game at Work – Levatas

Having a committee or even 1 person in charge of holidays like Halloween is a very good idea. Here’s how Wendy DeCampos says they do things at Levatas :

“We have a Cultural Committee dedicated to creating a fun and inclusive work environment. Last month, for example, we hosted a mini-golf tournament at the local putt putt course, hired a masseuse for “Back to the Future” day, and organized a costume contest for Halloween. We also do what we can to contribute to our employees’ overall wellness. We offer access to a free gym membership and have a standing invitation to a 2:30 p.m. company “meeting,” where a handful of us gather to pump out push-ups and/or planks – a perfect way to get the blood flowing after lunch. For mental relaxation (or stimulation, depending on how you look at it), employees are encouraged to take breaks as needed to play FIFA on the Xbox, race the Anki car, or challenge each other to a game of chess. This month, our Culture Committee is planning a table tennis tournament, an indoor soccer game with a local rival team, and treating the staff to a Thanksgiving feast.”

Next step to get started: Crowdsource some  tips and tricks .

37) Improv Night

“Teams that can improv together = unstoppable.”

Participating in some group improv may not seem at first like a team-building exercise, but if you look closer, you’ll see that improv is a fun way to practice teamwork and problem-solving . It’s almost like a relay, how your teammates throw a concept or a premise your way and it’s up to you to run with it lest the joke fall flat. Just watch a professional improv show and you’ll see that while just one person may deliver that epic punchline, the entire team worked together to make that moment possible.

Put a spin on it: Incorporate some insider jokes.

This Office Game at Work – KPMG

Mark Bower, Consulting Director at KPMG noted the rise in engagement from his teams during their recent virtual improv activity:

“My work teams have been in a rut endless and repetitive team huddles and virtual hang outs to stay connected. Attendance and engagement have been plummeting. We invited the Laughter on Call team to host our latest team get together and it was fantastic! Everyone on my team got involved and I saw some smiles and personality quirks that I had not seen in a long time! It was just so much fun and a huge morale boost for the team. As soon as it ended people were asking when we can have another one!”

Next step to get started: Wait are you waiting for? That belly laugh is dying to come out with an office-wide improv night . Plus, Laughter on Call is available in virtual, hybrid and in-person formats.

Zoom & Online Office Activities

38) virtual trivia time machine.

“Make ‘learning from the past’ a fun thing.”

It’s like a game show, a game show from the heyday of game shows. Join a charismatic host on a whirlwind adventure of memories and nostalgia as you test your knowledge of the past during a series of trivia games.

Put a spin on it: Create a timeline of everyone’s favorite moments in history.

This Office Game at Work – Netflix

Netflix tried out the virtual time machine and had a blast. Here is part of their feedback,

“Mike is such a fabulous host and entertainer! He brings quick wit, great charm, and fantastic energy to his events.”

Next step to get started: Go on!  Let the nostalgia in .

39) GeoGuessr

GeoGuessr is an online game that tests your knowledge of geography. Players are dropped into a random area on Google Street View and must guess where they are as accurate as possible. It’s a fun way to brush up on your geography skills while having some friendly competition with coworkers!

Put a spin on it: Take it up a notch by playing for a fun prize like a team lunch or movie night!

This Office Game at Work – Caroo

Tyler Simpson, Content Manager at Caroo tried out Geoguessr with his team. He also thinks it’s a great way to connect with remote employees:

“Since my team is remote, we like to finish up a meeting with a 5 minute round of GeoGuessr. It is a challenging but fast-paced game that encourages everyone to contribute and search for clues to find our location.”

Next step to get started: Get your team ready for some friendly competition with GeoGuessr .

40) Office-Wide Scavenger Hunt

“A hunt even animal lovers can enjoy.”

Few team-building games hold as much universal appeal as the noble scavenger hunt. Even the most stoic among you won’t be able to hide the flush of excitement they get as they get lost in the thrill of the chase — roaming around, finding clues, completing challenges, and more.

Put a spin on it: Reinforce your company culture by basing some of the clues on your core values or mission goals.

This Office Game at Work – General Electric

Let’s Roam knows how to have a good time. They’ve gained a following in the corporate community for their out-of-the-box approach to morale-boosting fun in the form of virtual team building games and city-wide outdoor scavenger hunts . Natalia Seybold, Business Design & Innovation Strategy, GE Crotonville, raves about how a Let’s Roam Scavenger Hunt was the perfect fun-tastic activity for her office:

“From start to finish, we had an incredible Let’s Roam experience. We flew in GE team members from all over the world for the team-building scavenger hunt, and the hunt was the perfect way for them to explore a new place. Everyone who participated was so impressed they said that they wanted to do similar hunts in their respective cities, with their teams. The Let’s Roam team is second to none. They went above and beyond, making it easy to incorporate questions about our company into the hunt.”

Next step to get started: Ready, set, hunt .

41) Solve The Office Crime

“Team building for dangerous types.” 

Who said virtual team building didn’t have a dark side? Bring your team closer together by immersing yourselves in a delightfully macabre crime-solving activity. Engage with live anchors to experience all the thrills of chasing clues and fighting crime.

Put a spin on it: Lighten the mood with some upbeat  Zoom games  after you crack the case.

One team that recently participated in a office-wide event using the party hosts at Confetti had this to say:

“Our team had a great time and thought the event was a lot of fun. They got a kick out of the characters, especially Mullet eating popcorn towards the end. Someone even made a Slack emoticon of her.”

Next step to get started: How does it all end? That’s for you to find out .

42) Throw a Themed Lunch Party

“Is ‘awesomeness’ a theme?”

Themed lunch parties can be whatever you want them to be. Here are just a few example ideas from a team at CentricsIT: hula skirts, pig roasts, water balloon fights, raffles, cook-out contests, Halloween costume contests, Ugly Christmas Sweater contests, tug-of-war, jumpy obstacle courses, scavenger hunts, mid-day basketball games, etc.

Put a spin on it: Extend the theme to your entire workweek.

This Office Game at Work – CentricsIT

Check out the cool office activities the CentricsIT employees get to enjoy:

“At CentricsIT, we strongly believe in a work hard-play hard culture. Here are some fun benefits of working here: Monthly catered lunches Ping-pong tournaments Themed parties that involve the following: hula skirts, pig roasts, water balloon fights, raffles, cook-out contests, Halloween costume contests, Ugly Christmas Sweater contests, tug-of-war, jumpy obstacle courses, scavenger hunts, mid-day basketball games, etc.”

Next step to get started: Look into planning a totally fun lunch party for your team, another department, or the entire office.

Bonus: Office Game Show Ideas

43) office family feud.

Based on:   Family Feud

The real deal makes one member of a family guess how the rest of the family responded to certain questions. The families who know each other best take the cake. Play it in your office by pitting teams against other teams to see which ones seem to know each other best. This provides bonding for teams who already know each other well, and it helps coworkers who are just getting to know each other learn a lot of new information in one fun game.

Learn more: Find the easiest way to set up a game of  Coworker Feud .

44) Chopped – Office Snacks Edition

Based on:   Chopped

The real deal features chefs who receive a basket of (usually) outrageous ingredients and then turn those ingredients into a cohesive dish.  Play it in your office by putting your favorite healthy snacks into a basket and challenging employees to “transform” the assortment of snacks into one delicious super-snack. Without raw ingredients, you won’t need a full kitchen. Some utensils, cutting boards, and bowls should do the trick.

Get started: Get all the snacks you need to start cooking with the office snack box from SnackNation .

45) Fixer Upper – Cubicle Edition

The real deal features designers who turn not-so-stellar homes into dream homes.  Play it in your office by having employees turn boring cubicles into cozy little spaces people will love working in. Each “design team” could have a small budget or no-holds-barred access to a supply closet. Take before and after photos to share on your company’s social media channels.

Learn more:   Get some office design inspiration .

46) The Price is Right in the Office

Based on:   The Price is Right

The real deal features contestants who get the chance to win big by guessing item prices. The closest without going over gets the chance to win.  Play it in your office by having employees guess the prices of items around the office, including supplies, electronics, chairs, food, and more.

Learn more: Start studying the price of  office supplies .

47) Let’s Make A Deal

Based on:   Let’s Make a Deal

The real deal shows costumed contestants trying to trade mystery goods. Who can make the best deal, trading an old sock for a shiny new bicycle?  Play it in your office by having employees attempt to trade office supplies, odd jobs, parking spaces, office snacks, and more.

Learn more: Stock up on mystery bags full of  sweet company swag .

48) Office Shark Tank

Based on:   Office Shark Tank

The real deal gives people a chance to pitch their ideas to a room full of wealthy investors. If any of the “sharks” bite, then the pitcher gets funding for their idea.  Play it in your office by having employees pitch their best ideas and inventions to some key company leaders. If the leadership team likes the idea, then the “pitcher” may end up seeing their dream idea become a reality.

Learn more: Simply Invite everyone and their next big ideas to a festive pitch session.

There is always a chance to take a break and have some fun while putting in a hard day’s work. Contributing to  office fun can make a big difference on company culture, so do not be afraid to try one of these out the next time the team has an opportunity for some fun.

There are so many ways to have fun at work, and hopefully you grabbed a couple of new ideas from the companies mentioned in this list. What fun office activities does your company do? Share them by leaving us a comment below.

Free Download:   Download this entire list as a PDF . Easily save it on your computer for quick reference or print it for future team activity planning.

People Also Ask These Questions About Fun Office Activities

Q: what are some fun work activities.

• A: At SnackNation , we instituted The Sensei Session. This incorporates a team-wide personal development session every Monday to start the week off learning something new. We recognize that getting people away from their desks and interacting with each other for a few minutes can have an energizing effect across the office. We also practice bi-weekly office yoga and scooter races in the parking lot to let employees enjoy themselves after working hard.

Q: How can I start an office game that my team will love?

• A: Start by picking a game that can include everyone on your team. Once you find the game and a time that will work for most people, build some excitement and maybe book a conference room to get people out from behind their desks. In our article , we will cover games such as: Eat Poop — You Cat, “Chat n’ Chew”, Hungry Hungry Ninjas, & Conference Table “Ice-Curling.”

Q: Where can I find some fun office games?

• A: We’ve done the hard part for you and found the top field-tested activities to have fun in the office. After interviewing passionate professionals, we present 48 Fun Office Games and Activities to Play for 2024 .

Q: What are office activities at work?

• A: Office activities are the games, events, and gatherings co-workers enjoy together. They come in many shapes and sizes, many of which you can explore in this list of ideas .

Q: What are the benefits of fun Friday office activities?

• A: The benefits of fun Friday office activities include enhanced camaraderie, deepened trust, and skyrocketing morale.

Q: What are some quick office activities to play?

• A: Some quick office activities include office rock, paper, scissors, or a round of trivia . A quick office game to begin a meeting or event can do a great job to break the ice and have everyone get comfortable before you hop into business.

Q: What are some fun office games to play?

• A: Some fun office games to play include a real-life interpretation of the board game Hungry, Hungry Hippos. Learn how to play.

Q: How do I choose my next fun office activity?

• A: Select one from an expansive list of options that includes virtual events, large-group events, and small-group events.

Q: Are there any free activities to play in the office?

• A: Yes, there are plenty of free or nearly free activities to play in the office, such as a round of basketball or Werewolf, for example. Explore the possibilities by checking out our list of fun office games for any occasion at work .

Q: How do I know if my office activities are successful?

• A: Ask for both casual and formal (surveys and polls) feedback to find out if your office activities are successful.

Office How To’s Resources

36 office decor ideas to inspire your team’s best work, 25 epic office party ideas that’ll have everyone buzzing for weeks, 19 kickass office organization ideas for maximum productivity, 25 creative office bulletin board ideas that actually get read, 15 creative office layout ideas that gets people super excited, 7 fun office birthday ideas that are as easy as pie, the workplace events calendar: office events for every part of the year, we gave office pets free rein in the workplace – here’s how it made our office better, the only office procedures manual template you’ll ever need, planning an office move here’s what you need to know, how to bring an authentic startup vibe to any office, the definitive guide on how to organize an office filing system, 18 holiday party ideas that are big fun for small companies, how to make your next company outing unforgettable, the only corporate event planning checklist you’ll ever need, the modern guide to (responsibly) drinking at work, 7 creative ways to make memorable new employee announcements, 21 hilarious office pranks that (hopefully) won’t get you fired, 17 company swag ideas employees really want, your a-z cheat sheet for picking the best conference call service, complete guide to a successful company newsletter [with templates], how to throw a company retreat that everyone will rave about.

Interested in a content partnership? Let’s chat!

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About SnackNation

SnackNation is a healthy office snack delivery service that makes healthy snacking fun, life more productive, and workplaces awesome. We provide a monthly, curated selection of healthy snacks from the hottest, most innovative natural food brands in the industry, giving our members a hassle-free experience and delivering joy to their offices.

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64 Comments

I’ve never looked so photogenic in any picture… Whoever took this picture is a genius!

Check us out! Snack Nation Rocks! I LOVE my job! Who can say that?? I can!

Yay! Thanks for including the fun stuff we do @YouEarnedIt. Our tagline is “Happiness at Work.”

Viva Snacknation!

Thanks! I was super happy that Darby shared some of the ways YouEarnedIt makes work fun for the team over there.

MY HEARTFUL THANKS TO KEVINDORSEY & T OUR TEAM, LAST WEEK ALSO I RECEIVED 19 KILLER HR TOOLS FOR THE MODERN HR CHAMPION. ITS REALLY GREAT, ITS MY PLEASURE.

THANKS & REGARDS,

I REALLY LIKES THESE KIND OD ACTIVITIES

Hey Khadar, good to hear you like the ideas mentioned in this post

Great ideas from some other companies too! Thanks for including us. <3

Hey Hannah, thanks for giving us a behind the scenes look at all the fun stuff you guys do over at BrightFire 🙂

These ideas are great. May have to try some in my office as well.

Hi BreAnne, please do and let me know how they work out

+1 for fitness challenges – our competitive office would definitely enjoy those

Thanks TJ, sounds like you work at a pretty cool office

I like these ideas, may have to try some for team building or just fun in general

They should work great for either scenario. Let me know how they work out for your company.

These are some awesome ideas! I’m going to start implementing some of them.

Hey Kiely, that’s awesome to hear! Let me know which ones you try out and how they were received by the rest of your team.

Thanks for sharing. These are some great ideas to keep office life interesting.

Thanks Rochelle!

Amazing! I’m going to steal so many of these ideas for our own office.

Hey Wes, I hope they bring a lot more fun to your office!

How fun! These would definitely make work more engaging!

Hey Jeanne, they really do!

My work is currently having us come up with suggestions of things that could be done to make our office environment more fun and so I think that they could look to Bigcommerce for an example. We already play four square every day during break, but I really like that they play Hungry Hungry Ninjas and have ping pong tournaments. I am definitely going to suggest to my bosses that we should be doing those two things.

Awesome Faylinn! Kudos to you for heading up office fun 🙂

At my workplace, we’re having this month a gratitude challenge (post-it notes of appreciation signed by someone who was grateful to another colleague), but we also had challenges in which someone would present new ideas or technologies to the team, would help in the recruiting process or organize a team event and so on. Also, we plant flowers every year 🙂 But these fun activities from this article are pretty good, like ping pong tournaments or interesting topics to talk about; thanks for inspiring me, ha ha!

thanks amazing ideas

This is an amazing compilation. So many amazing ideas…

Oh if only I had read some of these wonderful things to share , BEFORE I retired! Some of these ideas sound absolutely silly, fun and enjoyable !! Great ideas!! Thanks for sharing!!

This is really great stuff for all those who are specially called pro-entrepreneur.

Great ideas , i will use this activities in my office, Thanks for sharing

I like these ideas … i am going to start some sort of activities in my office … i need your advices. Thanks in advance

Love all these ideas and can’t wait to start implementing some of them!

Awesome article! It definitely inspires ideas.

The Happy Hour idea is great. I will try this with our office.Thanks

A big hit with our staff is pairing a wine or beer tasting with painting classes.

That sounds like a lot of fun. Thanks for sharing the idea 🙂

Happy hour sounds like a fun way to get the team together!

Happy hour off site is a nice way to get out of the office and have fun with co workers, I would love a laser tag or cornhole competition too.

These all sound like so much fun!! I LOVE the scooter nerf war idea! My office is set up perfectly for that! Thanks for the ideas!!

All of these look like they would be fun! I love the Happy Hour idea the most!!

We will definitely be playing werewolf!

I would love to do a bring your dog to work day!

Hi Taylor, this post might help you convince your company to let you – snacknation.com/blog/office-pets/

So many to choose from! I’ve always thought the “adult” coloring books are an easy way to bring stress relief. We started doing group walks on our walking path as part of our Wellness Wednesday initiative. Very well attended!

Awesome! We have started trying to bring a little fun into our office – it gets to be a little too serious at times!

Some great ideas! Already looking to source a Nintendo 64 for Mario Kart races!

We have an annual dodgeball tournament with the company next door to us. It gets SUPER competitive, but always SUPER fun.

We’ve recently rebooted our culture committee. While we do enjoy office lunches every other Friday as well as costume parties in October and themed Fridays thru the month of December, you guys bring a whole new level of Fun. We are looking for ways to get our employees up and away from their desks for a small mental break during the day. I love so many of these ideas. I can’t wait to bring them back to our next culture meeting.

Games in office!!! It distracts employees from their work. On the other hand, it is essential for refreshment too.

Thanks for the article.

This is just a wonderful Blog, thanks for the great insight and tips. We really appreciate your effort! Keep up the awesome work!

Great blog. Thanks for sharing these ideas. Adding a pinch of mind games like making objects using LEGO, blocks, or clay within a given time frame can relax your day. Some great games with reasonable play times include Boggle, Jenga, or even playing cards. Don’t forget to incentivize with prizes for winners.

Games in the office will create a fantastic environment and boost the employees to get their targets.

Yes, we love taking a break to just hang out and get to know eachother!

Yeah!! That’s a good thing, I am glad you shared this post!

Appreciate it James! Which was your favorite game?

Thank you for the article, you are an inspiration to us all.

Games are very essential for human mental refreshment.

This blog is really helpful for gamers and especially for child’s who have a passion to know something about games.

An office is a place where you have to do work in a decent manner and have to enjoy life also. This kind of games makes the employees so happy and mentally fresh.

Wow.. I just love this games and i will share this article with my team mates. Very interesting blog for all of us. Thanks and keep writing!

Games help loosen up the tension and stress. I think they would be a great idea. It helps boost the morale when you see smiles and hear laughter.

I had ukulele and piano classes at the office, I really enjoyed it.

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39 Team Meeting Ideas & Topics that are Out of the Box 

By: Angela Robinson | Updated: December 29, 2023

You found our list of fun out of the box team meeting ideas and topics.

Out of the box team meeting ideas are change-ups from the normal meeting routine that make for more fun and interesting gatherings. Example ideas include walking meetings, field trips, and team Pomodoro sessions. The purpose of these activities is to engage and energize attendees, spark creativity, and facilitate team building. These insights are also known as “staff meeting ideas.”

These ideas are a type of unusual team building activity , virtual team building activity and remote employee engagement exercise . The ideas are similar to team building meetings , morning meeting ideas , virtual morning meeting ideas and community building activities .

This list includes:

• positive staff meeting ideas
• out of the box meeting ideas
• fun team meeting topics for discussion
• weekly team meeting ideas
• team meeting activities
• fun activities to liven up meetings
• fun ways to start a meeting
• activities for staff meetings
• meeting engagement ideas

Here we go!

List of team meeting ideas & topics that are out of the box

Here is a list of creative meeting ideas to shake up the routine and engage employees.

1. Team Pomodoro session

The Pomodoro Technique is a time management method that involves working in 25 minute intervals followed by five minute breaks. To keep your team on-track and engaged, you can hold group pomodoro sessions. You could either bring tasks to work on and co-work together, or split the meeting or discussion into this format. During the breaks, teammates can chat, grab a snack, take a stretch, and recharge.

Here is a list of free pomodoro apps you can use.

2. Competitions

Competitions are one of the most fun activities to liven up meetings. By gamifying the gathering and pitting participants against each other in friendly rivalries, you can capture attendees’ attention and keep energy high.

First, split the group into two or three teams. Then, break up the meeting with mini-games and trivia questions. You can also award points for work accomplishments like delivering a strong presentation or sharing a milestone. At the end of the meeting, count the scores and give a prize to the team with the highest tally.

Here are more tips for workplace competitions , and here is a collection of trivia questions for work meetings .

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• icebreaker games
• bingo cards

3. Outdoor meetings

In the same way teachers take classes outside on warm days, you can move your meetings outside to give your teams a much-needed dose of fresh air and sunshine. Simply designate a meeting space outside, or have your team meet inside and walk outdoors together. Keep in mind that there may be noise, and you may also want to avoid this format if you have confidential matters to discuss or presentations that require extensive technology. For the full effect, bring blankets or lawn chairs to sit on, and pass out snacks for a picnic feel.

Here is a list of outdoor team building activities .

4. Powerpoint party

Powerpoint parties are eccentric team meeting ideas that involve participants presenting on irrelevant topics. Before the meeting, instruct participants to prepare a slideshow on a subject of their choice. Any matter that is safe-for-work is fair game. For example, a teammate might give a lesson in ukulele music appreciation, an overview of The Great Emu war, or just share pictures of cute dogs they met in their neighborhood.

When the meeting begins, give each participant a maximum of five minutes to present the slideshow to the group. At the end of the meeting, attendees can ask additional questions or vote for the best presentation.

Reunions are one of the most unexpected meeting ideas. For this type of meeting, invite back team members who left on good terms to spend time with the team. Former teammates can catch up and re-ignite their camaraderie, and the surprise visit can be a quick morale booster for the team. Plus, the gesture sends the message that you value staff as human beings and remain on good terms with former employees, which can strengthen your relationship with your current team.

Former team members can either visit in person, or call into the meeting via video conferencing software. Be sure to leave buffer time for teammates to chat and connect.

Rewinds offer a chance to reflect on the past and measure progress. These meetings give the group the opportunity to celebrate and re-celebrate team and individual wins together. You can include work wins, team outings, life changes, and more, and can do the year in review or look back over a longer period of time. You can make a slideshow or video of highlights, or ask each team member to come to the meeting prepared with one past win to share. This meeting theme enables the group to take stock of accomplishments and can inspire the team to keep moving forward.

7. Breakfast meeting

One way to perk up first-thing-in-the-morning meetings is to serve breakfast. You can lay out a spread of bagels and cream cheese, set up an omelette station, fire up the waffle iron, or special order from a beloved local breakfast spot. Be sure to have plenty of coffee on hand to help wake the team up, and leave buffer time for attendees to get food and get settled.

8. Field trip

Field trip meetings provide a change of scenery and an environment that stimulates teammates. First, choose a nearby destination, such as a botanical garden, museum, coffee shop, or co-working space. Venues with free admission or low-admission costs are probably best suited to this format, since the group will be working and may not be able to have a typical visit. Plan out time to enjoy the space as well as time for discussions, progress reports, team building, or brainstorming sessions. Be sure to double check with the venue beforehand that accommodating the group is possible. Many spaces offer meeting spaces where you can hold your work. Also keep in mind that you will have to coordinate transportation. Best to choose a spot not too far away so that the group can carpool or walk over together.

For inspiration, here is a list of virtual field trip ideas .

9. Walking meeting

If you have ever found yourself saying “walk with me,” to a colleague during a conversation, then walking meetings are for you. This format ditches the conference table and stuffy meeting room for a track or trail. Movement can get your team’s blood pumping and ideas flowing. Be sure to give your team a heads up to wear walkable shoes that day, because few folks want to take a trek in heels! When meeting time arrives, gather your group, take a stroll, and have a talk.

You can walk a nearby track or large indoor space, or you can travel to a destination. For instance, you can go to a park where your team can play games or an ice cream shop where you treat your crew to small cones.

10. Guest speaker

Inviting a guest speaker is one of the easiest ways to make meetings interesting. These special guests can take part in the group discussion or give a talk to the team. The speaker may train team members in a skill, share interesting and little-known history, explain a philanthropy mission, or simply talk about a cool topic. You can gauge what subjects interest the group and reach out to an expert to pay the team a visit. Feel free to encourage employees to make recommendations from within their social circles as well.

For ideas, here is a list of virtual keynote speakers .

11. Support session

Support sessions are meetings where teammates can gather to talk out things that are bothering them or confusing them. These sessions are a type of check-in activity leaders can use to gauge group morale and take care of the team’s mental and emotional health. Participants can swap tips, talk, listen, and vent. These sessions are a way to build camaraderie and assure employees that team members have their backs. Attendees can bring up work and non-work topics, and this can be a valuable exercise for encouraging empathy among the group.

For best results, set ground rules to ensure that these meetings are a safe place where team members feel comfortable sharing, and keep conversations healthy and productive.

For similar activities, check out employee resource groups .

12. Mini retreat

Mini retreats are intensive team bonding experiences. Like longer retreats, these activities enable development in a structured setting free from distractions. Mini retreats take place over a day or half day and are close to the office. You can plan a getaway to an outside venue for the day, or find a secluded space in the building for the team to meet. Then, organize team building activities, discussions, lectures, meals, and other programming for team members to take part in. These gatherings are like mini conferences just for your team, and allow your group to focus on topics like professional development, current projects, and team building without interference or interruptions from outside influences.

Here is a guide to holding retreats remotely .

13. Working lunch

Working lunches are one of the most common out of the box team meeting ideas. In this format, participants bring their laptops to the lunchroom or a restaurant and enjoy a meal while finishing tasks. Keep in mind that lunches are meant to be a break for employees and that larger groups tend to take more time to get served in restaurants. Plan to extend the lunch hour to allow some time for relaxing alongside business, and cover the cost of the meal. Dining tables are great spaces for conversation, and meeting in a restaurant can feel more intimate than meeting in a conference room.

You can also hold a remote lunch where attendees eat together during a Zoom call. Here are instructions to hold a virtual team lunch .

14. Virtual reality meeting

Virtual reality has progressed to the point that professionals can hold meetings in virtual spaces with avatars. This meeting idea is useful for dispersed teams, especially if team members have grown weary of Zoom screens. Even if the group works in the same building, this meeting can be a novelty and a welcome change of pace.

First pick a platform, then design your virtual meeting space. Make sure your teammates download the software or app needed to access the area and know how to navigate to the digital space at meeting time. Then, gather digitally and hold your meeting in the metaverse.

Here are virtual events platforms to try for VR meetings.

15. Video game quest

Teams looking for new and different ways to meet can play video games together. Many games and gaming platforms have online multiplayer modes and built-in communication systems like text or voice chat. Teammates can complete missions together to improve collaboration and communication skills. Plus, playing the games can help workers de-stress and blow off steam.

According to The New York Times , even some executives use video games for meetups in place of traditional conference rooms or restaurants.

16. Animal therapy

Animal therapy may be one of the most appreciated motivational meeting ideas. People love pets, and employees will likely be much more psyched to attend a meeting if it means the chance to cuddle a cat, dog, rabbit, or other fuzzy friend while listening to the agenda.

To host this type of gathering, reach out to a local animal rescue or adoption center and ask about the possibility of arranging a visit. Many such organizations coordinate dog or cat therapy sessions with colleges and may be able to accommodate. Or, you can bring your team to the center to volunteer for a couple of hours and meet aftward.

Pro tip: Make sure no team members are allergic before you bring in the critters! Also, be sure to clear the activity with leadership, and be ready to clean up any animal accidents.

For more fun with furry friends, check out this list of office pets .

17. Work skills workshop

Work skills workshops are activities that help teammates develop work competencies. Professional development is important to employees, and making skills training the focal point of a meeting gives workers the opportunity to learn while on the clock.

Here are a few example topic ideas:

• Time management
• Financial literacy
• Negotiation
• Navigating cultural differences
• Storytelling
• Personal branding

First, find out which subjects most interest the staff. Next, find a pro to lead the workshop and set a date and time.

It tends to be best to structure these sessions to involve hands-on activities that allow for practice and encourage participation.

Learn more about corporate workshops .

18. Battle of the…

Battle of the… is part competition and part experiment. In this activity, teammates try out different versions of a product and pick an overall winner. This activity is a fun way to start or end a meeting.

Before the meeting begins, decide on a category. For instance, cupcakes, apps, touchscreen gloves, or Chinese takeout. Each participant should decide on a different brand or shop to buy from. Participants will order the items online, or else visit a local shop the day of or day before the meeting to pick up the product.

During the meeting, participants will try each other’s items and compare notes before deciding on a winter.

You can structure the activity to be more work-related, for instance, trying out different industry apps. Or leave the activity just for fun, such as “battle of the cannolis.”

This exercise can be a fun bonding exercise and is sure to appeal to folks who make everything into a competition.

Here are more ideas for team bonding .

Recess gives team members a chance to play and embrace their inner child. This type of meeting is unstructured time where team members can escape the office and blow off steam. You can organize team playground games such as kickball and tag, or simply hang out outside together. Recess can happen inside too, with team building board games or indoor team building activities . Allow at least 15 to 30 minutes of free time. The point of the exercise is to give employees a break and re-energize the team.

20. Virtual lunch and learns

Lunch and learns are educational activities where employees meet on lunch break to hear a lecture while enjoying a snack or meal. These activities are common in the workplace, however you can get creative in the topics covered. Beyond basic subjects like time management or leadership training, you may consider more eccentric topics, for instance, tips on confidence and presentation skills from a drag queen or prepping work snacks with a chef.

You can also shake up the format of lunch and learns by meeting remotely. Even if your team works in-office, you can stream the session so that teammates can tune in from wherever they are in the building and staff outside the office can still participate. You can even deliver lunch to desks, or reimburse the faraway folks the cost of takeout.

Here is a guide to doing virtual lunch and learns .

21. Hourly check-ins

Hourly check-ins are motivational meeting ideas that can help keep team members on-track and on task. At the appointed time, team members will gather and give updates on the work and/or on their moods. This is especially useful on days of events.

The group does not have to physically gather for these meetings, and can respond to a Slack thread or group chat instead. The get-togethers do not have to happen every hour either, and can occur a couple of times throughout the day. These check-ins can give team members needed support and encouragement, as well as encourage accountability.

Here is a list of employee check-in questions .

22. Workout meetings

Workout meetings do the double duty of helping employees get exercise while accomplishing tasks. This meeting format can counter sedentary work styles and encourage healthier habits. The community element promotes team bonding. Plus, the accompanying endorphin boost can improve employee moods.

It is best to do a low-intensity workout such as yoga, hiking, or casual bike-riding, otherwise teammates may get winded and it will be hard to communicate.

For inspiration, check out this list of team workout ideas .

23. Brainstorm graffiti

Brainstorm graffiti is an idea-generating exercise that encourages participation from all team members. The one-at-time format of more traditional brainstorming sessions may make shyer teammates hesitant to participate. In brainstorm graffiti, team members write down all ideas at once, and then explore the different topics as a group.

To do this exercise, get a large whiteboard or roll out a big piece of paper on the floor. Then, give each attendee a different color marker. When you say go, teammates will have five to ten minutes to write down every thought that comes to mind. When time runs out, team members take a seat, and the meeting host guides the group through the mural of ideas. The host should touch on at least one word in each color to give every team member the chance to contribute.

Since this activity is time-limited and higher-pressure, ideas do not need to be fully formed and can be rough. The point of the exercise is to spark creativity, limit second-guessing, and get as many ideas as possible into the open.

For more inspiration, here are books on creativity .

24. Timed segments

Occasionally in meetings, one team or team member hogs the floor, causing other participants to have to rush through their updates. Skilled moderators can ensure that talking time gets divided evenly, however doing timed segments is another alternative. As each presenter begins to speak, set a visible timer for 5 to 15 minutes. Participants can challenge themselves to race against the clock and be as brief as possible. As host, you can save some time at the end and have teammates compete for the extra slots.

This exercise is intended for fun and should not cause anxiety among staff. If there is a topic in need of further discussion, then the teammate can have a private conversation after the meeting or the team can circle back to the topic in the future.

25. Q&A

Q&A sessions give teammates the chance to satisfy curiosity, clear up confusion, and have a back-and-forth with an expert in the know. You can host Q&A’s to address upcoming organizational changes, for instance, rebranding or restructuring, or to get to know individual team members better, for instance, a meet-and-greet with a member of a different department or an introduction to a new team member. Higher management can use these sessions as a way to have dialogue with the staff, and can benefit from feedback and insights just as much as employees benefit from having questions answered. You can also host experts outside of your organization, and can facilitate Q&A’s virtually.

26. Town Halls

All hands meetings and town halls are not unusual in the workworld, yet you can structure these meetings in a way that is engaging, welcoming, and valuable to all attendees. For example, you can plan activities that offer a chance for attendees to get to know colleagues in other departments, or by offer employees a chance to guest-host segments. You can even have random prize drawings, games, and perks to incentivize attendance and participation.

Here is a guide to doing all hands meetings .

27. Buddy Up

Introducing a buddy system for meetings gives team members a chance to bond and strengthen relationships. There are a few different ways to achieve this end. For instance, you could match up meeting attendees to talk through prompts and complete tasks together, can pair up teammates for 1:1 peer-learning calls during weeks when the manager is away, or can invite another department to hold a joint meeting with the team. This format gets employees more familiar with more distant coworkers and builds stronger bonds throughout the organization.

Check out more relationship building activities .

28. Scavenger hunt meeting

Scavenger hunts are one of the most out of the box meeting activities. There are many ways to structure the activity. For example, you can open the meeting by having attendees retrieve materials they will need to complete a team building exercise during the meeting. Or, you can ask each presenter to submit a question relating to an important topic they will cover, make a worksheet out of the questions, and ask attendees to fill in the blanks as the meeting goes on. You can also hold a more traditional scavenger hunt as a team building exercise.

For more tips and ideas, here is a guide to doing scavenger hunts virtually .

29. Meeting soundtrack

Because meetings do not typically have music, adding a background playlist can elevate the experience. You can pick a different team member to act as DJ every meeting, or ask teammates for song suggestions to build a team playlist. Team members can also choose songs to play during presentations. Playing music can help team members focus and feel comfortable, and can eliminate awkward silences and set a mood for the meeting.

Pro tip: Send out the playlist post-meeting in the recap email or notes.

For inspiration, here is a list of team building songs .

Fun team meeting topics for discussion

Here are suggestions for topics to talk about in work meetings to incite lively discussion.

1. Moonshots

Moonshots are ambitious ideas that may seem impossible at first glance. These projects can drive innovation and push teammates beyond perceived limits. Moonshots can also be one of the most fun talking topics for meetings. Teammates can come up with over-the-top ideas together, and then brainstorm ways to make these distant aims achievable. The more outrageous the thought, the better. While not every moonshot may succeed, by striving for great results team members are likely to grow and achieve more than they initially expected. Plus, dreaming big is fun and can ignite the team’s passion and imagination.

For further inspiration, here is a list of books on innovation .

Discussing goals in a group setting can be fun and useful. Team members can give each other encouragement, and announcing the goal can create a sense of accountability that makes participants follow-through and take action. We recommend structuring the discussion so that teammates share one work goal and one non-work goal. During future meetings, check in and assess progress. This idea can serve as an ongoing discussion point and icebreaker activity.

Here are goal setting activities for teams .

3. Predictions

It can be fun to make forecasts about the industry and the company, especially during times of significant change. This exercise can improve the team’s critical thinking abilities. Simply have participants weigh in and predict events and developments that may occur within the next month, quarter, year, etc. You can even start a for-fun betting pool and award the participant with the most accurate prediction with a prize.

Predictions do not need to be serious or long-range. For example, the group can make predictions like “who will be the next team member to get a positive review?” or “who will be the next participant to forget to unmute their mic on Zoom?”

4. Client catch ups

Client catch ups give employees the opportunity to learn more about customers and encourage the team to keep current with clients. You can highlight a few exciting developments at client companies in a slideshow, ask participants to volunteer news, and can even make a trivia game to reward employees who are most well-informed on client goings-on. You can even invite a client to call in and share their news within the first five minutes of the call, have the team offer congratulations, and generate goodwill between you and the customer.

Everybody makes mistakes from time to time. Owning up to failures can normalize imperfection and make team members feel better about mess-ups. Not to mention, stories about things-gone-awry can be entertaining. Team members can take turns confessing to mess-ups, and you can even award a fail-of-the-week. The team can comfort each other and offer advice and suggestions to help each other learn.

6. Hypotheticals

Hypotheticals are fun tangents to explore in work meetings. Team members can take turns thinking up different scenarios and challenging other team members to talk through their problem-solving approach. This exercise can help team members plan more thoroughly and consider multiple angles when making decisions. Plus, it can be fun to think about different possibilities, even unlikely ones.

Here are more problem-solving activities .

7. Personal updates

It is good for team members to get to know each other as human beings and to keep tabs on each others’ important events outside of the office. You can leave room in meetings to share personal updates. For example, engagements, births, house-buyings, pet adoptions, and graduations. Team members can also share less monumental developments like starting a new hobby, planning a weekend trip, or finally cleaning their desk.

8. New member introduction

New member introductions are a way to welcome new employees and facilitate team bonding. Each member of the team can tell a little bit about themselves, and established team members can ask the new hire questions or give advice. The new team member can also use this opportunity to ask questions, or just to banter with their new coworkers. These discussions help to break the ice and build relationships among the team much faster.

Here are more get to know you activities .

9. Work Wins

Recognition is an important part of the job satisfaction puzzle. Plus, hearing positive news can boost employee morale. You can dedicate time each meeting to acknowledging work wins. Managers can announce these achievements, team members can praise each other, or employees can toot their own horns. Starting the gathering with these conversations can set an uplifting tone for the rest of the meeting. You can also host an entire meeting devoted to talking about each team member’s accomplishments, like an informal award ceremony.

10. Today I learned

Today I learned is one of the most fun meeting discussion topics. This exercise encourages constant learning and empowers team members to share fascinating facts with the team. To do this activity, have each attendee share one tidbit that they recently learned. These snippets could be work-related or non-related, on any topic of the speaker’s choice, and can be serious or silly.

Final Thoughts

The average employee spends a significant amount of time in meetings. The routine can grow stale, and team members can tune out. Introducing new and interesting meeting topics and formats can reinvigorate the team and lead to more thoughtful discussion, better morale, increased creativity, and greater productivity.

For more tips, check out virtual meeting etiquette and these corporate workshop ideas .

We also have a list of the best games for team meetings .

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FAQ: Out of the box team meeting ideas

Here are common questions about out of the box team meeting ideas.

What are out of the box team meeting ideas?

Out of the box team meeting ideas are unusual and unexpected activities and topics for meetings. The purpose of these exercises is to add variety to the workday routine and to engage and re-energize employees.

What are some unexpected work meeting ideas?

Some unexpected work meeting ideas include animal therapy, meeting soundtracks, reunions, and video game quests.

How do you engage employees during meetings?

To engage employees during meetings, incorporate elements of participation such as games, quizzes, and questions. A change in scenery can also shake up the routine and make employees more alert and receptive to discussion, as can changing the standard meeting format and planning unexpected activities.

Author: Angela Robinson

Marketing Coordinator at teambuilding.com. Angela has a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and worked as a community manager with Yelp to plan events for businesses.

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Marketing Coordinator at teambuilding.com.

Angela has a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and worked as a community manager with Yelp to plan events for businesses.

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55 Career Day Ideas, Tips, and Activities for All Ages

Encourage kids to consider a wide variety of careers for the future.

School career days give kids a peek into their futures, with the opportunity to learn about all the job fields and opportunities available to them. These career day ideas include options for preschool, elementary, middle, and high school. We’ve also got tips for making your event truly meaningful for everyone involved!

General Career Day Tips

Preschool career activities, elementary school career day ideas, middle and high school career day ideas.

Keep activities age-appropriate

Younger students should be encouraged to explore through play, while tweens and teens are ready for a more detailed look at what various careers entail.

Invite families to participate

Chances are good that you can find someone working in just about any career you can imagine among the parents and families of your own students.

Engage with the community

People love the chance to share their careers with the next generation. Reach out to local businesses and organizations and offer them the opportunity to participate.

Include as many career fields as possible

Think big! You want to help students see that there are good jobs to fit any interest and skill set, including those that don’t necessarily require a four-year college education.

Vary your career day activities

Provide ways for all students to engage, whether they prefer to listen to others speak or actually try some hands-on experience. Keep students moving throughout the day by offering activities and speakers in multiple locations.

Start small and expand over time

If it’s your first career day, it’s OK to keep it simple. After a few years, you’ll build up a collection of regular speakers, activities, and more career day ideas.

Gauge interest

Let students request or suggest specific speakers, career field representatives, or activities they’d like to see, and accommodate them if you can.

Prepare participants

Work with speakers and other participants in advance to help them plan their presentations or activities. Make sure their plans are age-appropriate and meaningful.

Think beyond a day

As kids get older, the chance to explore a variety of careers becomes even more important. Consider dedicating one day each month to a career activity, setting up a speaker series , or trying independent career exploration projects.

Follow up afterward

Career days can help students make connections with people in careers that interest them. Encourage students to build on those connections after the official career day has ended. Younger students can help maintain community connections by writing thank-you notes to participants.

At this age, kids should be encouraged to learn through play as much as possible. Give them lots of opportunities to explore a wide array of different occupations with activities like these.

Little ones love to dress up! Provide them with lots of career-themed outfits and accessories, and encourage all kids to try on every kind of career for size.

Imaginative play

Whether they’re in costume or not, kids can pretend to be lots of different workers. Give them an array of career-themed toys and equipment, and provide every child a chance to try anything that interests them.

Career centers

Add career-themed play centers to your classroom, like kitchens, fire stations, post offices, hospitals, vet offices, science labs, and more. Keep the appropriate dress-up clothes and toys for these fields in each center for kids to experiment with.

Field trips

Pre-K is a great time to visit all sorts of workplaces. Ask parents and families if your class would be welcome for a tour, and work with community partners to find more career-themed field trip opportunities for students.

Career story time

Rather than just asking people to come talk to your class about their jobs, invite them to do read-alouds instead! Find a book related to their job in some way for story time, then let students ask questions afterward. If you do this virtually, people can participate from their workplaces and take kids on a virtual tour too.

Students can explore jobs a bit more in-depth at this age, as well as learning some basic career-readiness skills. Try these ideas for elementary school career day.

Dress-up day

This is a career day classic! Students dress up as what they think they might like to be when they grow up. (Tip: Have teachers dress up as what they imagined they might do for a living when they were young!)

Career parade

Once everyone is all dressed up, hold a grand parade around the school or playground. Offer prizes for the best costumes, presented by representatives of local companies or organizations.

Parent/family job day

This is another longtime favorite: Parents and family members visit the classroom to share a little about what they do in their daily jobs.

If you’d like to expand your career day into more events, try theming them by field. For instance, you could have a day for STEM careers, one for skilled trades, one for business careers, etc.

Virtual field trips

You can visit many more locations and see a wider array of career fields when you do it virtually. Set up videoconference time with various people, and let them take you on a tour and introduce you to the people they work with every day. Allow some time at the end for Q&A.

Career stations

Set up different rooms or booths with information, activities, outfits, speakers, and more for individual careers or fields. Kids can circulate among them, with the opportunity to spend extra time at stations that interest them the most.

Career scavenger hunt

As kids explore career stations, provide a scavenger hunt to encourage them to engage more deeply with the activities. Examples: “List three tools a carpenter uses” or “How many years of college does it take to become a doctor?”

Career library

Set aside a selection of books about different careers, and let each student pick one they want to read and report back on. ( Get ideas for creative book reports here. )

Let STEM-related workers give demonstrations of what they do in their jobs, from coding demos and engineering challenges to lab experiments and animal interactions.

Career skits

Take imaginative career play to the next level by asking kids to write and perform simple skits set in different workplaces. They can play out a normal workday or show a worker tackling a special challenge or task.

Go-to-work day

This takes some coordination, but it’s a cool way to really immerse kids in careers. Think of it like “Take Your Child to Work Day,” but kids aren’t limited to only visiting their parents’ jobs. Instead, a group of kids signs up to visit various participating businesses, and each is partnered with an employee for an hour or two to tour the facility and learn more about what happens there.

Career crafts

Paper firefighter hats, DIY stethoscopes, worker finger puppets … there are lots of fun crafts kids can make and take home as they learn about different jobs and career fields.

Career day booklets

Give each student a blank booklet of eight pages or so. On each page, encourage them to illustrate and take notes about one career that really interests them. They’ll each go home with an individualized resource for talking to their families about possible jobs for the future.

Lunch with a …

When it’s time for lunch, set up a room or table for each career and let kids sign up to eat with people from that field. They can chat informally while they dine, sharing stories and asking questions in a naturally comfortable environment.

Career bulletin boards

Create bulletin boards themed by career or field throughout the building. Let each class work together to create their own, then take a tour to check out the whole collection.

Career posters

Let each student choose a career they’d like to learn more about, then have them create posters showing what they find out. Display the posters in school hallways, and let kids stand nearby to answer questions about the job on which they’ve become an expert.

My first resume

Introduce kids to the basic idea of what a resume is, then help them write their own. Of course, at this age they don’t have specific job experience. However, they can list their experiences doing chores at home or at school, plus any special skills they have. It can be fun to watch them create titles for themselves like “Dog Walker” or “Bedroom Cleaner”!

Equipment displays

Invite businesses to bring in equipment big and small, from fire trucks, construction equipment, and portable X-ray machines to medical supplies, building tools, and cooking implements. Kids will love getting a closer look at these tools of the trade.

Personal career collage

After kids have a chance to learn more about all the jobs available to them, have them assemble a collage that shows the occupations they’d most like to try someday. They can cut out pics from magazines, or work online to collect digital images or videos for a virtual version.

Career day pledge

At the end of the day, invite each student to sign a Career Day Pledge, in which they promise to stay in school and prepare themselves to succeed at any job their future holds.

Now’s the time to really get into the nitty-gritty of what careers entail and what it takes to work in specific fields. The more opportunities for career exploration you can offer teens, the better. These ideas and activities make the most of their time dedicated to learning about careers and employment in general.

Career fair

The classic career fair takes a bit of logistical planning, but it can actually be among the easier career day ideas. Most businesses and organizations already have materials ready to go for career and recruitment fairs, so offer them a place to set up their tables and booths and encourage them to tailor their overall presentation to students.

Sometimes a job sounds good in theory, but when we actually see what it entails on a day-to-day basis, it’s not quite what we had in mind. That’s why job shadowing is such a good idea. Today’s technology makes things easier than ever before too. If you can’t get kids to workplaces in person, they can connect via video chat to spend a few hours with employees instead.

Wheel of careers

This is a fun activity you can do during career day or as preparation for the event. Kids “spin the wheel” to learn more about a selection of careers from every kind of field. It’s a great way to encourage them to consider jobs they might not have thought about before. Find the Wheel of Careers activity here.

Career cluster rooms

Clustering various careers together in one space makes sense and helps give some structure to your activities. Students will have an easier time finding the jobs they want to investigate, and you’ll keep people spread out into more manageable groups too.

Career groups by interest

Another way to group careers is by the skills and interests they involve. Set up stations for sports-based careers, math-based jobs, jobs for those who love to write, occupations for people who like to use their hands, etc. Label them “If You Like ________, Try These Jobs!”

Career panel

Arrange for panels of speakers related to specific careers. Each can give a short introduction to their job, then they can talk about their work among themselves as well as taking questions from students. This gives kids an excellent chance to compare opportunities in related fields.

Entrepreneur showcase

Those who want to go into business for themselves will love getting to talk with local business owners, start-ups, and other entrepreneurs. They’ll get a clearer picture of the benefits and challenges of being a business owner, and they can present some of their ideas to those who can give them tips and advice.

Don’t forget to include your area’s career and technical education programs as you assemble your career day ideas! They’re among the best resources you have for presenting quality jobs to kids, especially those in the skilled trades, health care, service and hospitality industries, and other positions students can start preparing for while they’re still in high school.

Student-led interviews

Let students find out what they really want to know by putting them front and center with speakers. Help them compile a list of questions in advance, then interview career representatives to investigate their jobs. Consider recording these interviews so students can check out as many of them as they want to after career day is over.

Hands-on experiences

Trying something for yourself is a meaningful way to see it’s something you really like. Ask businesses and organizations to set up hands-on experiences. Maybe kids can try their hand at cutting hair on a model head, examining a “patient,” using construction tools to build something simple, etc. These encounters will be incredibly popular!

Community service

Volunteer at organizations like nursing homes, after-school education programs, food pantries, and other community services. It’s a good look at the nonprofit world and also lets kids try out some of the roles that need to be filled at these valuable workplaces.

Career-themed competitions

Have a cook-off or bake-off, host a debate, set an engineering challenge, hold an art or writing contest … kids probably already have a lot of the skills they’ll need to do the jobs that interest them most! Interactive career day ideas like this really help build interest and engagement.

Career interest inventory

There are many career interest inventory tests and worksheets teens can complete to find out what they’re best suited for. Use these as the kick-off to your day, or in the preparation and planning stages so students can decide what they want to investigate more thoroughly on the day itself.

Resume workshop

As juniors and seniors start looking for summer jobs and internships, they’ll value the chance to learn what a good resume looks like and how to build their own. Bring in professional experts to advise them, but be sure they’re up-to-date on the newest trends . Resumes have changed a lot in the last couple of decades.

Mock interviews

Interviewing for a job can be stressful, and many people don’t get any experience until they’re sitting in front of a hiring committee for the first time. Mock interviews with real hiring managers give students a low-stakes chance to see what the experience is really like and polish their interpersonal skills.

Professional skills workshops

One of the biggest complaints many people have about employees first entering the working world is that they don’t understand professional norms. Workplaces are very different from school, and we can’t expect kids to automatically know professional behavior. Instead, provide workshops where they can learn things like professional writing and communication, workplace attire and behavior, and their rights and responsibilities as future employees.

Where are they now?

Highlight graduates from your school by sharing what they do now. Be sure to include representatives from a variety of fields so kids can see that those who’ve walked the same halls are now working as everything from teachers and lawyers to welders, stockbrokers, and more!

Alumni networking

Even better, invite some of those alumni to visit or even become mentors to current students. As adults know, finding a good job is often very much about who you know, so help older teens start to establish their professional network now.

Post–career day follow-ups

Teach students the importance of following up with contacts by having them write thank-you notes to someone they met who made an impact on career day. Review these notes for professional language and help kids compose them, then send them off so members of the community know they really did make a difference.

Career resources guide

Put together a guide students can use as they explore their future options. Include websites, college and career prep tips, and more. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has some terrific resources to help you get started.

What are your school’s best career day ideas? Come share your tips and ask for advice in the We Are Teachers HELPLINE group on Facebook.

Plus, important life skills every teen should learn ..

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8 Engaging Ways to Plan a Preschool Orientation to Welcome New Families

• brightwheel
• Family engagement

As the new school year approaches, you’re likely getting ready to welcome new children and their families to your childcare center or preschool. Planning a preschool or pre-k orientation can be a fun and informative way to introduce new families to school staff and the classroom.  

Since your center will be some preschoolers’ first time away from home, a well-planned orientation can help you establish strong relationships with children and even reduce their anxieties about starting the school year.

In this article, we'll share eight ways to plan a preschool or pre-k orientation to help your families confidently start the school year.

8 engaging preschool orientation ideas

A preschool orientation sets the scene for a successful school year. It's an opportunity for families to learn more about their child's school, meet teachers, and understand the center's philosophy and curriculum. For educators, it's a chance to lay the  foundation for a positive relationship with families and ensure that everyone is on the same page when it comes to expectations and goals for the school year.

Before hosting your orientation for new families, simplify your entire enrollment process with brightwheel . This preschool enrollment software saves you time and makes it easy for families to apply to your program online and set up their child's profile. With this tool, you'll be able to collect digital signatures, request documents from families, and track enrollment details—all from the same software that you use to manage your childcare billing and communication.

The following are some ideas you can use to plan an engaging and productive preschool orientation.

1. Decide whether your preschool orientation will be for parents only or a family orientation

Before you begin planning, decide whether your preschool orientation will be for parents and guardians only or if it will be a family orientation. A “parents only” orientation may not involve as many children’s activities, so you may be able to share more information. If you decide to go this route, consider setting up another orientation day to allow children to meet you, their teachers, and a few other classmates before the first day.

Alternatively, you may decide to hold concurrent orientations for adults and children in separate spaces with an opportunity to come together at the end for a joint activity led by their teacher. To engage with the children in your classroom, you may want to play the name game , decorate a file folder, or create an "All About Me" book or worksheet for their first day. For family orientations, you may consider setting up sensory tables or activity centers around your school or classroom to keep the children engaged while you speak to the parents.  

Be sure to indicate the event's intended audience on the invitation and relevant information such as planned activities, items or objects needed for those activities, childcare options (if parent-only), and things to bring to the event. Including this type of information makes the event more welcoming and engaging. 

2. Greet each family as soon as they arrive and help them feel at home

Before your orientation, ask at least one of your staff members to greet families at the front entrance. Your greeter can also inform guests of any COVID-19 safety protocols you may have for the event, such as wearing a mask or using hand sanitizer before entering the building. Don’t be afraid to get creative with how you greet families. 

Prepare your greeters for questions they may get asked frequently, such as how long the orientation will be or its schedule. This information will help your greeters feel more confident and ensure that your new families get the information they need right when they walk through your doors!

You can also set up a welcome table near the entrance with a sign-in sheet, name tags, and other materials to help families feel comfortable and prepared for the orientation. Make sure to include the child’s name on each parent’s name tag as this will make it easier for you, your staff, and other new parents to get to know each family. 

3. Use a fun icebreaker to help parents get to know each other

Orientations are an excellent opportunity for families to meet each other too. The sooner new parents connect, the sooner they’ll feel a sense of community in your program.

Start your orientation with a fun activity, so parents have a chance to talk before the main portion of your agenda. Icebreakers can help your guests warm up to each other, feel more engaged, and help set the tone for the rest of the orientation.

Some examples of icebreaker activities are:

• Asking each family to introduce themselves and share what they’re most excited about for the new school year
• Human bingo , which will help families learn interesting facts about each other
• Dividing families into teams for a scavenger hunt that helps them get to know your center or school 
• Asking each family a fun icebreaker question, such as what their favorite preschool snack was as a child

Your activity could be as simple as setting up a refreshment table and letting families eat and mingle for the first 15-20 minutes of the orientation. You don’t need to plan anything fancy, as long as you make space for families to connect!

4. Give a presentation on what new families should know before the first day of school

Many programs find it helpful to give a short presentation on what parents should know before the school year begins. Use a presentation format you’re comfortable with, whether it’s a speech, a slideshow, or a video. Y our presentation can highlight your program’s unique offerings and benefits.

Your presentation might include: 

• Your center’s background and teaching values 
• An introduction of yourself and your staff 
• Drop-off and pick-up procedures
• Curriculum overview 
• Tuition policies 
• Calendar 
• Communication expectations and best practices
• How families can volunteer and get involved
• Any technology you’ll be using throughout the year, such as the brightwheel app
• Your family handbook

Finding different ways to present information will help keep families engaged throughout your preschool orientation program. You'll want to ensure that you print all materials beforehand. Along with the school handbook, you may consider publishing a sheet of important notes for families to help them retain the information shared.

5. Lead new families on a walking tour of your center

New families will be eager to get to know your facilities so they can better understand what their children’s daily activities will look like. A simple tour of your center can also help ease separation anxiety as both children and families will be familiar with the physical space when the first day of school arrives.

Guide your guests throughout your center and explain their children's activities in each designated area. As you lead the tour, remind parents how different parts of your classrooms facilitate different learning benefits, such as fine and gross motor development or creative expression. 

If you run a larger center, you can ask your teachers to show parents around their classrooms or help lead other parts of the tour. Don’t forget to show families important outdoor spaces, such as your playground or drop-off and pick-up areas.

6. Set up teacher meet-and-greets so families can get to know your staff

Even if you include a teacher introduction during your presentation, it’s best to set up a time for families to meet your staff more personally. Connecting with teachers will help new families trust your program more and further engage with their children’s education. 

Here are a few ideas for teacher meet-and-greets:

• Station each teacher in their own classroom. Let families explore the classroom and ask the teacher any questions they may have.
• Have each teacher give a short speech about their background and what they’re excited about for the new school year. Save time at the end for families to ask follow-up questions.
• If children will be present at your orientation, have teachers lead learning activities for families to participate in together. You can also create photo stations for teachers and children so families have a fun way to remember the orientation! 
• Prepare “Meet the Teacher” printouts for families to take home. These sheets can include each teacher’s photo, contact information, a list of their favorite things that children can relate to (such as color, snack, and book), and a welcome note for the children. 

7. Prepare for a Q&A at the end of your presentation

You’ll present a lot of information during orientation, so remember to allow plenty of time for Q&A at the end of your presentation or preschool orientation program.

To help you prepare, here is a list of common questions and their answers that parents may ask:

• What are the class sizes and teacher-to-child ratio? Parents would like to understand how many children will share the space with their child, as class size and ratio vary across age groups and schools. 
• What time is drop off and pick up? Parents know that being on time for school is essential. They may ask this question to ensure they have transportation arrangements to get their child to school on time. At the same time, they'd also like to guarantee their child is picked up and brought home safely and on time. 
• What is your educational philosophy or curriculum style? There are so many curriculum styles and ways to teach a classroom. STEM, Montessori, Reggio Emilia, Bank Street, and HighScope, to name a few, are some popular curriculum styles. Parents will be interested to understand how learning experiences are planned and how teachers will approach the material. 
• How do you handle discipline? Like there are so many ways to teach, there are also many ways to discipline or guide children’s behavior. A parent asking this question may want to ensure your discipline style aligns with their values. 
• What is your sick policy? Unfortunately, things happen, and everyone gets sick from time to time. You'll want to inform parents about your sick or health policy to answer this question. You can also share any COVID-related precautions and whether or not children and teachers have to wear a mask. 
• Are parents allowed to visit the classroom? Parents love to see their children in action. Therefore, they may want to know if there are events and/or times when they can come and experience what their child is doing daily.  
• What security measures do you have in place? Child safety is a parent's number one priority. When asking this question, parents may want to know who can pick up their child and how you will identify them, if the doors to the school are locked, or if there is a unique padlock code to access the school. They may even want to know if a security guard is on site. 
• Are meals provided? Parents would like to be prepared and know if they need to pack any meals for their children. In addition, they may want to know if you provide breakfast, lunch, and snacks and, if not, what foods aren't allowed in the school or childcare center (e.g., some schools are nut and dairy free to protect children with allergies). 
• What is the best way to communicate with teachers? There are so many ways to communicate. Some teachers prefer to communicate via email, the brightwheel app , or over the phone. Be sure to share this information with families. 

8. Follow up with new families after your orientation

During your orientation, families will be busy taking in a lot of new information and may not remember everything they learned. Help them by sending a follow-up message reiterating the most important details they need to know before the first day of school.

If you took photos at your orientation, you can include them in your message and tell families how excited you are to start a new year with them. Don’t forget to remind them that you’re available for any questions they have in the meantime!

When school starts, continue engaging with families and providing important updates on their child's progress. With a tool like brightwheel's communication feature , you can share learning milestones like an activity they completed on their first day of preschool or an update on meal or nap time.

Start the new school year right

These preschool orientation tips can help you create an engaging, welcoming event for children and families. By offering a detailed tour, helpful handouts, and opportunities for parents to ask questions and connect with other families, you can help ease their transition into this exciting new phase of their lives.

A well-planned orientation can set the tone for positive and lasting relationships between your center, families, and children, creating a sense of community and collaboration.

Brightwheel is the complete solution for early education providers, enabling you to streamline your center’s operations and build a stand-out reputation. Brightwheel connects the most critical aspects of running your center—including sign in and out, parent communications, tuition billing, and licensing and compliance—in one easy-to-use tool, along with providing best-in-class customer support and coaching. Brightwheel is trusted by thousands of early education centers and millions of parents. Learn more at  mybrightwheel.com

New Family Orientation Checklist

A checklist to help you plan a successful new family orientation.

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