make my presentation longer

8 Tips You Can Use to Make Your Presentation Longer

Last updated on May 31st, 2023

Striking that perfect duration for your presentation can be tricky. Your presentation should be brief so as not to bore your audience and to take advantage of the attention span , but it should also be thorough so you can fully deliver your message. There will be times when you’ll need to have a longer presentation than what you had planned, and it can be daunting to prolong the session on the spot if you don’t know what to do. Remember, a long presentation doesn’t mean a wordy presentation.

Let’s say you were forced to use a specific time frame for your presentation. As an example, let’s assume this is a 60-minute presentation. But when you realize you’ve prepared a presentation that you can deliver in 30 minutes, what would you do to cover the timing requirements and time constraints? While we already covered how many slides for a 30 minute presentation , in this article, we’ll share eight tips you can apply to make a presentation longer, some you can do before in preparation, and others you can use during the presentation. But first, let’s talk about why you might need a longer presentation.

What are some reasons you might need a longer presentation?

You don’t want to look unprepared. When not done properly, a presentation that is too short may give off the impression that you do not know a lot about the topic you are presenting, or that you did not exert enough effort in creating the presentation. This, even if you have delivered a message effectively and already said everything you needed to say. By having a long and effective presentation, you can show that you are capable and knowledgeable about the topic. It is not the idea to talk for the sake of talking, because if that is the case a wise decision would be to be honest with your audience and cut the presentation beforehand. But in some other situations, this is not the case, and you need to use all the time that you have available for the presentation.

Recommended reading: 75+ actionable topic ideas for your presentations in PowerPoint or Google Slides

You want your audience to feel engaged. Studies from military training have shown that there is a certain balance you should strike when delivering a message to make sure your audience connects with you and understands your key points. Too short a presentation usually does not give the audience enough time or information to fully embrace the topic.

Your presentation time was changed at the last minute . When you’re presenting as part of a panel, you always have to be prepared to adjust the duration of your speech in case you have to accommodate a change in schedule. If you have been asked to fill in for another presenter, you’ll have to find a way to stretch the presentation to make it longer .

What is the ideal length for a presentation? It will depend. Is the presentation you are creating a speech (not a workshop)? In those cases, ideal length may vary between 10 and 20 minutes. However, in some situations you may want to make your presentations longer in time.

How to make a presentation longer (8 Actionable Tips)

Before the presentation.

It is best to design your presentation to already be substantive beforehand so that you can take up as much time as needed to present your topic. Here are 4 tips and strategies to use when making your presentation:

Over-prepare

If you have been asked to present for 20 minutes, make sure to prepare enough content for at least 25 minutes. A common standard is that you should always be ready to speak 25% more than you were asked to do. It is much easier to be over-prepared and just cut the less important points from the presentation than to add points that you weren’t prepared for.

Layout a timed schedule for your presentation.

Plan out your speech by knowing how long you take for specific portions of the presentation. This includes your introduction, all the key points, your closing remarks, and any engagements you have prepared like a Q&A portion from the audience. This allows you to have a more detailed estimation of the duration of your presentation, and you can see which parts of your speech you can choose to stretch or insert additional information. This action requires a proper planning, and define the presentation structure beforehand. Alternatively, you can work in a presentation outline first.

Design your PowerPoint presentation purposefully.

Having a visual aid like a PowerPoint presentation is a must in any professional setting, and you can harness it to lengthen your presentation and make it more substantive. By including a graph or a data set to your slides, you are giving yourself a short break from constant speaking.

To help you in designing effective presentations, check out our roster of the best free PowerPoint templates , as chosen by the editor.

Present facts and quotes

A million dollar tip to make your presentation longer is to include new facts and why not, quote slides. Adding facts to your presentations not only will help to transmit the Logos part of the Rhetoric triangle (Logos is an appeal to logic, and is a way of persuading an audience by reason), but also help to lengthen your presentation a few seconds.

Similarly, presenting quotes from famous characters (they can be from different areas, such as politics, sports, public speaking, etc.), you can motivate your audience and keep then engaged. The audience will dedicate a few seconds to reasoning about the quote, what it means, what it tries to say and also about the personality or character who said it, remembering different stories. This will of course help to stretch your presentation a few seconds more. Using a free quote slide for PowerPoint can help you to achieve this with no hassle.

Vary the elements of your presentation.

When appropriate, you can add more types of media into your presentation. A short video clip or an impactful image is a great thing to incorporate. Not only do they lengthen your presentation, but they also spice up your speech and make it more engaging.

If your presentation is too short, you can apply the 10/20/30 rule for presentations, in which there should be no more than 10 slides, the presentation should last no more than 20 minutes, and there should be no text smaller than 30 points. This way, you can extend your presentation to a 20-minute length.

During the presentation

Making a presentation longer while you’re already at the podium is all about adapting and taking control of the time. Here are 4 tips that you can employ to make your presentation longer, during the presentation:

1. Speak slowly yet deliberately

Your nerves when public speaking can cause you to speak in a rush or in a panic. Take control of your voice and speak more slowly and include short pauses when making a point. By speaking slowly yet deliberately, you effectively lengthen your speech, and you also help your audience grasp your message much easier.

2. Stress out and repeat key concepts

When presenting, do not shy away from repeating the main points of your message throughout the presentation. By repeating key concepts, you hammer them down so that your audience remembers them and takes them away after the presentation. Stressing out main points is also one of the tips in making a brain-friendly presentation.

3. Add in your reserved examples, stories, and anecdotes

If you’ve done your over-preparation, this is the time when you can include the extra information you have exceedingly prepared and incorporate them into the speech. However, make sure that what you add is still related to the topic and adds substance to the speech. Remember, a long presentation does not mean a wordy presentation.

4. Enrich your presentations with videos

Adding videos to your presentations or embedding a video into your slides and playing it during the slide show can help you to make your presentation longer. However, this technique must be combined with other ones. If you embed a video in your PowerPoint presentations, make sure that it resonates with the topic and speech, and try to keep the attention span in mind. Videos longer than 3 minutes may make your presentation too boring unless the video is engaging enough. Please be sure to use this technique with caution. Additionally, consider that when using videos, the estimated number of slides may vary because each video is generally presented in a slide. So, for instance, if you rely on a specific number of slides for a 10-minute presentation , understand that using videos would require fewer number of slides.

Engage with your audience

Audience participation is a great strategy to use when you’re playing for time and need a longer presentation. There are many ways you can engage your audience throughout the presentation. You can say that you are open to questions during the speech rather than afterward in the Q&A session (Questions and Answers). You can also ask a question, and ask for simple input from the audience like a show of hands.

Final Thoughts

When you need to explain your topic thoroughly and intensively, long presentations are the way to go. However, keep in mind that longer presentations have to be engaging so as not to lose the interest of your audience You can use the 8 tips and techniques that we have mentioned above to help you deliver longer presentations that remain effective and dynamic, so you can nail your presentations every time.

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How To Make A Presentation Longer: Expert Tips & Tactics For Businesses

• By Herwin Jose
• April 10, 2024

Key Takeaways:

• Engage with your audience through audience participation and interaction on every slide.
• Extend your presentation by incorporating additional key points and expanding on main points.
• Add multimedia elements such as videos to enhance depth and engagement.
• Maximize audience participation through question and answer sessions and other interactive techniques.
• Master the art of delivery and timing to keep your audience engaged without rushing.

Have you ever wondered how to make your presentation more engaging and keep your audience captivated throughout?

Do you often find yourself needing a longer presentation to convey your key message effectively?

Look no further, as we delve into the best ways to extend the length of your presentation while keeping your audience engaged and informed. With these strategies at your disposal, you can confidently enhance your presentation, help your audience understand, and effectively convey your message. Let’s dive into each of these tactics in detail and explore how they can help you make a compelling and informative business presentation.

Understanding the Importance of Presentation Length

Before we dive into the techniques, it’s crucial to understand why the length of a presentation matters. The duration of your presentation can significantly impact its effectiveness and audience engagement. Finding the right balance between a concise delivery and providing sufficient information is key.

When a presentation is too short, it may leave your audience feeling unsatisfied or uninformed. On the other hand, an excessively long presentation can risk losing your audience’s attention and focus.

In general, the length of a presentation will depend on various factors, such as the purpose of your presentation, the complexity of the topic, and the preferences of your audience. Different types of presentations, whether it’s a pitch to potential investors or a training session for employees, may require different lengths to effectively convey the message.

Effectively lengthen a presentation doesn’t mean adding unnecessary content or filler material. It involves strategically expanding on key points, delivering the necessary information, and keeping your audience engaged throughout.

In the following sections, we will explore the best ways to make a powerpoint presentation longer without losing your audience’s interest. By employing these techniques, you’ll be able to enhance your presentation and deliver a memorable experience that keeps your audience fully engaged.

Make your presentation engaging by captivating your audience throughout

One of the key strategies to make a presentation longer is by continuously engaging your audience. It’s essential to keep them captivated and invested in your message. By incorporating techniques such as audience participation, effective use of every slide, and collaborating with a presentation design agency, you can create a more engaging and impactful presentation.

Audience participation is a powerful tool to keep your audience engaged. Encourage them to ask questions, share their thoughts, and actively participate in the discussion. This interaction not only enhances their understanding but also makes them feel involved in the presentation process.

Another way to make every slide count is to carefully craft your content. Each slide should have a clear purpose and contribute to the overall message. Use visuals, diagrams, and charts to convey information in a visually appealing and digestible manner.

Working with a presentation design agency can take your presentation to the next level. These professionals are experienced in creating visually stunning and engaging slides that will help you make a lasting impression on your audience. They can offer valuable insights and recommendations to make your presentation more engaging and effective.

Remember, the length of a presentation should not compromise its effectiveness. Creating an engaging presentation involves striking a balance between keeping your audience engaged and delivering your key points effectively. By incorporating these strategies within the presentation, you can lengthen your presentation without losing your audience’s attention.

Enhancing Your Presentation Structure

A well-structured presentation plays a crucial role in extending its duration without making it feel stretched. By incorporating additional key points and expanding on main points, you can effectively lengthen and enhance your presentation while maintaining a cohesive structure throughout.

Within the presentation, make sure to include key points that further support your main message. These key points not only provide more depth and clarity but also help extend your presentation by delving into relevant subtopics and providing additional insights.

Furthermore, throughout the presentation, consider expanding on your main points by providing examples, case studies, or real-world applications. This not only adds substance to your presentation but also reinforces your main ideas, keeping your audience engaged and interested.

Remember, an effective presentation is not just about increasing its length; it’s about delivering value and maintaining your audience’s attention. Therefore, ensure that each additional point or explanation you include is relevant to the overall topic and aligns with the purpose of your presentation.

By enhancing your presentation structure, you can create a cohesive and engaging experience that keeps your audience captivated from start to finish.

Using Multimedia to Add Depth and Engagement

Integrating multimedia elements into your presentation is one of the best ways to engage the audience and keep them engaged throughout. By adding videos, incorporating relevant visuals, and utilizing interactive elements, you can create a dynamic and captivating presentation experience.

Adding Videos

Videos are a powerful tool for engaging your audience. They can help you convey complex messages, provide real-life examples, and create an emotional connection with your viewers. When adding videos to your presentation, make sure they are relevant to your topic and enhance your main points. This will help your audience visualize concepts and ideas, making your presentation more memorable.

Incorporating Relevant Visuals

Visuals such as images, charts, and graphs can add depth and clarity to your presentation. They help your audience better understand and retain information by presenting data and concepts in a visually appealing way. Choose visuals that are directly related to your content and support your key messages. This will not only help your audience grasp the information more easily but also make your presentation visually engaging.

Utilizing Interactive Elements

Interactive elements can significantly enhance audience engagement in your presentation . Consider incorporating interactive quizzes or polls to encourage audience participation and make your presentation more interactive. This not only keeps your audience engaged but also allows them to actively contribute to the discussion and have a more personalized experience.

Overall, adding videos, incorporating relevant visuals, and utilizing interactive elements are some of the best ways to engage your audience and keep them engaged throughout your presentation. By using multimedia effectively, you can create a dynamic and memorable presentation that resonates with your audience.

Maximizing Audience Participation and Interaction

An engaged audience is essential for a successful presentation. By maximizing audience participation and interaction, you can keep your audience engaged and attentive throughout. Here are some techniques you can use to achieve this:

• Encourage Questions: Create an interactive environment by encouraging questions from the audience. This not only keeps them engaged but also allows for a deeper understanding of the topic.
• Q&A Sessions: Include dedicated question and answer sessions within your presentation. This gives the audience an opportunity to seek clarification and actively participate in the discussion.
• Interactive Activities: Incorporate interactive activities or exercises that require active participation from your audience. This could include group discussions, polls, or hands-on demonstrations.
• Engage with Visuals: Utilize visually engaging elements such as charts, graphs, and videos to capture and retain your audience’s attention. Visuals can help reinforce key points and make your presentation more memorable.
• Group Exercises: Divide your audience into smaller groups and assign them tasks or exercises related to your presentation. This fosters collaboration, stimulates discussion, and encourages active engagement.

Mastering the Art of Delivery and Timing

The way you deliver your presentation plays a crucial role in its length and audience engagement. To ensure a captivating delivery that keeps your audience engaged, consider the following tips and tricks:

• Take control of your voice: Your voice is a powerful tool for maintaining audience interest. Vary your tone, pitch, and volume to add depth and captivate your listeners.
• Include short pauses when making key points: Pauses not only give your audience time to absorb information but also create anticipation and emphasize important ideas.
• Shy away from repeating information: Repetition can be tedious for your audience and may contribute to a shorter presentation. Instead, focus on concise and impactful delivery, avoiding unnecessary repetition.
• Stay related to the topic: While it’s essential to provide comprehensive information, ensure that all your statements, examples, and anecdotes are directly related to your presentation topic. This will help you maintain focus and avoid unnecessary detours.

Expanding on Relevant Topics and Information

To effectively lengthen your presentation, it’s crucial to demonstrate your expertise and knowledge about the topic at hand. By fully embracing the subject matter, you can provide valuable and insightful information that helps your audience grasp complex concepts. Here are some techniques to enhance your presentation and make it more engaging:

Dive Deep into the Topic

• Conduct thorough research to become knowledgeable about the topic. This will allow you to provide in-depth information and answer audience questions confidently.
• Explore various angles and perspectives related to the topic. This will give your presentation depth and show your audience that you’ve considered different viewpoints.

Provide Relevant Examples and Case Studies

• Illustrate your points with real-life examples and case studies that demonstrate the practical application of the topic. This will make your presentation more relatable and help your audience connect with the information on a deeper level.
• Choose examples that are relevant to your audience’s industry or experiences. This will ensure that your presentation resonates with them and adds value to their understanding.

Use Visuals and Infographics

Incorporate visual elements, such as images, charts, and infographics, to enhance your presentation and make it visually appealing. Visuals can effectively convey complex information and help your audience grasp concepts more easily.

Pro Tip: When using visuals, ensure they are directly related to the topic and support your key messages. Avoid using irrelevant or distracting visuals that may confuse your audience.

Encourage Audience Interaction

• Include interactive elements in your presentation, such as polls, quizzes, or discussion points. This encourages audience participation and keeps them engaged throughout the presentation.
• Allocate time for questions and answers to address any queries or concerns your audience may have. This fosters a sense of involvement and demonstrates your expertise in the subject matter.

By expanding on the relevant topics and information in your presentation, you can effectively lengthen your speech without losing your audience’s attention. Remember to maintain a balance between depth and clarity, and cater to your audience’s level of knowledge and interest.

Leveraging Presentation Design and Templates

Utilizing professional presentation design and templates is a crucial element in enhancing the overall look and effectiveness of your business presentations. A well-designed and visually appealing presentation not only captures the attention of your audience but also helps keep them engaged throughout.

By partnering with a reputable presentation design agency, you can ensure that your presentations are created with a keen eye for detail and compelling visual aesthetics. These experts have the expertise to incorporate design choices that align with your brand identity and effectively convey your message.

When selecting templates for your presentations, opt for those that complement your content and enhance its impact. A carefully chosen template can make a significant difference in how your information is perceived, making it more engaging, memorable, and professional.

Visual elements such as high-quality images, charts, and graphs can also help convey complex data and information in a more digestible and visually appealing manner. When used strategically, these elements not only enhance the understanding of your audience but also prolong the duration of your presentation as they capture attention and encourage active participation.

“The right design and templates play a crucial role in enhancing the effectiveness of a presentation. It’s like adding a touch of professionalism and visual allure to your content, making it more impactful and engaging.” – John Smith, Presentation Design Expert

Remember, an effective presentation is not just about the content but also about how it is visually presented. By leveraging presentation design and templates, you can elevate the overall quality of your presentations, capture and maintain your audience’s attention, and optimally optimize your presentation length without compromising engagement.

Some of the Benefits of Presentation Design and Templates includes,

• Increase audience engagement
• Creates a professional and polished look
• Elevate the overall impact of your message
• Enhance the understanding of complex information
• Optimize the length and flow of your presentation

In conclusion, implementing the strategies discussed in this article can effectively make your presentation longer without sacrificing audience engagement. By experimenting with different techniques and keeping your audience engaged, you can deliver a successful and impactful business presentation .

Engaging your audience throughout the presentation is key. Techniques such as incorporating audience participation, using every slide effectively, and working with a presentation design agency can help you make your presentation more engaging and lengthen its duration.

Furthermore, enhancing your presentation structure by expanding on key points and maintaining a cohesive flow will keep your audience captivated. Incorporating multimedia elements such as videos and interactive visuals can also add depth and engagement to your presentation.

Maximizing audience participation and interaction through Q&A sessions and creating an interactive environment will further extend your presentation. Mastering the art of delivery by taking control of your voice, including strategic pauses, and avoiding unnecessary repetition will help keep your audience engaged.

1. How can I make my presentation longer without losing audience engagement?

There are several techniques you can use to extend the length of your presentation while keeping your audience engaged. One strategy is to incorporate audience participation, such as asking questions or conducting interactive activities. Another approach is to ensure that every slide serves a purpose and effectively conveys key points. Additionally, you can consider adding multimedia elements like videos or relevant visuals to enhance audience involvement. By employing these strategies, you can lengthen your presentation without sacrificing audience engagement.

2. What is the ideal length for a presentation?

The ideal length for a presentation depends on various factors, such as the purpose of your presentation and the nature of your audience. Generally, shorter presentations of 10-20 minutes are suitable for delivering concise and focused messages. However, for more detailed or complex presentations, the duration can range from 30 minutes to an hour or longer. It’s essential to consider the attention span of your audience and ensure that your presentation is engaging and informative within the allotted time frame.

3. How can I engage my audience throughout the presentation?

Engaging your audience throughout the presentation is crucial to maintaining their attention and interest. One effective strategy is to encourage audience participation by asking questions or involving them in activities related to your topic. Another approach is to make each slide impactful by using visuals, graphs, or key points that capture their attention. Additionally, you can consider working with a presentation design agency to create visually appealing slides that enhance audience engagement. By employing these techniques, you can keep your audience engaged throughout your presentation.

4. How can I effectively lengthen my speech during a presentation?

To effectively lengthen your speech, you can incorporate various techniques. One approach is to take control of your voice by speaking slowly and emphasizing important points. You can also include short pauses strategically to allow your audience to reflect and absorb the information. Another technique is to expand on relevant topics and provide additional information that helps your audience fully embrace the topic. Additionally, you can utilize audience participation methods, such as question and answer sessions, to extend the duration of your speech. By implementing these strategies, you can effectively make a speech longer during a presentation.

5. How can I enhance my presentation by adding videos?

Adding videos to your presentation can be a powerful way to enhance audience engagement. You can incorporate relevant video clips that support your topic or provide additional information. Videos can help illustrate concepts, showcase product demonstrations, or share real-life examples. By integrating videos strategically, you can effectively convey your message, captivate your audience, and lengthen the overall duration of your presentation.

6. How can I make any presentation more engaging?

Making your presentation more engaging involves considering various factors. Firstly, ensure that your presentation design is visually appealing and complements the content. Utilize presentation templates and visual elements to enhance the overall look. Secondly, incorporate interactive elements such as audience participation, discussions, or activities that require their involvement. Thirdly, focus on the delivery by practicing your speech, using appropriate gestures and maintaining good eye contact with the audience. By implementing these strategies, you can increase audience engagement and make your presentation more impactful.

7. How long should a business presentation typically be?

The length of a business presentation can vary depending on the purpose and context. Generally, business presentations shouldn’t exceed 45-60 minutes, as that’s the average attention span of most audiences. However, it’s important to consider the complexity and depth of the information being presented. If you have a lot of detailed content to cover, it may be necessary to extend the duration up to 90 minutes. Regardless of the length, it’s crucial to ensure that your presentation is engaging, concise, and delivers your key message effectively.

8. How do you make a 10-minute presentation long?

Presenter, don’t be afraid to add some additional content to your presentation if you need to lengthen it. Whether you’re discussing more examples, going into further detail on certain points, or even adding in a personal anecdote, these can all help extend the time of your presentation. Instead of rushing through your many slides, take the opportunity to delve deeper into each point you’re making. This is a great strategy to use if you want your audience to walk away with a deeper understanding of the topic.

Why wait? Avail a complimentary 1-on-1 session with our presentation expert. See how other enterprise leaders are creating impactful presentations with us.

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Home Blog Presentation Ideas How to Make a Presentation Longer: 7 Strategies to Master

How to Make a Presentation Longer: 7 Strategies to Master

A common question asked by presenters is how to extend a presentation’s duration. This can be because they feel the topic is covered superficially for the audience’s knowledge level or because they find themselves intimidated by the allocated time slot. Either way, adding filler content without care can lead to losing audience interest and significantly impact the presentation’s effectiveness.

The key to making a presentation longer without compromising quality lies in enhancing content depth, utilizing visual and interactive elements, and effectively managing the timing of the delivery. In this article, we will explore seven different strategies for extending a presentation’s length while preserving its quality and ensuring the additional time is meaningful.

Table of Contents

Strategy 1 – Expanding Content Depth

Strategy 2 – enhancing visuals and multimedia, strategy 3 – interactive elements and audience engagement, strategy 4 – revisiting and recapping, strategy 5 – time management and pacing, strategy 6 – supplementary materials and handouts, strategy 7 – enhancing the introduction and conclusion, final words.

As we previously mentioned, the feeling that the presentation can go much in depth is frequent when presenters have to simplify the complexity of their ideas (check our article on how to present complex concepts for more information) to meet the audience’s knowledge level. This can either work or be a total disaster if the presentation is trimmed without considering if the audience is getting a clear picture of what you’re explaining.

N.B.: If you’re wondering how to simplify explanations in your presentation to speak with a non-technical audience, check our article on applying Feynman’s Technique for presentations . 

Revisiting Core Topics: Adding Depth to Key Points

Start by reviewing the main topics of your presentation. Identify areas where you can provide additional insights or expand on existing points. This could involve discussing the historical context, exploring underlying theories, or addressing potential counterarguments. By doing so, you not only lengthen your presentation but also offer a more thorough exploration of the subject matter. This is a strategy commonly applied in thesis presentations .

For example, if your presentation is on marketing strategies, you could delve into the psychological principles behind consumer behavior or discuss the evolution of marketing trends over the years. This added depth can provide valuable context and make your presentation more compelling.

Providing Additional Examples and Case Studies

Real-world examples and case studies are powerful tools that help illustrate key points and make abstract concepts more relatable. By including more examples and detailed case studies, you can extend the length of your presentation while enhancing its practical value.

Consider breaking down elaborate examples step-by-step, analyzing the outcomes, and discussing lessons learned. You can also compare multiple case studies to highlight different approaches or outcomes, adding depth and duration to your presentation. An ideal tool for such a purpose is a comparison chart .

Integrating Data and Statistics

Data and statistics add credibility and authority to your presentation. More data points, charts, and graphs can help you fill additional time while supporting your arguments with concrete evidence.

When presenting data , take the time to explain its significance, how it was gathered, and what it means in the context of your topic. This will add length and ensure that your audience fully understands the importance of the information presented.

Visual elements and multimedia can significantly contribute to a presentation’s overall length and quality. By thoughtfully incorporating more slides, videos, and interactive media, you can both extend your presentation and make it more visually appealing.

Using More Slides with Detailed Information

One simple way to extend your presentation is by adding more slides. However, it’s essential to ensure that these slides contribute meaningful content. Apply one of the core concepts of the 10-20-30 rule of PowerPoint presentations and deliver one idea per slide.

For instance, if discussing a new software tool, you could dedicate one slide to its features, another to its benefits, and additional slides to real-world applications. This approach allows you to cover more ground without overwhelming your audience with too much information on a single slide.

Adding Videos and Animations

Working with video presentations and adding animations to PowerPoint slide decks can effectively increase the length of your presentation while providing a dynamic change of pace. Videos can serve as powerful visual aids, offering demonstrations, testimonials, or additional context that might be difficult to convey through text alone.

Ensure that any videos or animations used are directly relevant to the content and add value to the presentation. You can also pause after the video to discuss its content in detail, further extending the time. Another tip we can mention from our experience is to test the control buttons for the video, as sometimes presenters lose a lot of time trying to stop or rewind a video if a question arises.

Incorporating Infographics and Diagrams

Presentation infographics and diagrams are valuable tools for summarizing complex information in a visually engaging way. By taking the time to explain each component of an infographic or diagram, you can extend your presentation while helping your audience better understand the material.

For example, if your presentation involves explaining a process, a flowchart or diagram can break down each step. You can then discuss each part in detail, highlighting its significance and how it contributes to the overall process.

Let’s be clear: audience engagement is THE power element to extend your presentation’s length. This can be as simple as incorporating exercises inside your presentations, like questions to let the audience think about an idea. This section will explore three different approaches to boosting engagement through audience interaction.

Including Q&A Sessions

Designating specific times for Q&A sessions throughout the presentation effectively engages your audience and extends the presentation’s length. Encourage your audience to ask questions about the content you’ve covered and provide thorough answers.

If you anticipate questions that require more detailed responses, consider preparing additional slides or materials to support your answers. This lengthens the presentation and ensures that your audience feels their questions are being addressed comprehensively.

Q&A sessions don’t have to be neglected to the final part of your presentation. You can add them in the middle after defining a series of concepts and then engage with the audience to test their understanding until that point.

Utilizing Polls and Surveys

Interactive presentation elements like polls and surveys are great tools for involving your audience and gathering real-time feedback. You can use polling software to ask questions during the presentation, and the results will be displayed instantly on the screen, or work with a traditional method like survey PPT templates .

After each poll, discuss the results. You can compare them to industry data or research and explore what the answers might imply about your audience’s perspectives. This interaction extends the presentation and makes it more engaging for participants.

Encouraging Group Discussions

This strategy is commonly used in motivational presentations when speakers invite their audience to do two—to three-minute exercises in which a question is asked between pairs. 

After the group discussions, bring the audience together to share insights and observations. You can then comment on these points, adding your own perspective and tying the discussion back to the main content of your presentation.

Revisiting key points and providing recaps is a highly effective strategy for increasing content retention while extending the duration of your presentation.

Summarizing Key Points After Each Section

Summarize the key points at the end of each major section of your presentation. This reinforces the material and helps the audience retain the information.

Briefly recapping the content allows you to transition smoothly into the next section, which can naturally lengthen the presentation. This practice not only aids retention but also ensures that your audience stays on track with the flow of the presentation. Additionally, it can be a good strategy if the slide deck is repurposed in PDF format so the audience can revisit each section and remember the concepts.

Providing Multiple Recaps Throughout the Presentation

In addition to summarizing after each section, consider including recaps at various points throughout your presentation. These could be more detailed and involve revisiting earlier content in light of new information presented later.

For instance, if you introduce a concept early in the presentation, you could revisit it in a new context, showing how it applies to a different aspect of your topic. This would extend the presentation and deepen the audience’s understanding of the content.

We’ve spoken in the past about the importance of time management in leadership . For presenters, time management is as clear as understanding which is the adequate pacing for your speech, which areas to prioritize, and where you feel you can add an extra edge for the sake of improving your performance as a presenter.

Slowing Down Delivery for Emphasis

Presenters can naturally extend their presentation by slowing down their delivery, particularly when emphasizing key points. Speaking more slowly and deliberately can give your audience time to absorb the information and reflect on your words.

This approach also gives you the opportunity to elaborate on important concepts, ask rhetorical questions, and create a more thoughtful, measured pace for your presentation.

Practicing to Ensure Adequate Timing

Practice is essential for acknowledging that your presentation is the correct length. By rehearsing multiple times, you can identify areas where you can slow down, add more detail, or insert pauses for reflection or interaction.

Consider timing yourself during practice runs to see where you might need to extend or shorten sections. This will help you achieve a balanced, well-paced presentation that meets your time goals. 

Providing supplementary materials and handouts can add depth to your presentation and extend its duration by encouraging ongoing engagement with the content.

Preparing Extended Handouts

Create detailed presentation handouts that expand on the content of your talk. These can include additional information, resources for further reading, or detailed explanations of complex topics.

Refer to these handouts during the presentation and walk through them with your audience. This not only extends the presentation but also ensures that the audience has access to valuable take-home materials.

Distributing Reading Materials During the Presentation

If appropriate, you can distribute reading materials during the presentation and give the audience time to read them before continuing. These could be articles, reports, or any other document that adds to the presentation content.

After the reading, take the time to discuss the material with the audience, asking for their thoughts or providing your analysis. This is a well-known method of encouraging active learning in presentations.

Using Post-Presentation Content for Extended Engagement

To extend engagement after the presentation, consider offering additional content or activities. This could include follow-up emails with additional resources, online discussions, or even a webinar that delves deeper into the topic.

The introduction and conclusion of a presentation are critical moments that set the stage and leave a lasting impression. Expanding these sections can effectively lengthen your presentation while ensuring it is impactful from start to finish.

Starting with a Detailed Introduction

Presenters often dwell on the best way to start a presentation . A well-crafted introduction does more than just outline the structure of your presentation—it sets the tone and provides context that can draw in your audience. Take time to introduce the topic comprehensively, explaining why it matters and how it relates to the audience’s interests or challenges.

You might also include a brief overview of what led you to explore the topic, such as personal experiences, research findings, or current industry trends. This adds a narrative element to your presentation, making it more engaging and setting the stage for the detailed content to follow.

Additionally, consider using an anecdote, a thought-provoking question, or a surprising statistic to hook your audience from the start. These elements capture attention and allow you to explore the topic from different angles, thus extending the length of your introduction.

Expanding on the Conclusion with Actionable Takeaways

The conclusion of your presentation should do more than simply recap the content—it should also offer actionable takeaways that the audience can apply in their own work or lives. Take the time to clearly articulate these takeaways, explaining why they are important and how they can be implemented.

You can also revisit any questions or challenges posed in the introduction, providing answers or solutions based on the content covered in the presentation. This full-circle approach reinforces the material and adds additional time as you guide the audience through applying what they’ve learned.

Consider ending with a call to action slide , encouraging your audience to take specific steps based on the information presented. Whether it’s implementing a new strategy, conducting further research, or simply reflecting on the insights shared, a strong conclusion with clear next steps can significantly extend the duration of your presentation while leaving a lasting impact.

We’ve explored seven ways of creating more meaningful time in your presentations, several of which encourage active audience participation. Working on your presentation skills is a good idea to optimize your abilities in handling transitions, unexpected pauses, unplanned questions, and any inconvenience that can divert your attention from the planned course. 

Whether you are preparing for a business, academic, or public speaking event, the strategies outlined in this article provide a comprehensive guide to ensuring your presentation is both longer and more impactful.

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How to Make a Presentation Longer

“Keep it short and sweet.” Many hear this common piece of advice when planning a speech or presentation . Because short attention spans are fairly common in the age of TikTok, text messaging, and an endless supply of stimulation at our fingertips, it’s often wise to compress a presentation if your goal is to  keep an audience interested .

However, there are instances in which a presentation might be too short to serve its purpose. Potential reasons you may be wondering how to make a presentation longer include:

• Meeting time requirements:  In some settings, a presenter may be expected to deliver a speech of a certain length.
• Covering additional material:  This is among the most common reasons to extend the length of a presentation. Depending on the topic you’re covering, a short presentation may not be enough to thoroughly address the idea.
• Engaging the audience:  Public speaking involves striking a balance. Yes, if a presentation is longer than necessary, you might lose the attention of your audience. However, if it’s not long enough, you might never captivate them, to begin with.
• Addressing a question:  It’s often wise to include time for some Q&A in a speech. Allowing audience members to ask questions results in an interactive presentation that is more likely to keep them engaged. Of course, including time for questions at the end could be a simple way to make a presentation longer. That said, there may be some questions or concerns you want to address within the presentation itself so that audience members never feel the need to ask these questions in the first place. This might be necessary if the topic of your presentation is somewhat controversial. In this scenario, you might need to lengthen your speech to address all potential objections before anyone raises them.

Those are just a few examples. Your reasons for wishing to add content to a presentation may be different. Regardless, as the following points will demonstrate, there are many ways to achieve this goal without adding unnecessary “fluff.”

How to Make a Presentation Longer: Ideas to Consider

Include an anecdote.

Including a relevant anecdote to illustrate one of the main points in your speech can transform a boring presentation into one that hooks an audience. As  experts point out , storytelling offers a powerful way to engage viewers and listeners because it allows you to share large amounts of information while also tapping into the emotions of audience members. Naturally, including a story can also add at least a few minutes to your presentation.

Learn to Pause

One of the best ways to prepare for a speech is to, well, practice your speaking skills. Fear of public speaking is a  common anxiety , and many a nervous presenter will rush through a speech without realizing they’re doing so.

This can prevent an audience from absorbing their key points. If public speaking makes you nervous, focus on learning to pause throughout a speech. Slowing down will help you get your message across more effectively while also resulting in a long speech.

Design Slides Properly

Does your presentation involve a slideshow? If so, it’s important to design slides so that you don’t bombard your audience with excessive visual information.

Tips to keep in mind include:

• Use only two to three fonts to maintain a degree of visual consistency.
• Consider working with a presentation maker that offers presentation templates you can customize to ensure your slideshow is organized.
• Try not to include too many images in a single slide. Typically, one image per slide is a good rule of thumb.
• Stick to a consistent color scheme.

The main reason to keep these presentation design tips in mind is to ensure members of the audience can absorb the information on your slides. However, breaking up the content across multiple slides can also help you naturally lengthen a presentation by forcing you to focus on small pieces of information at a time, instead of rushing through your points.

Using video in strategic spots throughout a speech can help you engage an audience, illustrate a complex topic, and provide clear examples that you may not be able to provide merely by speaking about them. Adding videos can also help you extend a presentation’s length.

( Tip:  Consider using  animation  instead of live-action video to illustrate certain ideas. This may be a cost-effective solution when you don’t have the resources to film the necessary footage.)

Make it More Interactive

This is yet another way to add to a presentation’s length and make it more engaging for those in attendance at the same time. Ways to make a presentation more interactive include:

• Skits and role-playing
• Audience member interviews

Delivering an effective presentation that’s long enough to suit your needs and enjoyable enough to please an audience is often much easier when you remember that the audience doesn’t need to be passive. On the contrary, it’s often very smart to make the audience members active participants.

How to Make a Presentation Longer: When a Few Minutes Aren’t Enough

Again, you may have no shortage of reasons to feel a presentation you need to give isn’t long enough just yet. Luckily, as the examples here show, there is also no shortage of ways to make a presentation longer. Best of all, the ideas here can help you add additional value to the content, instead of lengthening a speech for no its own sake.

Powtoon Offers the Right Presentation Maker for Your Needs

Adding to the length of a presentation isn’t enough to impress an audience if the presentation’s quality leaves much to be desired. You need to use the right presentation maker to ensure the visual elements enhance the word you speak to an audience.

Powtoon offers exactly that. This easy-to-use video maker tool also allows users to create the types of dynamic presentations that can’t be made with PowerPoint. Whether you’re delivering an online presentation or a traditional in-person speech, it will unlock your creativity. Learn more about what Powtoon can do for you by  signing up  today!

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Blog Beginner Guides How To Make a Good Presentation [A Complete Guide]

How To Make a Good Presentation [A Complete Guide]

Written by: Krystle Wong Jul 20, 2023

A top-notch presentation possesses the power to drive action. From winning stakeholders over and conveying a powerful message to securing funding — your secret weapon lies within the realm of creating an effective presentation .  

Being an excellent presenter isn’t confined to the boardroom. Whether you’re delivering a presentation at work, pursuing an academic career, involved in a non-profit organization or even a student, nailing the presentation game is a game-changer.

In this article, I’ll cover the top qualities of compelling presentations and walk you through a step-by-step guide on how to give a good presentation. Here’s a little tip to kick things off: for a headstart, check out Venngage’s collection of free presentation templates . They are fully customizable, and the best part is you don’t need professional design skills to make them shine!

These valuable presentation tips cater to individuals from diverse professional backgrounds, encompassing business professionals, sales and marketing teams, educators, trainers, students, researchers, non-profit organizations, public speakers and presenters. 

No matter your field or role, these tips for presenting will equip you with the skills to deliver effective presentations that leave a lasting impression on any audience.

Click to jump ahead:

What are the 10 qualities of a good presentation?

Step-by-step guide on how to prepare an effective presentation, 9 effective techniques to deliver a memorable presentation, faqs on making a good presentation, how to create a presentation with venngage in 5 steps.

When it comes to giving an engaging presentation that leaves a lasting impression, it’s not just about the content — it’s also about how you deliver it. Wondering what makes a good presentation? Well, the best presentations I’ve seen consistently exhibit these 10 qualities:

1. Clear structure

No one likes to get lost in a maze of information. Organize your thoughts into a logical flow, complete with an introduction, main points and a solid conclusion. A structured presentation helps your audience follow along effortlessly, leaving them with a sense of satisfaction at the end.

Regardless of your presentation style , a quality presentation starts with a clear roadmap. Browse through Venngage’s template library and select a presentation template that aligns with your content and presentation goals. Here’s a good presentation example template with a logical layout that includes sections for the introduction, main points, supporting information and a conclusion: 

2. Engaging opening

Hook your audience right from the start with an attention-grabbing statement, a fascinating question or maybe even a captivating anecdote. Set the stage for a killer presentation!

The opening moments of your presentation hold immense power – check out these 15 ways to start a presentation to set the stage and captivate your audience.

3. Relevant content

Make sure your content aligns with their interests and needs. Your audience is there for a reason, and that’s to get valuable insights. Avoid fluff and get straight to the point, your audience will be genuinely excited.

4. Effective visual aids

Picture this: a slide with walls of text and tiny charts, yawn! Visual aids should be just that—aiding your presentation. Opt for clear and visually appealing slides, engaging images and informative charts that add value and help reinforce your message.

With Venngage, visualizing data takes no effort at all. You can import data from CSV or Google Sheets seamlessly and create stunning charts, graphs and icon stories effortlessly to showcase your data in a captivating and impactful way.

5. Clear and concise communication

Keep your language simple, and avoid jargon or complicated terms. Communicate your ideas clearly, so your audience can easily grasp and retain the information being conveyed. This can prevent confusion and enhance the overall effectiveness of the message. 

6. Engaging delivery

Spice up your presentation with a sprinkle of enthusiasm! Maintain eye contact, use expressive gestures and vary your tone of voice to keep your audience glued to the edge of their seats. A touch of charisma goes a long way!

7. Interaction and audience engagement

Turn your presentation into an interactive experience — encourage questions, foster discussions and maybe even throw in a fun activity. Engaged audiences are more likely to remember and embrace your message.

Transform your slides into an interactive presentation with Venngage’s dynamic features like pop-ups, clickable icons and animated elements. Engage your audience with interactive content that lets them explore and interact with your presentation for a truly immersive experience.

8. Effective storytelling

Who doesn’t love a good story? Weaving relevant anecdotes, case studies or even a personal story into your presentation can captivate your audience and create a lasting impact. Stories build connections and make your message memorable.

A great presentation background is also essential as it sets the tone, creates visual interest and reinforces your message. Enhance the overall aesthetics of your presentation with these 15 presentation background examples and captivate your audience’s attention.

9. Well-timed pacing

Pace your presentation thoughtfully with well-designed presentation slides, neither rushing through nor dragging it out. Respect your audience’s time and ensure you cover all the essential points without losing their interest.

10. Strong conclusion

Last impressions linger! Summarize your main points and leave your audience with a clear takeaway. End your presentation with a bang , a call to action or an inspiring thought that resonates long after the conclusion.

In-person presentations aside, acing a virtual presentation is of paramount importance in today’s digital world. Check out this guide to learn how you can adapt your in-person presentations into virtual presentations . 

Preparing an effective presentation starts with laying a strong foundation that goes beyond just creating slides and notes. One of the quickest and best ways to make a presentation would be with the help of a good presentation software . 

Otherwise, let me walk you to how to prepare for a presentation step by step and unlock the secrets of crafting a professional presentation that sets you apart.

1. Understand the audience and their needs

Before you dive into preparing your masterpiece, take a moment to get to know your target audience. Tailor your presentation to meet their needs and expectations , and you’ll have them hooked from the start!

2. Conduct thorough research on the topic

Time to hit the books (or the internet)! Don’t skimp on the research with your presentation materials — dive deep into the subject matter and gather valuable insights . The more you know, the more confident you’ll feel in delivering your presentation.

3. Organize the content with a clear structure

No one wants to stumble through a chaotic mess of information. Outline your presentation with a clear and logical flow. Start with a captivating introduction, follow up with main points that build on each other and wrap it up with a powerful conclusion that leaves a lasting impression.

Delivering an effective business presentation hinges on captivating your audience, and Venngage’s professionally designed business presentation templates are tailor-made for this purpose. With thoughtfully structured layouts, these templates enhance your message’s clarity and coherence, ensuring a memorable and engaging experience for your audience members.

Don’t want to build your presentation layout from scratch? pick from these 5 foolproof presentation layout ideas that won’t go wrong. 

4. Develop visually appealing and supportive visual aids

Spice up your presentation with eye-catching visuals! Create slides that complement your message, not overshadow it. Remember, a picture is worth a thousand words, but that doesn’t mean you need to overload your slides with text.

Well-chosen designs create a cohesive and professional look, capturing your audience’s attention and enhancing the overall effectiveness of your message. Here’s a list of carefully curated PowerPoint presentation templates and great background graphics that will significantly influence the visual appeal and engagement of your presentation.

5. Practice, practice and practice

Practice makes perfect — rehearse your presentation and arrive early to your presentation to help overcome stage fright. Familiarity with your material will boost your presentation skills and help you handle curveballs with ease.

6. Seek feedback and make necessary adjustments

Don’t be afraid to ask for help and seek feedback from friends and colleagues. Constructive criticism can help you identify blind spots and fine-tune your presentation to perfection.

With Venngage’s real-time collaboration feature , receiving feedback and editing your presentation is a seamless process. Group members can access and work on the presentation simultaneously and edit content side by side in real-time. Changes will be reflected immediately to the entire team, promoting seamless teamwork.

7. Prepare for potential technical or logistical issues

Prepare for the unexpected by checking your equipment, internet connection and any other potential hiccups. If you’re worried that you’ll miss out on any important points, you could always have note cards prepared. Remember to remain focused and rehearse potential answers to anticipated questions.

8. Fine-tune and polish your presentation

As the big day approaches, give your presentation one last shine. Review your talking points, practice how to present a presentation and make any final tweaks. Deep breaths — you’re on the brink of delivering a successful presentation!

In competitive environments, persuasive presentations set individuals and organizations apart. To brush up on your presentation skills, read these guides on how to make a persuasive presentation and tips to presenting effectively . 

Whether you’re an experienced presenter or a novice, the right techniques will let your presentation skills soar to new heights!

From public speaking hacks to interactive elements and storytelling prowess, these 9 effective presentation techniques will empower you to leave a lasting impression on your audience and make your presentations unforgettable.

1. Confidence and positive body language

Positive body language instantly captivates your audience, making them believe in your message as much as you do. Strengthen your stage presence and own that stage like it’s your second home! Stand tall, shoulders back and exude confidence. 

2. Eye contact with the audience

Break down that invisible barrier and connect with your audience through their eyes. Maintaining eye contact when giving a presentation builds trust and shows that you’re present and engaged with them.

3. Effective use of hand gestures and movement

A little movement goes a long way! Emphasize key points with purposeful gestures and don’t be afraid to walk around the stage. Your energy will be contagious!

4. Utilize storytelling techniques

Weave the magic of storytelling into your presentation. Share relatable anecdotes, inspiring success stories or even personal experiences that tug at the heartstrings of your audience. Adjust your pitch, pace and volume to match the emotions and intensity of the story. Varying your speaking voice adds depth and enhances your stage presence.

5. Incorporate multimedia elements

Spice up your presentation with a dash of visual pizzazz! Use slides, images and video clips to add depth and clarity to your message. Just remember, less is more—don’t overwhelm them with information overload. 

Turn your presentations into an interactive party! Involve your audience with questions, polls or group activities. When they actively participate, they become invested in your presentation’s success. Bring your design to life with animated elements. Venngage allows you to apply animations to icons, images and text to create dynamic and engaging visual content.

6. Utilize humor strategically

Laughter is the best medicine—and a fantastic presentation enhancer! A well-placed joke or lighthearted moment can break the ice and create a warm atmosphere , making your audience more receptive to your message.

7. Practice active listening and respond to feedback

Be attentive to your audience’s reactions and feedback. If they have questions or concerns, address them with genuine interest and respect. Your responsiveness builds rapport and shows that you genuinely care about their experience.

8. Apply the 10-20-30 rule

Apply the 10-20-30 presentation rule and keep it short, sweet and impactful! Stick to ten slides, deliver your presentation within 20 minutes and use a 30-point font to ensure clarity and focus. Less is more, and your audience will thank you for it!

9. Implement the 5-5-5 rule

Simplicity is key. Limit each slide to five bullet points, with only five words per bullet point and allow each slide to remain visible for about five seconds. This rule keeps your presentation concise and prevents information overload.

Simple presentations are more engaging because they are easier to follow. Summarize your presentations and keep them simple with Venngage’s gallery of simple presentation templates and ensure that your message is delivered effectively across your audience.

1. How to start a presentation?

To kick off your presentation effectively, begin with an attention-grabbing statement or a powerful quote. Introduce yourself, establish credibility and clearly state the purpose and relevance of your presentation.

2. How to end a presentation?

For a strong conclusion, summarize your talking points and key takeaways. End with a compelling call to action or a thought-provoking question and remember to thank your audience and invite any final questions or interactions.

3. How to make a presentation interactive?

To make your presentation interactive, encourage questions and discussion throughout your talk. Utilize multimedia elements like videos or images and consider including polls, quizzes or group activities to actively involve your audience.

In need of inspiration for your next presentation? I’ve got your back! Pick from these 120+ presentation ideas, topics and examples to get started. 

Creating a stunning presentation with Venngage is a breeze with our user-friendly drag-and-drop editor and professionally designed templates for all your communication needs. 

Here’s how to make a presentation in just 5 simple steps with the help of Venngage:

Step 1: Sign up for Venngage for free using your email, Gmail or Facebook account or simply log in to access your account. 

Step 2: Pick a design from our selection of free presentation templates (they’re all created by our expert in-house designers).

Step 3: Make the template your own by customizing it to fit your content and branding. With Venngage’s intuitive drag-and-drop editor, you can easily modify text, change colors and adjust the layout to create a unique and eye-catching design.

Step 4: Elevate your presentation by incorporating captivating visuals. You can upload your images or choose from Venngage’s vast library of high-quality photos, icons and illustrations. 

Step 5: Upgrade to a premium or business account to export your presentation in PDF and print it for in-person presentations or share it digitally for free!

By following these five simple steps, you’ll have a professionally designed and visually engaging presentation ready in no time. With Venngage’s user-friendly platform, your presentation is sure to make a lasting impression. So, let your creativity flow and get ready to shine in your next presentation!

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14 effective presentation tips to impress your audience

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

Anete Ezera July 15, 2022

An effective presentation can communicate key ideas and opinions, save time, and contribute to your overall success as a business, but good presentation skills don’t come naturally to everyone. In this blog post, you’ll find 14 effective presentation tips you can implement in your next presentation to make it a success. 

Whether you’re preparing for an important presentation at work or school, or you’re looking for ways to generally improve your presentation skills, you’ll find these presentation tips useful. We’ve gathered a list to help you impress your audience from the get-go. You’ll find tips for creating and presenting your slides, talking in front of an audience, and other effective presentation techniques to help you stand out. 

Most common presentation mistakes

Before we list our top effective presentation tips, let’s explore the most common presentation mistakes. If you’ve made one or more mistakes in this list, you’re not alone. Most people have made at least one mistake. However, what’s important is to be aware of these errors and try avoiding them next time.

#1 A poor start

One of the most common mistakes people make is undermining the importance of the first few minutes or seconds of their presentation. 

Let’s say you’ve practiced your key talking points meticulously and gone over your slides a million times, but when you’re in the spotlight and need to say your first line, do you know exactly what to say to wow the audience? 

The start of your presentation is crucial. Not only because how you start sets the tone for the rest of your presentation, but also because people generally require around 8 seconds to decide whether they find the subject interesting enough to keep listening. Starting your presentation with a captivating intro is even more important than you think. To ensure you start off right, read our guide on how to start your presentation . 

#2 Lack of preparation

Yes, even though it’s clear that you should prepare before giving a presentation, it’s still a common mistake amongst presenters. Preparing content and talking points is an obvious start, but there are other steps that you might be overlooking.

Before you even join a meeting or walk into a room where you’re going to present, consider the technical requirements and get familiar with the equipment. If you’re presenting online, make sure to test-run your presentation and the visual aids you’re going to use. The last thing you want is a broken video link, poor audio, or a weak connection when you’re presenting. 

Also, consider the questions your audience might want to ask you about the topic. Think about how you’d answer those questions, or do even further research to really impress the audience with your answers. 

Explore other ways to prepare for a presentation to feel even more confident when presenting.

#3 Losing track of time

It’s great to feel passionate about your topic. However, you’ll have to consider your audience’s level of interest and knowledge. Some details might seem fascinating to you, and you’d like to talk about them for hours, but for your audience, too much information will drain their energy and lose their attention. 

Therefore, make sure to keep track of time. Also, consider your audience’s interests. A concise presentation is always better than a long one with a ton of information. Plus, you’ll have a higher chance of keeping your audience’s attention throughout the presentation. 

Effective presentation tips

Now that we’ve looked at some of the most common presentation mistakes – let’s dive into effective presentation tips that’ll help you excel in future presentations. 

#1 Tell a story

Stories connect, inspire, and empower people. Telling a story can entice action, help understand an idea, and make people feel connected to the storyteller. It’s also one of the most effective presentation tips. A study by organizational psychologist Peg Neuhauser found that a well-told story is easier to remember than facts, which makes it a highly effective learning technique. 

With that in mind, telling a story when you’re presenting can engage your audience and make it a more memorable experience. You can either share a personal story or a historical event, just make sure to have a clear connection between the story and the topic you’re presenting. 

#2 Work on your body language

Body language can make a huge difference in how your presentation is perceived. It’s one of the presentation tips you definitely shouldn’t overlook. 

Body language says a lot about a person’s confidence level, emotions, state of mind, and even credibility. For the audience, it’s a way to understand what the person is saying and how interested they are in the topic. 

Therefore, work on your body language to better convey the message you’re trying to communicate. Practice in front of a mirror before your presentation and be conscious of your hand gestures and facial expressions. 

#3 Understand your audience

Before crafting your presentation, you must know who you’re speaking to. Understanding the interests, demographics, professional background, and other valuable information of your audience is crucial in making your speech successful. 

If you’re speaking at an event, contact the organizers to get more information about other speakers and the audience. If you’re presenting at work, you may already know your audience fairly well. Use this information to your advantage and create content you know they’ll resonate with.

#4 Use high-quality visuals

What’s one of the most effective presentation techniques? Use of visuals. They play a crucial role in your presentation. However, only high-quality visuals will make a good impression and effectively communicate your message. Use high-quality visuals like images, videos, graphs, maps, and others to really land your point. 

Using visuals is a great way to convey your ideas as they’re easier to process than text. If you’re not sure where to find great visuals, check out our blog post on presentation visuals for five free resources.

P.S. the Prezi library holds a variety of images, videos, GIFs, stickers, and other visuals, including different charts and maps to spice up your presentation. It’s all available in your dashboard .

#5 Use data visualizations

Do you want to showcase statistics or other datasets in your presentation? Use data visualizations to make your data stand out and impress your audience. 

There’s nothing more boring than a bunch of data presented in a flat way. If you want to tell a story with your data, use interactive infographics or slides enriched with eye-catching visuals. Showcasing data will make your ideas appear more trustworthy and credible. 

Prezi Design offers a range of templates to choose from. You can start creating data visualizations from scratch or choose a template and edit the data there. 

#6 Make it engaging with interactive elements

It’s not easy to deliver an engaging presentation. People can easily get distracted or try to multitask, especially in the virtual environment. Sometimes, it’s difficult to focus on the speaker and the written text. Other times, the content just isn’t impressive enough to hold the audience’s attention. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

You can make your presentation more engaging for everyone by including interactive content like graphs and charts. With interactive data visualizations, you’ll make the data discovery process more engaging and exciting for your audience. 

Your audience will be able to hover over data points and click on certain icons or datasets to discover information on their own. Interactive visualizations will make the presentation more memorable and impressive. 

As you can see in the example below, you can discover different data by engaging with the infographic. 

#7 Stay consistent with fonts and color styles

You want your presentation to look visually appealing and highlight essential information. To make that happen, stay consistent with font styles and color schemes throughout your presentation. 

Use one or two fonts max to make the text easy to read and understand. Also, use a carefully selected color scheme that’s not too distracting. If you’re using Prezi Design, you can easily copy and paste styles by right-clicking on your data visualizations and selecting “copy styles.” This makes it easier to stay consistent and saves time when picking matching colors. 

#8 Structure your presentation properly

Before creating your presentation, think about its structure. What’s the main idea you want to convey? Use that as your starting point, and only include information that adds value to the narrative. 

Plan out the first topics carefully to properly introduce your argument. Add the essential information in the middle part of your presentation. Lastly, close your presentation with a summary of the main points and leave your audience with an afterthought. Also, plan when you’re taking questions and for how long. 

For more insight, watch this tutorial on how to structure your presentation:

#9 Practice your public speaking skills

Public speaking may not be your forte, but you can get better with practice. Don’t decline a great opportunity to share your ideas with a larger audience just because you feel nervous speaking in front of a group of people. 

One of the best ways to improve your public speaking skills is to practice in front of your family or friends – people you feel comfortable with. Also, focus on the topic you’re presenting and get excited about the idea you want to convey. This way you’ll appear more confident and feel less nervous about public speaking. 

Explore other public speaking tips from Jessica Chen, the founder, and CEO of Soulcast Media: 

#10 Show your slides next to you on-screen

If you’re presenting on Zoom or in a virtual meeting , think twice before you share your screen. The days of hiding behind slides are over. People want to see and connect with other people, not sit through another run-of-the-mill screen share. To do that, use Prezi Video to showcase all your content right next to you in your video feed. 

As a result, your presentation will look more engaging than a traditional virtual presentation . Also, your audience will have the chance to read your body language and follow along with what you’re saying even better. 

If you already have your slides prepared, don’t worry – you can easily integrate them into Prezi. 

See Prezi Video in action and check out our video templates to get started.

#11 Calm down before presenting

Being in front of an audience can feel nerve-racking. However, there are ways to calm down before presenting that will make you feel more centered and confident. The last thing you want is all your hard work to go to waste just because of stress. 

Try breathing exercises or a five-minute guided meditation before presenting. The trick is to remove all distractions and focus on the present moment so you’re not overthinking right before starting your presentation. Also, be fully prepared and know exactly what to say and when which will help you feel more collected. If you want to discover other ways to feel and look more confident, read how not to be nervous before a presentation . 

#12 Use transitions and animations 

Add movement to your slides with transitions and animations. You’ll make your presentation more visually appealing and engaging. However, be careful not to overwhelm your audience with your choice of transitions and animations. 

Choose a transition that matches your presentation visually and use it throughout your presentation. Consider what animations will be relevant to your audience and select a few to add to your slides. Don’t overdo it. Keep the focus on the message you’re trying to convey, and use animations to only support that message. 

#13 Be enthusiastic 

When you’re in a room with a positive and enthusiastic person, you can’t help but feel uplifted as well. High-energy people have this effect on others. Most importantly, a lot of people tend to mimic people’s behavior and mirror their energy when they feel a connection or relate to them. That’s called the chameleon effect . 

When you’re presenting, you want your audience to feel curious about what you’re presenting. You may also want to leave your audience feeling uplifted, interested to know more, or inspired. To have that effect on others, try to convey those emotions when presenting. Practice your speech, slow down your narration at times, or take a pause after you’ve delivered a statement, and use different presentation techniques to present your project and really drive your points home. 

#14 End your presentation in a memorable way

The first few minutes of your presentation are crucial for captivating your audience’s attention. However, don’t underestimate the importance of ending your presentation as powerfully as you started it. 

The way you end your presentation will play a crucial part in how your audience will remember it. You want to make a memorable impression by closing your presentation with a summarizing statement, a rhetorical question, a call to action, or another impactful way. Discover 10 ways you can end your presentation in our guide.  

There are a lot of factors to consider when creating and delivering a presentation. You want your slides to look professional and visually appealing while conveying your main points. You also want to look and sound confident even if you’re nervous about public speaking. Whatever your concerns may be, remember that preparation is essential. Practice and dedication are the keys to giving a successful presentation . Make sure to follow these effective presentation tips to excel in your future presentations. If you’re interested in creating a captivating presentation with Prezi, contact us to learn more or try it for free . 

Elevating presentations with Prezi AI

Embrace the innovation of Prezi to bring your presentations to life. With its unique platform, Prezi AI offers more than just visually appealing templates; it provides an immersive narrative experience, engaging your audience with a story-driven approach. By integrating Prezi AI , our platform’s capabilities are further enhanced, offering intelligent design suggestions and optimizing content layouts to ensure your presentations are not only beautiful but impactful. This integration is a perfect example of effective presentation techniques in action, using technology to create a more engaging presentation.

Interactive elements: transforming passive listening into active engagement

Prezi revolutionizes the way information is presented by incorporating interactive elements that invite audience participation. With Prezi AI, these features become even more accessible, suggesting ways to make your presentation more engaging through clickable areas, zoomable images, and dynamic visualizations. This level of interaction encourages exploration, making your message more memorable and transforming a standard presentation into an effective presentation.

Adding a personal touch in digital presentation with video

Prezi Video stands out by seamlessly integrating your content alongside your video feed, bridging the gap between traditional presentations and personal engagement. This feature is crucial for those looking to follow presentation tips that emphasize the importance of connecting with your audience on a more personal level. Prezi AI enhances this experience, ensuring your content is displayed in the most effective way possible, making your virtual presentations feel as though you’re directly conversing with your audience.

Mastering presentation artistry with Prezi

The journey to becoming a skilled presenter involves continuously refining your approach and embracing tools that elevate your ability to communicate effectively. Prezi, enriched with Prezi AI, is one such tool that transforms ordinary presentations into captivating experiences. By leveraging these advanced features, you can deliver presentations that are successful, memorable, and truly unforgettable, embodying the essence of tips for presentation mastery.

Whether you’re an experienced speaker or preparing for your first presentation, Prezi equips you with the tools to succeed. Engage your audience, tell compelling stories, and deliver your message with confidence and creativity. Following effective presentation tips and exploring how Prezi AI can transform your next presentation is a step towards mastering the art of impactful communication. Delve into the features and begin your journey to presentation mastery today.

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How to make a presentation longer without losing your audience?

Discover the ideal length of a business presentation and gain insights on extending your presentation effectively.

Bharti Jain

Building presentations

"The secret to a great presentation is to deliver great content, keep it simple, and have fun." - Richard Branson

Have you ever found yourself in a presentation that seemed to rush through critical details, leaving you wanting more? Or perhaps you’ve endured a presentation that seemed to drag on without purpose, making it hard to stay focused. Striking the perfect balance between providing comprehensive information and keeping your audience engaged is an art.

In a world where attention spans are limited, extending your presentation’s length without sacrificing your audience’s interest is a valuable skill. But how can you achieve this? How can you make your presentation longer while keeping it engaging and dynamic?

This blog will explore the ideal length for a captivating business presentation, identify situations where a longer presentation is necessary, and provide strategies to enhance your presentations' length and engagement.

What is the ideal length for a captivating business presentation?

Why do some presentations leave you on the edge of your seat while others make you glance at the clock every few minutes? The secret often lies in the length. The right duration can transform a presentation from a mundane monologue into an engaging dialogue. But what is the ideal length for a business presentation that captivates, informs, and leaves a lasting impact? These points will give you some clarity:

The sweet spot

Although there's no definitive answer, many experts agree that a business presentation lasting between 15 to 30 minutes is typically the most effective. This timeframe allows you to cover your essential points thoroughly without losing your audience's attention.

Consider the example of TED Talks, renowned for their impactful presentations. These talks are intentionally limited to 18 minutes , balancing brevity with depth. This length forces speakers to distill their message to its most powerful form, ensuring every minute counts.

Facts to consider

A) Audience profile

Think about WHO you're presenting to. Busy executives have packed schedules and appreciate brief, high-impact presentations that get straight to the point. In contrast, technical teams might prefer a more detailed, longer presentation that delves into specifics. For instance, when presenting to executives, aim for succinct, high-level overviews. On the other hand, when addressing technical teams, be prepared for a deeper dive with detailed explanations and thorough analyses.

B) Content complexity

Reflect on the complexity of your topic. Are you presenting a straightforward quarterly update or unveiling a new, sophisticated technology? The depth of your subject matter can dictate the length of your presentation. Simple topics can often be communicated effectively in 10-15 minutes, while complex topics may require 30 minutes or more to ensure comprehensive understanding.

C) Purpose of the presentation

Consider the objective of your presentation. Whether your goal is to inform, persuade, or train will significantly influence how long you should speak. Informative presentations should focus on delivering key facts clearly and efficiently. Persuasive presentations need more time to build an argument, present evidence, and counter objections. Training sessions typically require longer durations to incorporate interactive elements and hands-on practice, ensuring participants fully grasp and retain the information.

The dilution effect 

An essential concept to bear in mind is the dilution effect, as highlighted by Niro Sivanathan in his TED Talk . Adding more arguments or points to your presentation doesn't necessarily strengthen your case. In fact, including weaker or less relevant points can dilute the impact of your stronger arguments, ultimately reducing the overall effectiveness of your presentation. This underscores the importance of focusing on quality over quantity when preparing your content.

The 10-20-30 rule 

Guy Kawasaki’s 10-20-30 rule for PowerPoint presentations offers a practical guideline for creating effective presentations. According to this rule, a presentation should have 10 slides, last no more than 20 minutes, and use a 30-point font for the text. This approach helps to keep your presentation focused, concise, and visually accessible, enhancing engagement and comprehension.

Situations that may need a longer presentation

While shorter presentations are often preferred for their conciseness, there are critical scenarios where a longer presentation is both necessary and beneficial. Understanding these situations can help you deliver more impactful and effective presentations and keep your audience engaged throughout.

Diving into complex topics

Complex subjects such as new technologies, scientific discoveries, or advanced business strategies require thorough exploration. To fully embrace the topic and ensure your audience comprehends the intricacies, you need a lengthy presentation. This allows you to cover all the necessary nuances and details, providing your audience with a comprehensive understanding and helping them grasp complex information effectively.

Policy and legislative matters

When discussing policy changes, legislative updates, or regulatory compliance, the details matter. These topics involve intricate regulations and numerous implications, necessitating a detailed presentation to dissect each component carefully. This extended time helps clarify uncertainties, address potential concerns comprehensively, and ensure your audience is knowledgeable about the topic.

In-depth training sessions

Training sessions, particularly those involving new software, processes, or methodologies, require more time. To make your presentation longer and more effective, include detailed, step-by-step guidance, hands-on practice, and ample opportunities for questions and troubleshooting. This thorough approach ensures participants gain practical and actionable knowledge, making the training meaningful and helping your audience fully grasp the material.

Strategic planning and decision-making

Strategic meetings or board presentations that discuss long-term business plans, major organizational changes, or significant investments demand thorough analysis and detailed discussion. In these cases, a long presentation is justified as it allows for comprehensive coverage of all aspects, from market analysis and financial projections to risk assessments and implementation strategies. This detailed approach supports informed decision-making and strategic planning.

Comprehensive project overviews

Project kickoffs and reviews are scenarios where a longer presentation is warranted. At the start of a project, it's essential to set clear expectations, outline objectives, and detail the roles and responsibilities of each team member. During mid-project or end-of-project reviews, lengthening your presentation ensures thorough discussion of progress, identification of challenges, and strategizing next steps. This depth ensures that all team members are aligned and the project stays on track.

Academic and technical conferences

Presentations at academic and technical conferences often require more time to cover research findings, methodologies, and implications comprehensively. A longer presentation ensures that you can delve deeply into your material, helping the audience understand and appreciate the significance of your work. This thorough coverage is crucial for conveying complex research and technical information.

Crisis management and contingency planning

In situations involving crisis management or contingency planning, details are critical. Extending your presentation to cover all possible scenarios, responses, and action plans ensures that stakeholders are fully prepared for any eventuality. A longer presentation in these scenarios supports effective crisis management and contingency planning, providing all necessary details and strategies.

Legislative and regulatory updates

Policy and legislative matters often involve complex regulations and numerous implications that need careful explanation. A longer presentation helps in dissecting each component, clarifying uncertainties, and addressing potential concerns comprehensively. This detailed approach ensures that your audience understands the legislative updates and their potential impact fully.

Remember, while brevity is often valued, certain situations call for more extended presentations. By understanding when a longer presentation is justified, you can ensure that your audience receives the detailed and comprehensive information they need. This approach enhances the effectiveness of your communication and supports informed decision-making, helping to captivate your audience and keep them engaged throughout the presentation.

How to make your business presentation longer and more engaging

Extending the length of your presentation without losing your audience’s interest can be tricky. However, with the right strategies, you can create a captivating and effective presentation that maintains engagement throughout. Here are some of the best ways to achieve this balance.

Structure your presentation effectively

When it comes to giving a successful presentation, the structure is paramount. A well-structured presentation not only helps in conveying your message clearly but also keeps your audience engaged and interested from start to finish.

1) Start with a compelling introduction

The introduction of your presentation is your first chance to grab the audience's attention, so make it count. Instead of jumping straight into the content, start with something that will intrigue your audience. For instance, you could open with a relevant quote that resonates with the core message of your presentation. Alternatively, you might use a surprising statistic that highlights the significance of your topic. Another powerful approach is to tell a short, engaging story that sets the stage for what you’re about to discuss.

Pro-tip : According to a study by Microsoft, you have about 8 seconds to capture your audience’s attention, so make sure your introduction is impactful and to the point.

2) Outline your key points

Once you’ve captivated your audience with a compelling introduction, giving them a roadmap of what to expect is essential. Outlining your key points at the beginning of your presentation helps your audience to understand the structure and flow of your talk. This can be as simple as briefly mentioning the main topics you will cover. For example, if you’re giving a presentation on effective leadership, you might outline that you will discuss communication, decision-making, and team-building as your main points.

Pro-tip : Research from the University of Amsterdam found that presentations with a clear structure are 40% more likely to be remembered by the audience compared to those without a clear structure.

Deepen your content 

1) Add detailed examples and case studies

Enhancing your content with detailed examples and case studies can significantly increase its impact. Real-world applications of your ideas make your content more relatable and provide tangible proof of your concepts. For instance, consider a company that implemented a new marketing strategy. Instead of just stating that the strategy was successful, delve into the specifics. Explain how the company identified a target audience, created tailored content, and tracked the campaign’s success. This detailed narrative not only illustrates the strategy's effectiveness but also offers readers a clear blueprint they can adapt to their own needs.

2) Incorporate data and statistics

Data and statistics are powerful tools for backing up your arguments. They provide concrete evidence that supports your claims and can significantly enhance your credibility. Visual aids like graphs and charts can make complex information more digestible and visually appealing. 

Pro-tip : When using data, ensure it is sourced from reputable studies or surveys. Incorporating recent and relevant statistics will keep your content current and authoritative.

3) Include quotes and expert opinions

Incorporating quotes from industry experts can add substantial credibility to your presentation. Expert opinions not only reinforce your points but also provide additional perspectives. For example, if you’re discussing the future of artificial intelligence, quoting a renowned AI researcher can lend weight to your arguments. Consider a quote like,

“According to Dr. Andrew Ng, AI is the new electricity and will transform every industry in the next decade.” 

This not only supports your view but also aligns it with respected authorities in the field.

Enhancing engagement with visuals

1) Employ high-quality images and graphics

Visuals are a powerful tool in increasing audience engagement. When used effectively, they can illustrate your points clearly and make your presentation more memorable. High-quality images, infographics, and diagrams can break up text-heavy slides, making the content easier to digest. For instance, using relevant images can evoke emotions and connect with your audience on a deeper level. Infographics, on the other hand, can simplify complex information and highlight key data points. A well-designed infographic can make statistics more engaging and easier to understand.

Pro-tip : Always ensure your visuals are relevant and support the message you are conveying. High-resolution images and professionally designed graphics can enhance your credibility and make your presentation look polished.

2) Utilize videos and animations

Incorporating videos and animations can take your presentation to the next level. Videos can capture attention quickly and explain complex ideas more effectively than text or static images. Short clips related to your topic can add variety to your presentation and keep your audience interested. For example, a 30-second video demonstrating a product feature can be far more engaging than a slide full of bullet points.

Animations, when used sparingly, can also enhance your presentation by highlighting important information and guiding the audience's focus. Animated transitions between slides can keep the flow of your presentation smooth and dynamic.

Pro-tip : Use videos and animations to supplement your message, not overshadow it. Keep videos short and to the point, and ensure animations are smooth and not distracting.

Interactive elements

To create a memorable and impactful experience, incorporating interactive elements is essential. By fostering participation and involving your audience, you can transform a standard presentation into a dynamic and engaging event. Here’s how you can achieve this:

1) Ask questions and encourage participation

One of the most effective ways to engage your audience is by asking questions. This not only encourages participation but also keeps the audience attentive and invested in your presentation. For example, start with a thought-provoking question related to your topic. This can be something as simple as, "What challenges have you faced with this issue?" or "How do you think this can be improved?"

Pro-tip : Pause after asking a question to allow your audience time to think and respond. This creates a conversational atmosphere and makes your presentation more interactive.

2) Incorporate audience activities

Incorporating activities that involve the audience can significantly enhance their learning experience and retention of information. Activities such as small group discussions, role-playing, or hands-on exercises are excellent ways to achieve this. These activities break the monotony of a lecture-style presentation and encourage active participation.

Pro-tip : Plan activities that are directly related to your key messages. For instance, if your presentation is about teamwork, you can include a group exercise that requires collaboration and problem-solving.

Storytelling techniques

Crafting an engaging presentation is an art form, and storytelling is at its heart. By employing effective storytelling techniques, you can captivate your audience, making your message memorable and impactful.

1) Use a narrative arc

Think of your presentation as a journey, guiding your audience from a starting point to a destination. A clear narrative arc is essential for this journey. It involves setting up a problem, exploring potential solutions, and concluding with a compelling resolution.

Example : Imagine you’re presenting on the importance of cybersecurity. Start by highlighting a real-world data breach that caused significant damage (the problem). Then, discuss various cybersecurity measures that could have prevented the breach (potential solutions). Finally, end with a success story of a company that implemented these measures and avoided a major threat (the resolution).

2) Personal anecdotes

Sharing personal anecdotes can make your presentation more relatable and engaging. Personal stories humanize your presentation, creating a connection with your audience. They see you as a person who has experienced similar challenges and successes, not just as a speaker.

Pro-tip : Ensure your anecdotes are relevant to your topic and audience. While a funny story from your childhood might be entertaining, it’s essential that it ties back to the main message of your presentation.

Mastering pacing and delivery

1) Engage through varied speaking pace

One of the most effective ways to keep your audience engaged is by varying your speaking pace. Imagine you’re telling a story: you wouldn't speak in the same tone and speed throughout, right? Slowing down when you hit a critical point emphasizes its importance and allows your listeners to absorb and reflect on what you’ve said. Conversely, picking up the pace for less critical information can keep the momentum going and prevent your audience from losing interest.

Pro-tip : Practice your speech with different paces. Record yourself and play it back to notice where changes in speed feel natural and where they can enhance the message.

2) Use pauses to your advantage

Strategic pauses are powerful tools in any speaker's arsenal. A well-timed pause can emphasize a key point, giving your audience a moment to digest and reflect. It can also create anticipation, making your presentation more dynamic and engaging. Pauses are particularly effective after posing a thought-provoking question or before revealing crucial information.

Pro-tip : Incorporate a pause after making a significant statement or asking a rhetorical question. This not only highlights the importance of the point but also allows the audience to process and internalize it.

Practice and refine your presentation

1) Rehearse your presentation

Rehearsing your presentation is not just a step to check off your list; it’s a crucial part of ensuring a polished and confident delivery. Practice your presentation multiple times in front of a mirror, record yourself, or present to a trusted friend. Each rehearsal will help you become more familiar with your content, allowing you to focus on your delivery rather than just remembering what to say.

Pro-tip : Treat your rehearsal like the real thing. Stand up, use your visual aids, and speak as you would in the actual presentation. This not only helps with memorization but also with managing time and pacing.

2) Seek feedback and adjust

Feedback is a goldmine for improvement. After rehearsing, seek feedback from colleagues, mentors, or even a small test audience. Constructive criticism can highlight areas for improvement that you might not notice on your own. Use this input to refine your content and delivery for maximum impact.

Incorporate technology to elevate your presentations

1) Use presentation software

Presentation software has evolved far beyond simple slide shows. By leveraging the advanced features of tools like PowerPoint or Prezent , you can transform a basic presentation into a dynamic and engaging experience. These software platforms offer functionalities such as transitions, animations, and the ability to embed multimedia elements like videos and audio clips.

Example : Imagine you are presenting the latest sales figures to your team. Instead of just showing static charts, you can use animation to reveal data points one by one, guiding your audience through the narrative and emphasizing key trends. A well-timed video clip or audio snippet can also add depth to your message, making it more memorable.

2) Live polling and surveys

Incorporating live polling and survey tools into your presentation can transform it from a one-way monologue into an interactive dialogue. Tools like Slido or Mentimeter allow you to gather instant feedback, pose questions, and engage your audience in real-time, making them active participants in your presentation.

Pro-tip : Use live polls at strategic points in your presentation to gauge audience understanding or gather opinions. This not only breaks the monotony but also provides valuable insights into audience perceptions and preferences.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

1. how can i extend my presentation without diluting the main message.

Focus on adding depth to your key points through examples, case studies, or detailed explanations. You can also introduce related subtopics that enrich the audience's understanding of your main message.

2. What are some effective ways to engage the audience during a longer presentation?

Include interactive elements like Q&A sessions, polls, or group discussions. Use multimedia such as videos or animations to break up the monotony and keep the audience interested.

3. Can I use stories or anecdotes to make my presentation longer?

Absolutely! Stories and anecdotes can make your presentation more relatable and memorable. They help to illustrate points vividly and can fill out the time effectively.

4. How do I avoid repeating myself when trying to extend the presentation?

Plan your presentation to cover different aspects of your topic without overlap. Use mind maps or outlines to organize your points logically and ensure there's no repetition.

5. Is it a good idea to add more visual content to lengthen my presentation?

Yes, visual content like charts, graphs, and images can enhance your presentation and make it longer. They help explain complex information quickly and engagingly, which can add time without losing the audience’s interest.

6. What should I do if I need to fill more time but have covered all my material?

Consider diving deeper into each point with more detailed data or broader context. You can also invite audience interaction, or include a short workshop or activity related to your topic.

7. How can I use questions to extend the duration of my presentation?

Embed planned questions throughout your presentation to provoke thought and discussion. You can also encourage the audience to ask their questions throughout or in a dedicated Q&A session at the end.

8. Are there techniques to slow down the pace of my presentation without it seeming sluggish?

Yes, you can pace your speech, take deliberate pauses for emphasis, and interact with your audience. These techniques help in making the presentation longer while maintaining engagement.

9. Can adding a guest speaker or co-presenter help in extending the presentation?

Bringing in a guest speaker or a co-presenter can add a new dimension to your presentation. They can offer different perspectives or delve into specific areas of the topic that you might not cover as deeply.

10. What’s the best way to conclude a longer presentation to ensure it remains impactful?

Summarize the key points to reinforce them, end with a strong closing statement or call to action, and allow time for final questions. This helps in leaving a lasting impression while effectively using the extended time.

Make a presentation longer & stronger with Prezent

When using Prezent for longer presentations, the platform's design philosophy centers on meaningful engagement and tailored communication, rather than just extending content duration. Here's how Prezent's features can enrich presentations by focusing on audience connection and detailed storytelling:

Empathetic audience analysis

Prezent's ' Fingerprints ' feature analyzes the preferences and expectations of your audience, allowing you to tailor your presentation content to resonate deeply with them. This ensures that each segment of your presentation is crafted with the audience's interests at heart, fostering a genuine connection and keeping them engaged for longer sessions​.

Structured storytelling

Through its use of generative AI , Prezent supports structured storytelling . This involves organizing your content logically and compellingly, ensuring that the narrative flow keeps the audience captivated. This structured approach helps in smoothly transitioning between topics and expanding on them without losing the audience's interest​.

Visual story enhancements 

 Prezent provides tools to integrate high-quality visuals that complement your narrative . These visuals are not just decorative but are designed to reinforce your message and aid comprehension, particularly during complex discussions. This makes your presentation not only more engaging but also more memorable​.

Comprehensive content access

With access to a vast library of pre-designed slides and data, you can expand your presentation with relevant content that is both informative and engaging. This resource is particularly useful when you need to elaborate on specific points or when your presentation requires a broad range of information.

Continuous improvement

Prezent’s commitment to improving presentation skills is reflected in its extensive training modules and continuous learning opportunities. These resources help presenters refine their delivery over time, ensuring that even lengthy presentations maintain a high level of quality and engagement.

Prezent's commitment to enhancing communication is evident in its emphasis on personalization, understanding diverse audiences, and fostering ongoing learning. These features ensure that your presentations not only reach but genuinely engage your audience, regardless of length. To see how Prezent can transform your communication strategy, consider signing up for a free demo with our experts , or explore the platform firsthand with a 14-day free trial . This hands-on experience will allow you to discover the full potential of Prezent's features in making every communication more impactful.

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The Definitive Guide to Longer Presentations

In many situations, short and succinct presentations are the norm. A five-minute pitch, a 15-minute conference talk, or a brief classroom lecture can be incredibly effective. However, there are times when a longer presentation is not just beneficial but necessary. This can be the case when you have a complex topic to cover, a multifaceted message to convey, or an audience that expects a deep dive into your subject matter.

With that being said, longer presentations can lead to audience fatigue. When audience members become disengaged, they may lose interest and stop paying attention to your content.

So, can we extend a presentation while also ensuring audience engagement? How do we design presentations that are not just highly informative but also captivating? If you were wondering the same, you have come to the right page! Whether you’re a business professional, an educator, a public speaker, or someone who simply wants to share their ideas effectively through long-form presentations, you will find the tips and advice shared in this article useful in making your presentations longer without losing your audience’s attention.

But before we dive in, let’s first identify the scenarios in which a longer presentation is justified and also look at some common pitfalls of longer presentations (and ways to avoid them).

When is a Long Presentation Justified?

Extended presentations are valuable when you need to provide in-depth analysis, offer comprehensive solutions, or explore a multifaceted issue. In fact, a longer presentation is very much warranted in situations where the subject matter, audience, or goals demand a more in-depth and comprehensive exploration. With the help of such presentations, you can engage with your audience on a deeper level, providing a rich learning experience and enabling a thorough examination of your ideas.

Here are some common situations where a longer presentation is justified:

Complex Topics: When dealing with complex, multifaceted subjects that require thorough explanations, a longer presentation allows you to delve into the details, provide context, and ensure the audience gains a comprehensive understanding.

In-Depth Training: Training sessions, workshops, or educational seminars often require longer presentations to cover the curriculum extensively. This is especially true for technical or skill-based training programs.

Research and Analysis: Presentations based on extensive research or data analysis often need more time to present findings, methodology, and implications comprehensively.

Strategic Planning: Longer presentations are essential in corporate or organisational settings when discussing strategic plans, objectives, and business strategies. They require detailed explanations and discussions.

Policy and Legislative Matters: Government or policy-related presentations often require longer durations to discuss proposed legislation, regulations, or policy changes in detail, as well as address questions from stakeholders.

Innovation and New Technologies: Presentations on cutting-edge technologies or innovative solutions may demand additional time for explaining intricacies, applications, and potential disruptions.

Scientific and Academic Conferences: Longer presentations are common in scientific and academic conferences, where researchers and scholars present their findings and discuss them with peers.

Public Health and Safety: Information related to public health, safety, or emergency procedures necessitates longer presentations to ensure clarity and compliance with guidelines.

Comprehensive Marketing and Sales: Sales and marketing presentations for complex products or services may require a longer duration to address features, benefits, and customer questions.

Community Engagement: Presentations involving community issues, development projects, or local initiatives often require more time for public engagement and thorough discussions

Historical and Cultural Topics: Presentations about historical events, cultural practices, or traditions may demand a longer duration to provide background, context, and in-depth exploration.

In-Depth Workshops and Seminars: Workshops and seminars focused on skill development, personal growth, or leadership often require more time to provide hands-on experiences and interactive learning.

Government and Policy Briefings: Government officials often need longer presentations to brief stakeholders, agencies, or the public on policy proposals, legislative changes, or key government initiatives.

Strategic Decision-Making: Longer presentations are essential for board meetings, executive presentations, and decision-making discussions where strategic choices and their implications are under consideration.

Product Launches and Demonstrations: Product launches or demonstrations may need longer presentations to showcase features, benefits, and usage scenarios, as well as to answer questions from potential customers.

Educational Institutions: In academic settings, lectures, thesis defences, or educational sessions may require extended presentations to ensure a comprehensive transfer of knowledge.

Public Awareness and Advocacy: Presentations related to social issues, advocacy, and public awareness campaigns often need longer durations to effectively communicate the importance of the cause and potential actions.

Policy Debates: In debates related to policy or controversial topics, longer presentations allow for more thorough arguments and counterarguments.

Crisis Management and Response: Longer presentations are necessary for crisis response plans, as they require detailed explanations, response protocols, and communication strategies.

Market Research and Analysis: Business presentations that focus on market research, consumer behaviour, or industry analysis may require additional time to cover data, insights, and strategic implications in depth.

In these situations, a longer presentation ensures that the audience receives a comprehensive and well-rounded understanding of the subject matter, making it a necessary choice for effective communication and engagement.

What Are The Common Pitfalls of Longer Presentations?

While longer presentations can be valuable in certain situations, they also come with common pitfalls that presenters should be aware of and work to avoid. Some of these pitfalls include:

Loss of Audience Engagement: Longer presentations can lead to audience fatigue. When audience members become disengaged, they may lose interest and stop paying attention to your content.

Information Overload: Presenters risk overwhelming their audience with excessive information. Too much data or content can make it difficult for the audience to absorb and retain key points.

Lack of Clarity: Extended presentations can suffer from a lack of clarity if the presenter doesn’t structure the content well or if they go off on tangents. This can confuse the audience and dilute the message

Ineffective Time Management: Managing time in longer presentations is crucial. If a presenter doesn’t allocate enough time to different sections or overruns, the presentation can feel rushed at the end, leaving the audience with unanswered questions.

Loss of Focus: Longer presentations might lose focus as the presenter tries to cover too many subtopics. This can dilute the main message and make it challenging for the audience to identify key takeaways.

Audience Fatigue: As presentations extend beyond a certain duration, audience fatigue sets in. The longer the presentation, the more likely it is that audience members will start to lose interest and become restless

Decreased Retention: Longer presentations can lead to decreased information retention. The human brain has limits to how much information it can absorb and remember in a single sitting, so extended presentations may result in lower retention rates.

Repetition: To fill time in a longer presentation, presenters may inadvertently repeat points, which can frustrate the audience and diminish the overall quality of the presentation.

Ineffective Visuals: When presenters use visuals, such as slides, they must ensure that these visuals are engaging and relevant. In longer presentations, there’s a risk of using too many or poorly designed visuals, which can hinder understanding and engagement.

Inadequate Interaction: Longer presentations may lack audience interaction, which can lead to reduced engagement. Failing to involve the audience through questions, discussions, or activities can make the presentation feel like a one-way lecture.

Overloading with Data: When dealing with data-heavy content, it’s vital to present the data effectively. Longer presentations run the risk of inundating the audience with data without clear explanations or insights.

Complex Language and Jargon: Presenters might use complex language or industry-specific jargon in longer presentations, which can alienate or confuse the audience, especially if they are not experts in the subject matter.

Poor Storytelling: In a longer presentation, storytelling is still essential. If the presenter fails to incorporate relevant stories or anecdotes effectively, the content can become dry and uninspiring.

Lack of a Clear Roadmap: Longer presentations need a clear structure and roadmap. If the presenter fails to provide a sense of direction and organisation, the audience may feel lost.

Ineffective Visual Design: Longer presentations often rely on visuals for support. If these visuals are poorly designed or cluttered, they can detract from the presentation’s effectiveness.

Failure to Address Questions: In longer presentations, there may be time for audience questions. Failing to address questions effectively or dismissing them can lead to audience dissatisfaction.

Overestimating the Audience’s Attention Span: Presenters should be cautious not to overestimate the audience’s attention span. Even in longer presentations, breaks, interactive elements, or format changes are necessary to keep the audience engaged.

Lack of Adaptation: A longer presentation may necessitate adjustments based on the audience’s reactions and needs. Presenters should be prepared to adapt the content on the fly to maintain audience interest and engagement.

To avoid these common pitfalls, it’s essential to plan longer presentations meticulously, keeping the audience’s needs, attention span, and overall goals of the presentation in mind. Now that you are aware of the common mistakes most presenters make with longer presentations, let’s have a look at some of the best ways to avoid them.

Important Things to Keep in Mind When Creating Longer Presentations

Creating longer presentations requires careful planning and execution to ensure that your message remains engaging and effective throughout the extended duration. Here are important things to keep in mind when crafting longer presentations:

Understand Your Audience: Know your audience’s expectations, interests, and prior knowledge. Tailor your content to meet their needs and level of expertise.

Define Clear Objectives: Clearly articulate the goals and objectives of your presentation. What do you want to achieve, inform, or persuade your audience about?

Structure Your Content: Organise your presentation with a clear beginning, middle, and end. Create a logical flow that guides the audience through the content.

Use a Strong Opening: Start with an attention-grabbing introduction. Engage the audience from the beginning with a compelling story, a thought-provoking question, or a surprising fact

Focus on Key Messages: Identify the core messages you want to convey and keep them at the forefront throughout the presentation. Avoid going off on tangents.

Engage with Stories and Examples: Incorporate real-life stories, examples, and anecdotes to illustrate your points and make the content relatable.

Interactive Elements: Include interactive elements like questions, polls, group discussions, and activities to keep the audience engaged and participating.

Visual Aids: Use well-designed slides and visuals to complement your message. Visuals should enhance understanding, not overwhelm with information.

Practice and Rehearse: Practice your presentation multiple times to ensure a smooth and confident delivery. This also helps you manage time effectively

Time Management: Allocate appropriate time to each section and stick to your schedule. Be prepared to adjust if you notice you’re running behind or ahead of schedule

Clarity and Simplicity: Use clear and concise language. Avoid jargon or overly technical terms that might confuse your audience.

Transitions: Pay attention to smooth transitions between different sections of your presentation. Use transitional phrases to guide the audience

Audience Engagement: Continually assess the audience’s engagement levels. Adjust your delivery or content if you sense the audience is disengaging.

Incorporate Variety: Change the pace, tone, and style of your presentation to maintain interest. Break up monotonous segments with stories, questions, or multimedia.

Use Multimedia Wisely: Integrate multimedia (videos, images, and audio) when it enhances your message, but avoid overloading the presentation with too many elements.

Reinforce Key Points: Periodically summarise key points to reinforce the main message. This helps the audience remember the core takeaways.

Anticipate Questions: Prepare for common questions the audience might have and address them proactively in your presentation.

Feedback and Adaptation: Be open to feedback during the presentation. Adjust your approach based on the audience’s reactions and questions.

Confidence and Passion: Project confidence and enthusiasm about your topic. Your enthusiasm can be contagious and keep the audience engaged.

Effective Closure: End your presentation with a strong conclusion that summarises the main points and leaves a lasting impression on the audience.

Provide Additional Resources: Offer handouts, links, or references for those interested in diving deeper into the topic.

Continuous Learning: Reflect on each presentation and seek feedback to improve your skills for future presentations.

Remember that longer presentations require more attention to detail, but with proper planning and a focus on audience engagement, you can make them both informative and captivating. Adapt your approach to the specific needs and preferences of your audience while ensuring that your key message remains central throughout the presentation.

Now that we know when it’s best to create a long-form presentation, the challenges that may arise when you create such a presentation and how to best avoid such challenges, let’s have a look at the various ways you can make your presentation longer.

How to Make Your Presentation Longer?

If you need to make your presentation longer while keeping it engaging and informative, consider these strategies:

Expand on Key Points

To make your presentation longer, you can delve deeper into your key points or main arguments. This involves providing more comprehensive information, examples, and evidence for each point. Use specific case studies, anecdotes, or research findings to illustrate and support your main ideas. Take the time to explain the intricacies and nuances of each key point, helping your audience gain a more profound understanding of the subject matter.

Incorporate Case Studies

Case studies offer a practical and in-depth view of how your topic relates to the real world. By including well-researched and relevant case studies, you can extend your presentation and demonstrate the practical applications of your ideas. Analyse these cases thoroughly, highlighting the challenges, solutions, and outcomes to provide a richer context for your audience.

Introduce Expert Opinions

To add depth and authority to your presentation, incorporate expert opinions. Quote well-known experts, researchers, or thought leaders in your field who have expressed viewpoints related to your topic. This lends credibility to your presentation and allows you to explore different perspectives and approaches.

Present Counterarguments

Expanding on counterarguments or alternative viewpoints involves providing a detailed exploration of these opposing perspectives. Explain the reasons behind these counterarguments and offer a well-reasoned response. By engaging in a thorough discussion of counterarguments, you encourage critical thinking and offer a more comprehensive understanding of the topic.

Use More Visuals

Visuals, such as charts, graphs, images, and diagrams, can help convey complex information more effectively. You can extend your presentation by including additional visuals that provide a deeper insight into your subject. Ensure that each visual is carefully chosen and directly supports the content you’re presenting.

Explore Subtopics

Breaking down your main topic into subtopics is an excellent way to extend your presentation. Each subtopic can be explored in depth, allowing you to provide a comprehensive overview of the subject matter. By dedicating a portion of your presentation to each subtopic, you can ensure that the audience gains a thorough understanding of the entire topic.

Tell More Stories

Storytelling is a powerful tool for engagement. By sharing more stories, anecdotes, and examples, you can make your presentation longer while keeping it relatable and memorable. Personal stories or stories related to your topic can effectively illustrate your main points and connect with your audience on an emotional level.

Engage in Deeper Analysis

To extend your presentation, engage in a deeper analysis of your data, trends, or implications. Dive into the details, examine patterns, and consider the implications of the information you’re presenting. A thorough analysis can help your audience grasp the complexities and nuances of your subject.

Incorporate Audience Interaction

Engage your audience by incorporating interactive elements. Encourage questions, discussions, and participation to make your presentation longer while involving the audience. Interactive sessions allow the audience to apply the knowledge you’ve shared and can lead to deeper exploration of the topic.

Use Audience Polls

Incorporating audience polls or surveys can extend your presentation while actively involving the audience. Pose questions related to your topic and allow the audience to participate. Share the poll results and discuss the implications to encourage deeper exploration.

Utilise Extended Q&A Sessions

Dedicate more time to answering audience questions to make your presentation longer. Encourage an extended Q&A session to explore topics in greater depth. Engaging in open dialogues with the audience can lead to insightful discussions.

Include Expert Interviews

If possible, conduct or include interviews with experts in your field. Expert interviews offer a unique and valuable perspective, adding depth and credibility to your presentation. These insights can provide a more comprehensive understanding of the topic, making your presentation more informative.

Explore Different Perspectives

Extend your presentation by presenting various perspectives on the topic. By discussing contrasting viewpoints and different angles, you provide a more comprehensive view of the subject matter. Encourage critical thinking and analysis among your audience

Create More Examples

Generate additional examples, scenarios, and use cases that illustrate the practical applications of your ideas. Providing multiple instances where your concepts are applied can help the audience connect theory to practice and make your presentation more thorough.

Reinforce Key Point

Periodically reinforce your key points throughout the presentation. Summarise important takeaways and revisit the main message to ensure that the audience retains the core concepts. Repetition can help reinforce understanding.

Engage in Group Activities

Incorporate group activities or discussions that require audience participation. These activities can be used to delve deeper into specific aspects of your presentation. Encourage group discussions or problem-solving exercises to make your content more interactive and extensive.

Discuss Current Events

Incorporating current events and news into your presentation keeps the content relevant and relatable to the audience. To expand on this, discuss the context and significance of these current events as they relate to your topic. Consider how recent developments have influenced the subject matter, and explore potential future impacts. This not only prolongs the presentation but also highlights the real-time relevance of the subject, making it more engaging and informative.

Collaborate with Guest Speakers

Collaborating with guest speakers or experts can enhance your presentation by offering diverse perspectives and insights. To extend this collaboration, encourage an in-depth discussion with these guest speakers, allowing them to share their experiences and expertise. By doing so, you create a more interactive and informative presentation with a broader range of viewpoints.

Connect with Personal Experiences

Sharing personal experiences related to the topic adds authenticity and depth to your presentation. Expanding on these personal insights can involve a deeper exploration of the challenges faced, lessons learned, and the practical implications of your experiences. By offering a more comprehensive look at your personal journey, you connect with the audience on a deeper level.

Visualise Future Possibilities

Extending your presentation by visualising future possibilities or potential scenarios adds a forward-looking dimension to your content. Provide detailed discussions of the various paths and choices that could shape the future of your topic. Explore the long-term implications of these choices and highlight potential opportunities and challenges. By offering a more comprehensive exploration of future possibilities, you enable the audience to envision the subject’s future evolution.

Address Common Misconceptions

Identifying and addressing common misconceptions related to your topic involves providing detailed explanations that debunk these myths. Explain the origins of these misconceptions, clarify the correct information, and offer a well-informed response to these misconceptions. By providing a comprehensive exploration of common misconceptions, you ensure the audience gains a deeper and more accurate understanding of the subject matter.

Engage in Panel Discussions

Organising panel discussions with multiple experts or stakeholders offers diverse perspectives and insights. Expanding on panel discussions can involve facilitating in-depth conversations, allowing panellists to share their experiences and engage in meaningful debates. By offering a more comprehensive panel discussion, you create an interactive and informative presentation with a wide range of viewpoints.

Use Demonstrations

Incorporating live demonstrations or simulations into your presentation engages the audience in a hands-on learning experience. Expanding on demonstrations involves offering a detailed walkthrough of the demonstration, explaining the steps and intricacies involved. By providing a deeper exploration of the practical application of your ideas, you make your content more tangible and actionable, ensuring the audience gains a thorough understanding.

Final Thoughts

By using the tips and advice shared in this article, you can create longer presentations that inform, inspire, and captivate your audience, whilst also avoiding the common pitfalls that most presenters face when it comes to delivering extended presentations.

However, if you’re inspired to work with experts in crafting your upcoming presentation and preparing for it in the best way possible, look no further. At Presentation Experts, we specialise in not just presentation design, but also presentation skills development . Whether you’re seeking support in crafting a compelling presentation, refining your storytelling techniques, or acquiring the skills to keep your audience captivated during extended presentations, we’ve got you covered.

To learn more about our services, contact us today!

Your Guide To Corporate Presentations From Real Presentation Expertsn

Mastering the art of pitch deck designn, how to avoid using filler words in your presentationn, a guide to slide count in presentationsn, 6 essential presentation skills for pitching successn, a guide to crafting powerful endings in presentationsn, what can our clients tell us about social media usen.

Your Guide To Corporate Presentations From Real Presentation Experts

Mastering the Art of Pitch Deck Design

How to Avoid Using Filler Words in Your Presentation

How to Make a Presentation Longer in Less Hectic Manner

Research has shown that 75% of adults fear public speaking and presentation, making it a challenging and often scary form of communication. Now imagine the struggle to make a presentation longer enough to engage the audience. No, you can’t walk off the stage before the time assigned to you is utilized. 

So one needs to learn how to make a presentation longer by discussing the topic properly in the given time. If you are facing the same issue, worry not. We are here to tell you the secrets of how to make your presentation long enough without giving away its quality. 

Table of Contents

10 Woking Tips On How To Make A Presentation Longer

The experts have shared the top 10 tips for longer presentations, effective without making it boring. 

Tip 1: Thorough Research

Study shows that 90% of presentation anxiety comes from a lack of preparation. So doing proper research is the best tip to give any  killer presentation  in class. That’s why I conduct an in-depth research about the topic. Don’t miss anything. Follow the guide to longer presentation by gathering additional facts, statistics, background info, interesting facts, and examples to make a longer presentation. 

Tip 2: Visual Enhancements

A total of 41% of presenters fail to make their presentation visually presentable. That’s why it’s important to learn how to make a presentation longer by hooking people by using visuals such as charts, graphs, images, and infographics in your content as much as you can. It makes the presentation longer and more interesting. 

Tip 3: Engaging Storytelling

According to the survey, people are 22 times more likely to remember facts if it’s in the form of a story because it’s engaging. So the best tip on how to make your presentation longer is adding compelling stories to engage the audience with information. Make an imaginative scenario or pick a relatable event from history to strengthen and lengthen your presentation. 

Tip 4: Expansion On Subtopics

One of the best tips on guides to longer presentations is to identify subtopics within your main theme and expand on them. You can play with different  types of sentences  and corresponding topics. This elongates your presentation and also helps you present some interesting relatable topics and ideas.

Tip 5: Interactive Session

The best way to extend a presentation is to incorporate interactive elements like polls, questions, or specific discussion guide to longer presentations. This not only extends the duration but also engages your audience actively. 

Pause the presentation to ask the audience about their opinions or experiences regarding the main topic. Ask questions like why do you think this happened? Or how much do you think it affected society? 

Tip 6: Q &A Session

Another idea on how to make a presentation longer is to include a Q & A session at the end of your presentation to utilize the remaining time to address additional points and answer audience queries. To make the presentation longer, extend the answer and elaborate on it from different aspects. 

Tip 7: Add Video Evidence

What is better than adding a documented video to a presentation? It will help you present professionally and extend the duration of your presentation naturally. Find a relatable video that proves your points and highlights your topic to extend a presentation.

Tip 8: Add ‘You Might Not Know But’ Facts

Another useful tip on how to make your presentation longer is to add some interesting information regarding the topic. It can be a dark secret, a conspiracy theory, or just a rumor. You can also add similar events and scenarios to your topic.

Tip 9: Talk Slow and Pause In Between

Don’t rush into the presentation and take it at a slow pace. Talk in a clear and slow voice. Cough a little and drink some water in between to add a break. Pause between two points of discussion and let the audience reflect on it. 

Tip 10: Be Relatable

This is one of the best ways to make your presentation longer. Be relatable so you can add more information and get ideas from the audience. Know your audience and bring out topics related to your main argument. Take an  example of editorial  and see how an author reflects on different topics by making it relatable to the audience. 

Why Extending A Presentation Can Be Challenging For Students?

The process of how to make a presentation longer can pose several challenges for students:

Insufficient Content

Students may struggle to generate enough substantive content in a longer presentation to fill the allotted time.

Maintaining Relevance

Lengthening a presentation with irrelevant details or filler material while keeping the content relevant can be tricky.

Quality Vs. Quantity Dilemma

Balancing the need for a longer presentation with maintaining high-quality content can be challenging.

Limited Research Skills

Some students might lack the research skills needed to find additional information or examples to expand their presentation effectively. We suggest they should take help from the  discussion section of a research paper , that’s how they can fit informational chunks in their slides. 

Time Management

Students may find it challenging to manage their time efficiently, leading to either a rushed delivery or the need to fill time with less valuable content.

An Example To Understand How To Make A Presentation Longer 

Let’s consider a presentation topic: “  An Overview of RMS Titanic and Story of Its wreckage  ” Initially, a student may have a concise outline covering key points such as the history, journey, construction, and the influence of wreckage. Following the ideas on how to make a presentation longer, the student can implement the following:

Good Research

Utilize Visual Aids

Engaging Story Addition

Engage In Interactive Elements

Expand On Subtopics

Shocking Fact

Interesting Information

Do You Need Help with Your Presentation?

The process of how to make a presentation longer can be challenging but you can do it with a good script of presentation in mind. If you have no idea how to write an engaging and long presentation, better to  hire a writer  and get enough help in crafting the best presentation script and content.

Final Verdict: What We Have Learned?

We have shared some of the most useful tips on how to make a presentation longer without compromising its quality. We emphasize techniques that enhance content, engagement, and overall impact. The goal is not merely to add filler but to provide valuable insights on thoughtful expansion, ensuring that each slide or segment contributes meaningfully to the presentation’s depth and substance.

Additional Sources:

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Presentation Training Institute

A division of bold new directions training, how to lengthen a presentation.

Striking that perfect duration for your presentation can be tricky. You may feel as though you prepared a presentation that will last the appropriate length and then find out as you are speaking that you grossly miscalculated. Presentations can go by very quickly, especially when you are nervous and speeding through the material. For instance, you may have planned for a 60-minute presentation but soon realize that it will be over in just 30 minutes. When this happens, what can you do to cover the remaining time? Here we will take a look at a few tips and tricks for making your presentation longer. 

Over-Prepare Ahead of Time

If you have been asked to present for 30 minutes, make sure you have at least 35 minutes of material. You should always be prepared to speak for at least 25% longer than you were asked. Therefore, prepare extra content that can be used if you end up needing more time, but can also be easily discarded if things are going well. It’s always better to over-prepare with additional material than wind up looking unprepared with a short presentation. 

Speak Slowly and Deliberately

You don’t need to speak as though you have been turned on slo-mo, but you should pay attention to the speed at which you are speaking. When we get nervous, it is normal for people to talk faster. That’s why you need to be conscious of your pace and take control of your voice and slow down. You should also include short pauses when making important points. Not only will this buy you a little more time, but it will also make your points more dramatic. By slowing down your speech, you both effectively lengthen your speech and make your message clear. 

Add in a Reserved Story

If you did your preparation and overprepared, you should have a story or anecdote in your reserve, ready to pull out if needed. If you notice that you are ahead of your schedule, this is the time to include that extra story in your presentation. However, be sure that whatever story you are telling is still relevant to the topic. You don’t want to add a story simply for the sake of time. It should only be added if it serves a purpose.

Include a Relevant Video Clip

Adding videos to your presentation can be a great way to add a little extra time. It can also help give you a break and ease your nerves. Keep in mind that like the story, the video must be relevant to your topic and support your message. You also want to keep the video short and sweet. Anything longer than 3 minutes can actually detract from the presentation. 

Audience Participation

Finally, audience participation is a great strategy to use when you need to extend your presentation. Not only will this lengthen your presentation, but it will also engage your audience. There are several ways to do this such as having a question and answer session, conducting a live poll, breaking into small groups, or simply asking for a show of hands. This can help you lengthen your presentation while still giving the audience a speech that is interesting and dynamic.

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Expand Your Presentation: Make Them Longer & Stronger

Discover expert strategies to extend your presentations without losing audience interest. From storytelling to interactive elements, learn how to captivate and educate effectively.

What’s a Rich Text element?

The rich text element allows you to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content.

• Nostrum non voluptas alias sit ut corporis perspiciatis nihil molestiae. Vitae quidem aut aut quia quia porro explicabo. Similique occaecati sit quo. Enim enim dolor ut. Et error alias nam fuga voluptas inventore placeat et. Eligendi similique officia provident magni aut quasi soluta qui.
• Deleniti totam eius similique repellendus. 
• Deleniti totam eius similique repellendus. Doloremque sunt nihil et. Tenetur delectus velit ut. Pariatur velit ipsa.

3 Static and dynamic content editing

4 static and dynamic content editing.

A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!

5 Static and dynamic content editing

6 static and dynamic content editing.

A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any pa ge and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!

How to customize formatting for each rich text

Headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, figures, images, and figure captions can all be styled after a class is added to the rich text element using the "When inside of" nested selector system.

"Headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, figures, images, and figure captions can all be styled after a class is added to the rich text element using the "When inside of" nested selector system."

Some presentations end before you even notice, while others seem to go on for ages. Neither approach is as effective as it could be if you find the philosopher’s stone of presentation time.

Are you introducing a 5-minute pitch? Is this a 30-minute student lecture? Or are you giving a 15-minute conference talk in front of colleagues? Either case implies that you value your listeners’ time. Make sure that the central message of your presentation has the desired impact on the audience.

Sometimes, you need to attune the presentation to a requested timeline without sacrificing viewers’ attention and engagement. How do you extend a presentation so that it keeps the audience alert, supports the main message, and leaves a powerful impression? That is the question Whitepage experts are going to answer fully in this article.

We will share effective strategies and practical tips to make every minute of your presentation count. Keep your pens poised!

Understanding the Purpose of Your Presentation

Before we proceed with more practical tips on how to make a speech longer, you must fully understand the primary purpose of your presentation. An impactful presentation relies on a few critical aspects:

• Target audience
• Desired outcome
• Core message

Know your audience

When you start to brood upon how to write an outline for a presentation , we suggest you think about the audience in the first place. Ask yourself the following questions:

• How well do you know the audience?
• What could you refer to to make the presentation relevant to them?

Once you gather general information, you may want to dive a little deeper and investigate such aspects as prevailing age, expertise, interests, and familiarity with the topic you are going to present. One more crucial part of your pre-presentation investigation should be the hopes that your target audience may have. If you know what they expect to gain from the presentation, you will be able to deliver it effectively.

Set clear objectives

Now, you have to think about yourself and the main benefits you plan to reap. You should define your primary and secondary goals and then attune the presentation content to those goals. Don’t set illusionary or unclear objectives, though. Even if you can grasp them, the audience may fail, which will lead to utter confusion and loss of interest.

Outline the desired outcome

Just as you set clear goals, you should think about the potential outcome that would satisfy you. What is the response or audience actions you’d like to trigger? A pre-defined outcome will help you come up with a suitable presentation structure.

Clarify the core message

Finally, you must produce a clear message that is easy to understand but which provokes thought and consideration. It is best not to use metaphors or other similar techniques that dilute the message. Keep it clear, concise, and relevant.

Content Development Strategies

Every presentation relies on the content it contains. Let’s discuss a few content development strategies that will keep the audience alert and interested, shall we?

Expand on Key Points

One of the easiest ways of how to make a presentation longer is to explain the main points further. Here’s how you can succeed with the task effectively:

• Mark all the main points of your presentation.
• Outline the first point and address it with the simple question, “Why?” . Tell the audience why this subject matters.
• Proceed with the following question – “How?”. Explain how you can achieve something, and provide a step-by-step guide if necessary.
• Finish with the question, “What if?” . Spread some hypotheses and potential outcomes that would stir thought and active engagement in the audience.

Such simple questions will not only help you to increase the time of presentation, but they will also help the viewers understand the main message better. However, it is vital that you logically connect your subpoints. You should be able to weave an orderly and coherent story to make the provided information resonate with the audience.

Incorporate Storytelling

We’ve already briefly touched on the subject of storytelling in the previous chapter. Let’s try to decode the art of a crafty narrative that can help you create engaging presentations.

Whitepage experts point out two ways how you can center a resonating narrative around the presentation or its separate aspects:

• Personal anecdotes
• Hypothetical scenarios

In the first case, you can spice the presentation up with some personal experiences shared in the form of a story that will strengthen the emotional bond between you and the audience. Try to choose stories or anecdotes that correlate with the same emotions that the presentation instills.

To stress the importance of the presented point, you can apply it to hypothetical scenarios and make it closer to the viewer. You can question the potential outcomes of such scenarios and engage the audience in an active conversation about those.

Use Supporting Data

It is not enough to learn how to speak eloquently to ensure viewer trust, interest, and genuine engagement. You must present enough evidence that serves as an informative background for the presentation. However, appealing hear-say stats aren’t an option. You need to refer to credible sources for relevant data.

We suggest you base your presentation on such reputable resources as the following:

• Academic articles and research
• Up-to-date industry reports
• Expert opinions
• Government publications

Always cross-reference gained information to ensure its reliability.

After you gather the necessary information, you must structure it so that it provokes interest instead of boring the audience. Visualization is one of the best ways to present complex notions so that people with limited experience in the field can grasp them. Use charts, graphs, and infographics for the purpose.

Another effective option to present valuable data is to engage with the audience directly. You can come up with interactive presentation elements such as handout ideas for presentations , Q&A sessions, polls, and surveys.

Include Case Studies or Examples

Relevant case studies and examples serve as real-world scenarios that help the audience to relate to the situation. Moreover, they help to transform abstract notions into quite palpable arguments that make the presentation twice as impactful and memorable.

Choosing relevant case studies

Since the pool of case studies may be pretty extensive, you should focus on those that align with the main theme/themes of your presentation. Keep in mind that you will be preaching in front of a diverse audience, so approaching the matter from different angles will not only make the presentation longer but also cater to multiple interests, making the presentation even more relatable.

Integrating them into the presentation

The best way to present case studies and other relevant examples would be to use them to illustrate some major point you deem valuable. Yet, even the most obvious relations should be stressed. You can outline the lessons to be learned from the presented case studies to help the audience grasp the message.

Visual and Interactive Elements

As we’ve mentioned proper visualization plays a significant part in how to make a presentation engaging. Let’s review some practical guidelines you can apply to the presentation you are working on!

Enhancing Slides with Visuals

Relevant images matter, but aside from the relevance, other aspects at play may determine the overall effect of your visual components. Use these simple guidelines to reap the most benefits:

• Pick images that remain as clear and visible on large screens as they are on smaller ones. Choose the highest resolution you can afford.
• Choose a visual style and keep with it.
• Don’t clutter the screen. One image per slide is more than enough.
• Make sure that the visuals are relatable to the presentation content.
• Decode complicated messages with the help of simple yet appealing infographics.
• Consider presentation font size . Use clear and readable fonts that interact with one another without disrupting the overall style or theme of the presentation.

Interactive Components

How do you make a presentation interesting? The answer is simple – you involve the audience in! Depending on whether it is an in-person or online presentation, you can refer to different interactive techniques. For instance:

In-person presentations

• Q&A sessions
• Polls and surveys
• Group discussions

Online presentations

• Virtual whiteboard brainstorming
• Interactive chat

These may seem like quite basic approaches, but they inspire thought and collaboration, making the presentation memorable and impactful. The trick here lies in a seamless transition. You should introduce the upcoming interaction to the audience and guide them smoothly to avoid confusion and chaos. In online interactions, you can even assign a moderator to track activity and user interactions.

Videos and Multimedia

Video and various types of multimedia will suffice for better comprehension without distracting the audience from the core message. However, the choice of such media plays a critical part in the process since not all multimedia will be equally effective.

Whitepage experts suggest that you pay attention to short videos that support a separate point of the presentation. Such videos should not only be relevant but also accessible. It may take you a while to provide subtitles or transcripts for them, but the result will be worth the effort. Don’t forget about the high quality of those media files so that they are well-displayed across different screens.

One of the most critical details about multimedia integration is that those additional elements align with the main message, support and complete it but do not exist as stand-alone points, or they will distract and confuse the viewers.

Effective Use of Speaker Notes

Another successful way of how to lengthen a presentation is to use your own speaker notes. You can make the most of something that seems the least significant, and we will teach you how to do it.

Expanding on Bullets

Bullets are used to keep the presentation to the point and concise. However, you can dwell on each to make the presentation compelling and informative at the same time.

• Start with the context to help the audience understand the point on a deeper level.
• Provide additional details that align with the context.
• Describe a real-life situation that related to the point.
• Discuss potential impact and results.
• Outline potential lessons to be learned.

All these aspects should be intertwined and seamlessly transition one into another to achieve the best outcome.

Scripting Anecdotes

How to make your presentation longer if something goes south unexpectedly? An experienced speaker always has a story or two up their sleeves to pull off when they get ahead of the schedule. This means that you should go as far as to overprepare your presentations.

You can’t come up with just any story to prolong the presentation. There are a few essential guidelines to stick to:

• Choose an anecdote that resonates with the central message of the presentation.
• Set a suspenseful or curious vibe to keep the audience alert.
• Play on human emotions to achieve a desired response.
• Inspire dialogue with the audience.
• Pay attention to the timing.
• Practice beforehand.

Pacing and Delivery Techniques

Even the best presentation won’t have the desired effect on the audience if the speaker fails to deliver it well.

The Role of Pausing

The art of effective pauses can’t be understated. You can use pauses to make a statement or induce reflections. Not to mention the fact that strategic pauses will keep the listeners engaged and alert.

Types of pauses

• Short – used before or after significant points to improve information digestion
• Medium – used for reflection after major points
• Long – used for emphasis or anticipation

Pausing tips

• Use pauses when you are about to deliver a critical statement and after the point is made to let the audience absorb it.
• Make a pause every time you deliver a table-turning point to induce the importance of what you’ve just said.
• Pause every time you move on from subject to subject so that the audience has enough time to adjust and follow your lead.
• You can also use pauses to read the viewers’ reactions and make adjustments if needed. Besides, you can use pauses to inspire two-sided interaction with the audience.

Engaging the Audience

You’d be surprised how effective audience interaction can be when you wonder how to make your speech longer. There’s a fair share of practical strategies to provoke viewer engagement, but we’ll review only the most reliable ones:

• Rhetorical questions – you may not expect an answer from the audience, but the question will instill reflection in people. Or, you may provoke a discussion with the same rhetorical question to enhance participation.
• Polls or surveys – live polls will give you instant access to what your audience thinks about the presented message. You can further discuss the results. This strategy requires dedicated preparation, though.
• Q&A sessions – ending a presentation with impact does not mean that it is over. You can prolong it by encouraging questions from the audience.
• Personal contributions – ask your listeners to share personal stories or related experiences and further discuss them with the group. As you inspire the audience to participate, you make them a part of the presentation, which instills the feeling of added value and appreciation.

Practice and Timing

Even though we can’t predict the future, practice makes it possible to feel the wind of changes and adapt without losing the grasp you’ve gained over the audience.

Rehearsal Strategies

There’s no single standard on how long should a presentation be, but you can determine the precise timing of your project and adjust it if necessary. Meticulous rehearsals will help you gain the required confidence and pace to deliver your presentation. There are a few time-tested methods that prove to be the most effective. They are the following:

• Solo practice – go through the whole presentation as though you were in the conference room. Pay attention to potential weak spots. Consider your delivery pace – if it feels like you are speeding up or being too slow, try to fix that.
• Recording session – to review how you’d look from the viewer’s angle, you can record your practice. A video recording will provide critical feedback on your tone, clarity, style, pace as well as body language.
• Test audience – gather your friends or colleagues and deliver the presentation to them. Ask about potential weak points of your presentation and evaluate the overall feedback of your peers. You can go as far as to ask the audience to ask questions that will serve as non-intended interaction and will provide valuable insight on the timing as long as your ability to answer on the spot.

Adjusting Content on the Fly You should accept the fact that even the most rehearsed presentations may require real-life adjustments based on the reaction your audience will have. Use these practical tips to read your audience well:

• Watch facial expressions – how do they react to the provided content?
• Seek out direct eye contact – attentive people will positively respond to that.
• Are the viewers nodding or shaking their heads in disagreement?
• Skip some points if you feel that the audience has grasped the point without further explanation required.
• Cut or expand the Q&A session based on user engagement or disengagement.
• Use humor to lighten up the mood if you see that the audience is losing interest.
• Don’t be afraid to improvise! 

Advanced Tips from Professionals

How to make a slideshow longer through lesser-known yet no less effective strategies? All it takes is to follow the lead of experienced presenters!

• Speak clearly, if you speak at all; carve every word before you let it fall . ( Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr .)

WHITEPAGE EXPERT TIP

Challenge your audience. Use two parallel storylines. As the viewers try to connect the dots, they will be engaged and thirsty for more details. While this is quite an unconventional strategy, it will surely lengthen the presentation.

• If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough . ( Albert Einstein )
• I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel . ( Maya Angelou )

Play around with expertly introduced micro-lessons. A small insight that pops every here and there will extend the presentation. What is more important is that it will improve information retention.

• I can’t control their actions, but I can control the messages I send . ( Haben Girma )

A longer presentation isn’t just a way of filling in the remaining time. It can become a powerful weapon if you use it correctly. Introduce relevant data, explain complicated notions in simpler words, share personal stories, and humor the audience. You will ensure that your presentation leaves a lasting impression.

Surely, it sounds easier said than done, but there’s nothing impossible with a reliable team at your side. Whitepage experts are ready to offer a helping hand no matter the complexity of the project or tight deadlines. All it takes is a discovery call, and you will be on the road to success in no time!

Care to learn more about our presentation design services ? Seek for a perfect pitch deck design ? Or do you want to finally figure out what is a slide deck presentation ? Check out the Blog section. There’s plenty more where these come from!

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How to Add Length to a Speech (Make Presentation Longer)

Looking for a way to make your speech longer? Whether you’re a lawyer trying to fill out closing arguments, a history professor trying to fit more detail into your lesson, or presenting a persuasive argument, there are many reasons to know how to add length to a speech. But knowing where to start isn’t always easy.

That’s why this blog post has been assembled: To offer you tips for extending your speech and giving it the length it needs to make an impact.

From adding examples to providing visuals, we’ll cover everything you need to know about adding length to a speech. So whether you’re looking for crafty ways to increase your speaking stamina – or how best to synthesize reams of information into an interesting oration – read on for our top tips for making your speech longer.

Quick Summary of Key Points

You can add length to a speech by providing more detail and examples in the main points, introducing new points or arguments, or simply expanding upon any existing points. Additionally, including multimedia elements like images, audio, and video will help you increase the length of your speech.

Making Effective Use of Time

Making effective use of time is a great way to add length to your speech while also making the topic more engaging. While quickly transitioning from one point to another can help you cover a lot of ground, it doesn’t always make for an interesting performance.

To give your audience time to reflect on the information shared and enjoy some well-timed pauses, use a few different strategies for controlling the pace of your speech.

Debaters often make use of rhetorical devices such as similes and metaphors – you could likewise employ these kinds of figures of speech in a more subtle manner in order to provide breathing room between points.

Another trick is to deliberately draw out an unusually long pause after making an important remark; doing this can emphasize its significance and help ensure that the message sticks with your listeners.

Providing details when making claims or explaining concepts is also beneficial, as it gives you more opportunities to clarify the material and speak about it at length.

By taking the time needed for digressions and reflections, you can both fully explain complex topics without rushing through them and keep your audience paying attention for extended periods.

However, there can be too much of a good thing; don’t overuse pauses or try to stretch out each segment indefinitely – know where to draw the line to make your presentation exciting rather than boring.

Using effective strategies for controlling the pace will make your longer speech much more enjoyable; let’s move on now to the next section which looks at how they can be used more deliberately by varying your technique during pauses.

Control the Pace with Pauses

Pacing your speech is one of the easiest and most effective ways of extending the length of a presentation. Pauses in between thoughts can greatly increase the time it takes to deliver a speech, while still maintaining interest with the audience.

For example, pausing as a way to signal that an important point is being made, or to catch breaths in between ideas. Pausing also gives the audience members time to react and process the information that has been shared.

Adding appropriate pauses throughout your talk can emphasize critical story points, draw attention to actionable takeaways, or give your audience a chance reflect on what you have said.

An effective way to ensure pauses in your speech is to be mindful of how quickly you’re speaking and using your breath effectively by taking natural, measured pauses between sections or points. By doing this, you can extend your attention span without running out of air and losing grip of your audience’s attention.

On the other hand, too much pausing or relying heavily on it can create a disjointed flow in your address and slow down the tempo considerably; halting any momentum that has been generated from your talk.

It is important for speakers to remember not all pauses are created equal – careful consideration should be given to their placement within a talk and make sure that they feel authentic and purposeful.

In conclusion, there is value in controlling the pace of a speech through natural pauses – appropriately used, they will add length while maintaining interest. The next section will provide further tips on how including stories into your speech can hold an audiences’ focus while conveying key messages more effectively.

Including Helpful Stories

Stories can be a powerful tool to add length to a speech and connect with your audience , especially when used appropriately. Incorporating stories into a speech can create engagement and evoke emotion.

By using real life or relevant stories, you can highlight the message of your speech and make it more meaningful.

However, if overused, stories can be distracting to the audience. Make sure that any story you include is pertinent to the point you are trying to make. If an anecdote is not adding substance, leave it out of the speech. Additionally, make sure your stories are brief; delve into no more than one or two key points.

By including helpful stories in your speech, you can provide extra details about your topic that could make the material more vivid for your audience.

To ensure the story is effective and entertaining , remember to keep it brief and relevant to the point you are making. Having accomplished this goal, it’s time to turn to another way of comprehending how to add length to a speech: Connecting with your audience.

Connect with Your Audience

Connecting with your audience is one of the most important elements of creating a successful speech. When an audience can connect with a speaker, their natural interest will tend to keep them engaged.

To achieve this connection, consider using stories, humor , and conversations to engage your audience and make it more memorable.

On the other hand, connecting with your audience can be challenging without practice. Even if you have great stories or jokes prepared in advance, they won’t do any good if you don’t know how to recognize your audience’s responses and adjust accordingly.

The tone and energy level during your presentation is also important; too quiet and you may lose the audience’s attention, too loud and you may come off as desperate.

It is possible to add length to a speech by connecting with your audience, but it is also something that should be approached with caution and thoughtfulness. Finding ways to engage an audience can make a speech longer, but it should always feel natural and relevant to the content being presented.

By understanding how to connect with an audience effectively, you can create a longer, more engaging speech that is sure to leave a lasting impression. Next we’ll discuss how important it is to explain key points in depth when creating a longer speech.

Explaining Key Points

When trying to add length to a speech, make sure to take the time to explain any key points. Explaining the essential elements of your talk with clarity and detail can quickly add up the minutes! It’s also beneficial to make sure to provide examples and analogies which help listeners understand your points more clearly as they are easier to remember.

Be sure to clearly answer questions from your audience, as this is another way to extend the length of a talk. Don’t be afraid to ask your listeners for their perspectives on the topic – this can be a great opportunity for dialogue that both adds length to a speech, and engages the audience in something interactive.

On the other hand, one must be cautious not to get carried away with adding too much detail or redundancies that will bore and risk losing audiences by providing too much information, which ultimately defeats the main goal of giving an effective presentation . Too much detail can lead attendees to lose focus or even distract them entirely away from the main points of your speech.

When done correctly however, explaining key points properly in a speech is essential for making it longer and creating quality content that resonates with an audience.

With some practice and experimentation, speakers will be able to find what methods are most effective when elaborating on certain topics. Moving forward, mastering these techniques can greatly aid in transitioning into the next section – practicing for perfection.

Practice for Perfection

A key part of stretching out your speech is to practice. It can be helpful to practice in front of a mirror or with an audience (starting small if needed) so that you can get feedback. As you practice, you will be able to identify the strengths and weaknesses of your speech, as well as any areas where you could add more information. This will allow you to adjust it until it is near perfect.

Another benefit to practicing is that you will be able to time yourself as well. This is important for determining how much content you need to add for optimal timing. By timing yourself, you will know when and how much material needs to be added in order to make your speech longer without going over the allotted time limit.

Finally, when practicing your speech, try to focus on enunciating your words and projecting your voice to fill the entire room. If your audience can’t hear what you’re saying, then all of your hard work in adding material will be in vain. Investing time in properly delivering the material is key for ensuring that the message is conveyed well and resonates with your audience.

By practicing for perfection, you can ensure that all aspects of your speech are ready for delivery come presentation day. Now let’s move onto a key component: repeating ideas.

Repeating Ideas

Choosing to repeat key ideas throughout a presentation can be an effective way of adding length and impact. In fact, repetition often improves understanding, gives coherence of thought, and encourages better memorisation.

Furthermore, using repetition as a tool for amplifying the core messages of a speech encourages a deeper understanding for the audience.

Reiterating ideas also serves a useful purpose in simplifying complex topics for those listeners who may not be familiar with the field. By repeating certain terms and phrases, more focused emphasis is placed on those points during the delivery of the speech.

Repetition acts as a catalyst for unraveling difficult concepts in order to reach an understanding between speaker and listener.

However, it is important to be aware that too much repetition has the potential to work against progress by invoking boredom or confusion in an audience.

It’s important to ask- are specific phrases being used that are absolutely vital? Is there another way to say it? Too much repetition can have negative repercussions such as disengaging the attention of the crowd.

It’s crucial not just to focus on the sheer number of times one may mention a particular idea but rather foster a creative approach to reiteration or rephrasing of their core messages.

To maximize effect, consider using rhetorical strategies such as anaphoras , metaphors or chiasmus which are all capable of adding interest and gravity to your words without causing tediousness.

When used correctly and carefully, repeating key ideas throughout your speech can be an incredibly useful tool for increasing its length and impact. Just remember not to overdo it! With this in mind let’s move onto our next section about using effective transitions when adding length to a speech.

Using Effective Transitions

Using effective transitions can be a great way to add length to a speech. When transitioning between topics, figures of speech can be used to bridge the gap between thought processes, creating an interesting connection and adding valuable seconds to your total speech length.

A few examples are: metaphors, similes, analogies, puns, and proverbs. However, the use of transitions all boils down to effective rhetoric and the speaker’s personal style – not all stories will suit all speakers in every situation.

The key is finding which type of transition works best with their topic and audience. While it may be tempting to use transitions as time- fillers and crutches for when you’re out of ideas, it isn’t sustainable as a long-term solution or very effective in holding audience interest.

It’s important to remember that transitions should be used to connect related points together – not fill voids or whitewash awkward breaks in conversation flow.

By carefully selecting the right type of transition that works for their speech topic and audience, speakers can create an engaging transition instead of an abrupt switch between two topics. This provides a smooth transition, while also adding valuable seconds to the overall speech length.

Heading into the next section, let’s discuss the importance of structuring your speech correctly so you can efficiently extend its length without losing its value or impact on the audience.

Conclusion: Crafting an Engaging Speech

Every great public speaker knows that it takes much more than just lengthy words and phrases to make a speech stand out.

While finding ways to add length is useful, crafting an engaging and memorable speech that captivates can be far more important. To do this, speakers should focus their energy on the overall quality of their words and the content that they present.

For a powerful conclusion that sticks in the audience’s mind and ties everything together so you don’t leave your audience hanging, try offering recommendations or solutions in your closing remarks that are relevant to the core themes of your speech.

A call-to-action or energetic summary of what was discussed can also be effective for leaving a lasting impression with your listeners.

Speakers should also strive to have a good command of nonverbal communication when giving speeches . Your demeanor plays an important role in creating a link between yourself, your topic and your audience.

Through facial expressions and body language like hand gestures and movement, speakers can effectively use visuals to bring extra emphasis to their key points. This helps hold listener attention while providing a memorable experience they won’t soon forget.

Ultimately, it’s all about anchoring the different elements of your speech together to create something extraordinary. Whether you add length with intricate stories, vivid imagery or summaries of your points, the goal is to ensure that you remain organized yet creative, engaging yet concise.

With these steps in mind, any speaker can enjoy the satisfying feeling of delivering an outstanding speech!

Common Questions

What methods can i use to ensure my speech remains interesting.

When it comes to ensuring that your speech remains interesting, there are several methods you can use. 1. Use humor. Adding a few humorous one-liners during your speech can be a great way to grab the audience’s attention and keep them engaged. 2. Connect on an emotional level with your audience. When crafting your speech, try to find ways to resonate with the audience by drawing on personal stories or experiences that they may relate to or stories of people who have been in similar situations as them. 3. Showcase facts and figures. Statistics and data can help prove a point in a persuasive way and is often more interesting than just talking about abstract concepts. 4. Insert visuals. Visual aids help break up the monotony of a lengthy speech and helps keep the audience’s eyes engaged on something other than the speaker for a few seconds. 5. Engage with the audience through questions or activities. Asking thoughtful questions throughout the speech or offering interactive activities are excellent ways to get the audience involved and create a more dynamic atmosphere.

How can I add meaningful content to my speech?

Adding meaningful content to a speech is an important part of ensuring that it resonates with your audience. Here are some tips for doing just that: 1. Identify Your Audience: Knowing your audience’s needs and interests will help you tailor your speech to provide the information and value they seek. Consider including a brief introduction about who you are speaking to, then adjust the topics of your speech accordingly. 2. Determine Your Message: If you’re not sure what message you want to send, take some time to think about why you are delivering the speech in the first place. Define exactly what value you plan to communicate and be as specific as possible. 3. Research Your Subject: Conducting research before writing or delivering your speech can help ensure that your content is relevant and accurate. This can also give you useful facts and figures which can add tangible data points to support your argument. 4. Utilize Examples & Stories: People remember stories more than facts, so intersperse anecdotes throughout your speech that demonstrate how the concept applies in real life situations. This can make abstract information more accessible and engaging for audiences. 5. Request Participation: Ask questions throughout your presentation that require audience participation in order to fill gaps in their knowledge, keep them engaged, and create shared experiences amongst those present. Ultimately, adding meaningful content to a speech requires thoughtful consideration of who you are speaking to and what type of value they expect from the presentation. With these tips, you will be well on your way to delivering a memorable, impactful talk!

What strategies can I use to lengthen my speech?

1. Add sources and references to your speech: Don’t just cite the source in-text, but explain the relevance of the source to your arguments. This will not only help to flesh out your argument, but also increase the length of your speech. 2. Include stories or anecdotes: Adding stories or anecdotes can work to bring a personal element to your speech, which can further bolster your arguments and increase its length. 3. Incorporate examples and visuals: If possible, back up your argument point with facts and figures that the audience can relate to. This will allow them to have a better understanding of what you are saying, as well as add more time to the total duration of your speech. 4. Speak in complete sentences: Not only does this make it easier for listeners to follow what you are saying, but it can also significantly increase the overall length of your speech. Be aware of run-on sentences, however – these can quickly make your speech confusing and/or too long to be effective. 5.Elaborate on ideas: Spend more time going into detail about certain points raised during the speech. This gives you an opportunity to explain why a particular subject is important, while also adding more words and extending total duration of the speech. 6. Insert pauses: Pausing after making a key point allows the audience time to consider and understand what was said before moving on, which then gives you more speaking time in turn if done correctly. 7. Introduce new topics: If time permits, introducing an entirely new topic late in the game can provide an excellent way to create an interesting endnote for your speech and extend its duration further still. 8. Use humor: A lighthearted joke here and there during a speech adds an unexpected element that will engage the audience and add an additional few seconds on top of whatever length you initially intended for your speech. 9. Reiterate: Reiterating important points throughout a speech is another great option for lengthening it without taking away from the original message being conveyed. It also helps remind audience members of key messages they might have forgotten in between other points being made during your presentation or talk

• Presentation

What is the best way to make a presentation longer?

• February 11, 2023

Whether addressing a large audience or discussing a complex topic, making a presentation longer without compromising its quality is a common challenge. In this article, we’ll talk about how to extend the duration of your presentation while still preserving its effectiveness, and you will learn how to make a presentation longer what to add, how to manage presentation time, and what you should avoid. With a longer presentation, you can delve more deeply into your Presentation design services , engage the audience, and provide insightful information.

Table of Contents

 How to extend presentation time

Giving a presentation that is too short can be detrimental to conveying your message to the audience, so learning how to make your presentation longer can help you ensure that you stay on point and capture the attention of the attendees.

Fortunately, there are several strategies for making a presentation longer which involve using more visuals, increasing your speaking time, and considering other elements such as storytelling. With these simple steps and recommendations, you can extend your presentation in order to make sure that it does not come across as rushed or incomplete.

Keeping an audience engaged in a presentation can be a challenging task as you have to keep them engaged for longer than a few minutes. This is why it’s important to make your successful presentation last longer. There are several tips and tricks that you can use to make your presentation last longer without compromising on the quality of the overall experience.

From using visual aids such as slides, videos, and infographics to adding interactive elements such as polls, quizzes, and simulations, there are many ways to help make the presentation more engaging and interesting. With these tips, you can easily make your presentation keep the audience captivated for longer periods of time.

What to add to make your Presentation Longer?

Here are some factors about what to add to a presentation to make it longer:

• In-Depth Examples : Incorporate detailed case studies, real-life examples, or anecdotes related to your topic. These stories provide context and help illustrate your key points vividly.
• Additional Research and Data : Include more comprehensive research findings, statistics, and data to support your arguments. This strengthens your credibility and allows you to discuss findings in greater detail.
• Extended Explanations : Take the time to elaborate on complex concepts, theories, or processes. Break down intricate information into easily understandable segments, making it more accessible to your audience.
• Comparative Analysis : If relevant, compare and contrast different approaches, products, or solutions. This provides a comprehensive view and stimulates thoughtful discussions.
• Audience Interaction : Incorporate interactive elements, such as polls, surveys, or audience questions. This engagement not only extends the presentation but also enhances audience participation.

Reasons why you might require a longer presentation?

Don’t look unprepared..

A presentation that is too brief may make it appear that you don’t know enough about the topic or that you didn’t put in enough effort to create the presentation. Even if you’ve delivered your message clearly and said all you need to, this can happen. A well-structured presentation will show your knowledge and ability to present the topic. Talking for the sake of others is not a good idea. If that happens, it is wise to tell your audience upfront and cut the presentation. In other cases, however, it is not necessary to cut the presentation.

Engage your audience.

Military training has shown that there’s a balance to strike when you deliver a message. This will ensure your audience feels connected with you and fully understands your key points. A presentation that is too short often doesn’t give enough information or time to the audience and will not allow them to fully grasp the topic.

Your presentation time was modified at the last moment.

If you are presenting to a panel, it is important to know that you can adjust the length of your presentation to fit any changes in your schedule. You will need to extend the presentation if you are asked to do so.

How long is the best length for a presentation? It depends. It will depend on what presentation you are making. These cases may call for a presentation that is between 10 and 20 minutes in length. In some cases, however, you might want to extend the time for your presentations.

How to make the presentation longer?

1-layout an outline of your presentation.

You can plan your speech by planning how long each section will take. This includes your introduction, key points and closing remarks. This will allow you to estimate the length of your presentation and can also help you decide which parts of your speech to shorten or added. This requires planning and defining the presentation structure in advance.

2-Slowly but deliberately

Public speaking can be stressful if you are nervous. You can take control of your voice by speaking slowly and allowing for a few pauses between points. Slowly speaking but deliberately will help you lengthen your speech and make it more memorable. It will also make your message easier to understand by helping your audience better grasp your message.

3-Create your PowerPoint presentation with the purpose

A PowerPoint presentation is an essential tool in any professional setting. You can use it to enhance your presentation and make it more meaningful. You can give yourself a break from the monotony of constant talking by adding a graph to your slides.

4-Add your logo and company information

The logo should be displayed at the beginning and throughout the presentation.

If applicable, show a company logo and contact information on a slide prior to or after each section in your presentation. If applicable, show a company’s mission statement on one or more slides prior to or after each section in your presentation.

If possible, share some background information about the origins of your business. If applicable, share some values that will guide your decision-making in your company

5-Repeat your important points

One of the key paths to making a presentation longer and keeping your audience interested is emphasizing your key points. When giving a presentation, repetition is okay. There are important points to make, so it’s okay to repeat, summarize, or recap them. Try reciting the sentence with a different tone of emphasis if you feel that something you have said is particularly important.

• While repetition is great, it’s best to not repeat the same thing twice. This could cause your audience to tire.
• It is a great idea to use key ideas and themes as words and phrases throughout the recap.

6-Reiterate key concepts

Don’t be afraid to repeat the key points throughout your presentation when you present. Repeating key concepts throughout the presentation will help you to make sure your audience retains them. Another tip for making a presentation that is brain-friendly is to stress the main points.

7-Tell a Story

Stories can help you convey a point to your audience and keep them engaged for longer. Telling stories is another way to use stories. Although it may seem obvious, storytelling is a great way to keep people interested in presentations. They are more entertaining than facts alone and are much more engaging than just facts. Share anything that is interesting, funny or relevant about you or someone else. Your audience will enjoy every minute of your story.

8-Enhance your presentations with videos

You can make your slides longer by adding videos to them or embedding video in your slides. This technique should be used in conjunction with others. When embedding a video into your PowerPoint presentations, ensure that it is relevant to the topic and speech. Also, keep in mind the attention span. If the video is too long, it can make your presentation boring. This technique should be used with caution. Also, remember that videos can have a different number of slides than expected. Each video is usually presented on a slide. For example, if you have a 10-minute presentation and need to use a certain number of slides, videos will require fewer slides.

9-Be an expert!

To make a more engaging PowerPoint presentation, you can also draw on your personal experience and knowledge. Confidence is key to what you say. Use stories to illustrate your points. You should be passionate about your message. This will keep your audience interested and engaged in the subject. If possible, you can add tips from experts to your presentation. This will increase credibility and help with credibility.

How to Extend Presentation Time Effectively

• Expand on Subtopics : Divide your content into subtopics and allocate more time. This enables you to provide comprehensive coverage of each aspect without rushing through them.
• Q&A Sessions : Reserve time for a thorough question-and-answer session at the end. This allows you to address audience queries, clarify doubts, and add valuable content.
• Engaging Visuals : Integrate more visuals like diagrams, charts, and images. These aid comprehension and allow you to elaborate on each visual’s significance.
• Case Studies and Examples : Go into depth with case studies or examples by discussing the background, challenges, solutions, and outcomes. This provides a more complete understanding of the topic.
• Analogies and Analogous Stories : Use analogies to explain complex ideas and expand on these analogies with stories or scenarios that resonate with your audience.

Shouldn’t about how to make a presentation longer

• Filling with Filler : Avoid padding your presentation with irrelevant information or excessive filler content. Audience’s value concise and relevant information.
• Reading Slides Aloud : Reading each slide word-for-word can be monotonous. Instead, elaborate on the key points, providing context and insights beyond what’s on the slide.
• Repetition : While a certain level of repetition can reinforce key concepts, avoid being redundant. Repeating the same information excessively can disengage your audience.
• Rushing : Don’t speed through the presentation to fit a specific time frame. Rushing compromises, the quality of your delivery and hinders audience comprehension.
• Lack of Engagement : Pay attention to your audience’s engagement level. Monitor their reactions and adjust your pace accordingly.

Extending the length of a presentation while maintaining its quality requires thoughtful planning and strategic execution. Incorporate additional content, engage your audience effectively, and explore topics in greater detail. However, remember that quality should always take precedence over quantity. You can create a longer presentation that captures your audience’s attention and delivers meaningful insights by striking the right balance.

How do you lengthen a presentation time?

Things you need to consider:

•       Prioritize speaking slowly and clearly, and state your key points multiple times throughout your speech.
•       Add length by including stories, examples, facts, and quotes in your speech to back up your main points.
•       Use a visual aid like a PowerPoint or a handout to add time and audience engagement.

How do you make a 20-minute presentation long?

If your presentation is too short, you can apply the 10/20/30 rule for presentations, in which there should be at most 10 slides, the presentation should last at most 20 minutes, and there should be no text smaller than 30 points. This way, you can extend your presentation to a 20-minute length.

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Natural Ways on How to Make a Presentation Longer Without Losing Your Audience

Don’t Just Tell a Story with Your Presentation, Entertain the Audience with It

Are you wondering how to make a PowerPoint presentation longer? Do you ever feel that a PowerPoint presentation is not long enough and wish there was a way to make it longer without having to add more slides or putting more details on each slide? We have good news for you! The trick is not to make it long but keep it interesting and up to the point.

The best speakers don’t talk for 15-20 minutes but can go for an hour or longer without people knowing it. How is that possible? Well, there is a little subtlety involved and it’s called pacing. The average PowerPoint presentation should be about 20 slides long. And for those twenty slides, the content should fit into about five basic categories. If you follow this rule you’ll have a good idea of how to lengthen a PowerPoint presentation and make it seem like time has just flown by.

Everybody likes a good presentation, but sometimes you need to make it longer. If a presentation is too short, people will not get enough information to fully embrace the topic. In this guide, we’ll show you how to lengthen your PowerPoint presentation naturally and easily. Please refer to these 15 tips on how to make a presentation longer naturally.

Table of Contents

• Introduction – Start by introducing your topic. – Prepare beforehand for a longer presentation – Expand on your logo and company information. – Expand on your agenda/timeline. – Tell a story. – Use a larger font size for all text, including bullets. – Use more pictures in your presentation. – Add music and videos. – Be the expert! – Show several examples of what you are presenting. – Add transition effects to every slide, no matter how short they may be. – Try to avoid using text on your slides if you can use a picture or graphic instead. – Layout a timed schedule for your presentation. – Present facts and quotes – Engage with your audience

Why would you need a longer presentation?

1 – start by introducing your topic.

First, start by introducing your topic. Begin with a clear statement of what you will be talking about and give a brief overview of the topic. Use an interesting and relevant story that engages the audience, followed by a list of bullet points highlighting key points in the presentation. Finally, end with an attention-grabbing title.

2 – Prepare beforehand for a longer presentation

• Prepare your material beforehand – you should have a good idea of what you want to say before the presentation starts. A good way of doing this is by writing down a list of points and subpoints, which will give you a good outline of your presentation.
• Practice makes perfect – When practicing your presentation, make sure that you practice it multiple times so that there are no mistakes in your delivery of the information. This is quite important if you are going to be presenting on a topic that is new to you. Read through all the slides two days before the actual presentation so that you can know what each slide says and how long each one lasts. Practice until your presentation flows smoothly without any hesitations or awkward pauses between slides. If you practice well enough, you’ll be able to make eye contact with your audience and keep their attention focused on you.

3 – Expand on your logo and company information

You can expand on your logo and company information by:

• Showing the logo at the beginning of the presentation.
• Showing a company’s logo and contact information on a slide before or after each section of your presentation (if applicable).
• Showing a company’s mission statement in one or more slides before or after each section of your presentation (if applicable).
• Sharing some history about how/why your business was started (if applicable).
• Sharing some values that guide decision-making within your organization (if applicable).

4 – Expand on your agenda/timeline

The purpose of your presentation is to inform, persuade or sell. You need to keep this in mind when you’re deciding how much detail to include. If you are presenting a training session, for example, consider including a detailed agenda with the time allotted for each topic outlined on it. For a product demonstration or sales pitch, go through your timeline step-by-step with the audience providing feedback along the way.

If you are presenting a business plan or strategy document, be sure to include details on how things will work from start-up until completion as well as growth projections and profitability expectations over time.

5 – Tell a story

You can use stories to help your audience understand a point and retain it longer. For example, if you’re talking about how to increase productivity and reduce stress, you could tell a story of how you used to work for a company that required long hours every week. You were stressed out all the time because of this and eventually decided that you needed to look for another job where they would let you take breaks when needed. This could help illustrate what happens when people are expected to work long hours without any breaks in between.

Another way that stories can be used is by telling them! It might sound obvious but one of the best ways to keep people engaged during presentations is through storytelling because they are more interesting than facts alone (and let’s face it: who doesn’t love hearing an interesting story?). If there is something interesting or funny about yourself or something relevant that happened with someone else, share it! Your audience will love every second spent listening to your story.

6 – Use a larger font size for all text, including bullets

The font size is another way to make your presentation seem longer. The larger the font, the more slides you can fit on a single screen, and therefore the longer your presentation will seem. But make sure it’s not too large!

Also, be consistent with your fonts throughout—if you’ve used one font for headings and another for text, you’ll get inconsistent results that aren’t as flattering as using just one throughout. And if you’re going big with everything else (bullets and titles), then go small with body copy—it’ll give people something to focus on besides all those slides of text!

7 – Use more pictures in your presentation

A picture is worth a thousand words. This is why you should use more images in your presentation. Images can help break up the text, illustrate your points, explain your points better than words could ever do, make your presentation more visually appealing, and make it easier to remember by forcing people to pay attention longer.

8 – Add music and videos

Adding music or videos to your presentation can help to keep the audience engaged, build up suspense, and even set the mood. It can also convey your message in a more effective way than spoken words alone.

It’s important that you don’t overdo it though! You want to avoid distracting your audience from your content or topic by using music that is too loud or too long, as this will make people lose interest. Likewise, if you add too many videos then it may be difficult for people to follow what’s going on!

9 – Be the expert!

You can also use your own experience and knowledge to make your PowerPoint presentation longer. Be confident in what you have to say. Tell stories that illustrate your points. Don’t be afraid to be enthusiastic about what you are saying, because this will help keep the audience engaged and interested in the topic at hand. You can also add some tips from other experts, if possible; this will help with credibility if it’s done correctly!

10 – Show several examples of what you are presenting

You can also use examples to make your presentation seem longer. Examples are a great way to show what you are talking about; however, if you have too many examples, the audience will lose interest and think that they know everything already.

The best way to use examples is by showing one example at a time and then explaining it thoroughly before moving on to the next one. This way, your presentation seems longer than usual because of all the explanations in between each example.

But wait! There’s more!

The most important thing about using examples is making sure they are relevant both to the audience and yourself as a speaker (or writer). The main goal of an example is not just providing information but helping people understand it better by providing real-life situations where these concepts have been applied successfully or unsuccessfully in the past.

11 – Add transition effects to every slide, no matter how short they may be

• Add transition effects to every slide, no matter how short they may be. The presentation will look more interesting and engaging, and it will help you avoid the problem of having an “all-nighter” with your audience.
• You can also use transitions to show a change in time or location: for example, moving from a house to an office building, from the office building to another building (your home), etc., or from a sunny day to a night time.

12 – Try to avoid using text on your slides if you can use a picture or graphic instead

Use pictures, graphics, charts, graphs, and tables instead of text if you want to make your presentation longer. A picture or graphic will take up less room on the screen than text. This gives you more time to talk about it and gives your audience more time to absorb what they are seeing.

Use a chart instead of text whenever possible! Charts are eye-catching and visually appealing. They also tell a story that can be difficult to convey through words alone.

If you have several points with numbers associated with them (e.g., 10% increase in sales) then try using a graph rather than listing them out one by one as bullet points in bullet slides within the presentation deck itself!

13 – Layout a timed schedule for your presentation

You can practice with a timed schedule to know how long your presentation is, and how much more time you need to add to it to make it longer. When you use a timed schedule to create a PowerPoint presentation, you will be able to focus on your content and not the time. Practicing with a timed schedule helps to develop your sense of pacing so that you can know when to pause for pictures or graphics and how much time to add to the rest of your content in order to make the presentation as long as you want it to be.

14 – Present facts and quotes

Start your presentation with a powerful quote, an interesting fact, or a story that will keep people engaged. This will not only make you seem knowledgeable about the topic that you’re presenting, but it can also catch your audience’s attention and keep them interested.

15 – Engage with your audience

Engage with your audience, ask questions, and get them involved. let them speak out about their opinions and write down short notes where necessary. This will engage your audience with the information that you are presenting, making it easier for them to remember what you said and also lengthen your presentation.

A longer presentation gives you more time to present the information and discuss your topic with the audience. Longer presentations also help you focus on what is really important about your topic and allows ample room for questions from the audience. If you have lots of figures, charts, graphs, or other types of data that support your presentation, then this is a good time to go with a longer one. Repetition allow you to explain complex information step-by-step, thus allowing the audience to better understand what you are trying to convey.

Hopefully, you found these tips helpful and are now better prepared to keep your audience engaged with your presentation. The key, of course, is to try and avoid getting too repetitive. Because whether you’re running through a slideshow, or moving your presentation towards a sale; it really doesn’t matter. In the end, you will have made your pitch–and that’s the goal, right?

A good presentation should captivate your audience, inspire them and make them want to listen to you. This is why the length of a presentation should always match its content. The idea of a presentation should be interesting enough for people to pay attention for an hour or two, so you don’t need slides that last longer than that. Some people say that a good way to lengthen your PowerPoint presentation is by including more information in each slide, but this goes against the purpose of using PowerPoint. If you want to get the best out of PowerPoint presentations, make sure you organize your ideas clearly to avoid having too many slides and wasting time on your talk.

In the end, your presentation length should be dictated by your audience and the content you have to share. You can never go wrong with being prepared for both a short and long presentation. In between a good night’s rest and some solid practice time, you can create an excellent presentation that will wow your audience!

At SlideBazaar, we help you create engaging and memorable presentations. Choose from our collection of professional templates or opt for our custom design services for a personalized touch. Your presentations deserve to be elevated to new heights, and we’re here to help you achieve just that!

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Microsoft Office vs. Google Docs, Sheets, Slides: Which Is Best?

I didn't shut down my windows pc for a week: here's how it went, learn python basics: let's build a simple expense tracker, quick links, table of contents, start with a goal, less is more, consider your typeface, make bullet points count, limit the use of transitions, skip text where possible, think in color, take a look from the top down, bonus: start with templates.

Slideshows are an intuitive way to share complex ideas with an audience, although they're dull and frustrating when poorly executed. Here are some tips to make your Microsoft PowerPoint presentations sing while avoiding common pitfalls.

It all starts with identifying what we're trying to achieve with the presentation. Is it informative, a showcase of data in an easy-to-understand medium? Or is it more of a pitch, something meant to persuade and convince an audience and lead them to a particular outcome?

It's here where the majority of these presentations go wrong with the inability to identify the talking points that best support our goal. Always start with a goal in mind: to entertain, to inform, or to share data in a way that's easy to understand. Use facts, figures, and images to support your conclusion while keeping structure in mind (Where are we now and where are we going?).

I've found that it's helpful to start with the ending. Once I know how to end a presentation, I know how best to get to that point. I start by identifying the takeaway---that one nugget that I want to implant before thanking everyone for their time---and I work in reverse to figure out how best to get there.

Your mileage, of course, may vary. But it's always going to be a good idea to put in the time in the beginning stages so that you aren't reworking large portions of the presentation later. And that starts with a defined goal.

A slideshow isn't supposed to include everything. It's an introduction to a topic, one that we can elaborate on with speech. Anything unnecessary is a distraction. It makes the presentation less visually appealing and less interesting, and it makes you look bad as a presenter.

This goes for text as well as images. There's nothing worse, in fact, than a series of slides where the presenter just reads them as they appear. Your audience is capable of reading, and chances are they'll be done with the slide, and browsing Reddit, long before you finish. Avoid putting the literal text on the screen, and your audience will thank you.

Related: How to Burn Your PowerPoint to DVD

Right off the bat, we're just going to come out and say that Papyrus and Comic Sans should be banned from all PowerPoint presentations, permanently. Beyond that, it's worth considering the typeface you're using and what it's saying about you, the presenter, and the presentation itself.

Consider choosing readability over aesthetics, and avoid fancy fonts that could prove to be more of a distraction than anything else. A good presentation needs two fonts: a serif and sans-serif. Use one for the headlines and one for body text, lists, and the like. Keep it simple. Veranda, Helvetica, Arial, and even Times New Roman are safe choices. Stick with the classics and it's hard to botch this one too badly.

There reaches a point where bullet points become less of a visual aid and more of a visual examination.

Bullet points should support the speaker, not overwhelm his audience. The best slides have little or no text at all, in fact. As a presenter, it's our job to talk through complex issues, but that doesn't mean that we need to highlight every talking point.

Instead, think about how you can break up large lists into three or four bullet points. Carefully consider whether you need to use more bullet points, or if you can combine multiple topics into a single point instead. And if you can't, remember that there's no one limiting the number of slides you can have in a presentation. It's always possible to break a list of 12 points down into three pages of four points each.

Animation, when used correctly, is a good idea. It breaks up slow-moving parts of a presentation and adds action to elements that require it. But it should be used judiciously.

Adding a transition that wipes left to right between every slide or that animates each bullet point in a list, for example, starts to grow taxing on those forced to endure the presentation. Viewers get bored quickly, and animations that are meant to highlight specific elements quickly become taxing.

That's not to say that you can't use animations and transitions, just that you need to pick your spots. Aim for no more than a handful of these transitions for each presentation. And use them in spots where they'll add to the demonstration, not detract from it.

Sometimes images tell a better story than text can. And as a presenter, your goal is to describe points in detail without making users do a lot of reading. In these cases, a well-designed visual, like a chart, might better convey the information you're trying to share.

The right image adds visual appeal and serves to break up longer, text-heavy sections of the presentation---but only if you're using the right images. A single high-quality image can make all the difference between a success and a dud when you're driving a specific point home.

When considering text, don't think solely in terms of bullet points and paragraphs. Tables, for example, are often unnecessary. Ask yourself whether you could present the same data in a bar or line chart instead.

Color is interesting. It evokes certain feelings and adds visual appeal to your presentation as a whole. Studies show that color also improves interest, comprehension, and retention. It should be a careful consideration, not an afterthought.

You don't have to be a graphic designer to use color well in a presentation. What I do is look for palettes I like, and then find ways to use them in the presentation. There are a number of tools for this, like Adobe Color , Coolors , and ColorHunt , just to name a few. After finding a palette you enjoy, consider how it works with the presentation you're about to give. Pastels, for example, evoke feelings of freedom and light, so they probably aren't the best choice when you're presenting quarterly earnings that missed the mark.

It's also worth mentioning that you don't need to use every color in the palette. Often, you can get by with just two or three, though you should really think through how they all work together and how readable they'll be when layered. A simple rule of thumb here is that contrast is your friend. Dark colors work well on light backgrounds, and light colors work best on dark backgrounds.

Spend some time in the Slide Sorter before you finish your presentation. By clicking the four squares at the bottom left of the presentation, you can take a look at multiple slides at once and consider how each works together. Alternatively, you can click "View" on the ribbon and select "Slide Sorter."

Are you presenting too much text at once? Move an image in. Could a series of slides benefit from a chart or summary before you move on to another point?

It's here that we have the opportunity to view the presentation from beyond the single-slide viewpoint and think in terms of how each slide fits, or if it fits at all. From this view, you can rearrange slides, add additional ones, or delete them entirely if you find that they don't advance the presentation.

The difference between a good presentation and a bad one is really all about preparation and execution. Those that respect the process and plan carefully---not only the presentation as a whole, but each slide within it---are the ones who will succeed.

This brings me to my last (half) point: When in doubt, just buy a template and use it. You can find these all over the web, though Creative Market and GraphicRiver are probably the two most popular marketplaces for this kind of thing. Not all of us are blessed with the skills needed to design and deliver an effective presentation. And while a pre-made PowerPoint template isn't going to make you a better presenter, it will ease the anxiety of creating a visually appealing slide deck.

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How to Add Length to a Speech

Last Updated: April 22, 2024 References

This article was co-authored by Lynn Kirkham and by wikiHow staff writer, Aly Rusciano . Lynn Kirkham is a Professional Public Speaker and Founder of Yes You Can Speak, a San Francisco Bay Area-based public speaking educational business empowering thousands of professionals to take command of whatever stage they've been given - from job interviews, boardroom talks to TEDx and large conference platforms. Lynn was chosen as the official TEDx Berkeley speaker coach for the last four years and has worked with executives at Google, Facebook, Intuit, Genentech, Intel, VMware, and others. This article has been viewed 19,485 times.

When you’re giving a speech, it often feels like it happened in a flash—so what do you do if you need to slow things down? Adding length to a speech is something many speakers and presenters have to do, and, thankfully, they’ve provided quite a few tips. In this article, we’ll share with you the best tricks to make any presentation longer.

Things You Should Know

• Prioritize speaking slowly and clearly, and state your key points multiple times throughout your speech.
• Add length by including stories, examples, facts, and quotes in your speech to back up your main points.
• Use a visual aid like a powerpoint or a handout to add time and audience engagement.

Speak slowly and clearly.

• Try not to sacrifice enthusiasm for speed. [1] X Trustworthy Source American Psychological Association Leading scientific and professional organization of licensed psychologists Go to source You can still be ecstatic and passionate while speaking clearly.

Repeat your important points.

• Although repetition is good, try to avoid repeating things back to back. This could tire out your audience.
• Key ideas and themes are great words and phrases to recap throughout.
• An excellent example of repetition is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s I Have a Dream , where he reiterates the famous lines, “ I have a dream that my four little children will… I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia… I have a dream today!”

Pause for dramatic effect.

• Think of your speech as a performance. If it were a play or movie, where would you see a dramatic pause?
• Count out your pause in your head or tap your finger at your side.
• Emphasize your pause by saying something like, “Now, think about that.”
• Mark in your speech where you’d like to pause dramatically. This will help you while practicing and can be a physical reminder during your speech if you're using cue cards.

Add an extra story or example to your speech.

• Write your story out on paper outside of your speech to flesh it out. [4] X Research source
• The story or example doesn’t have to be personal. It could be a metaphor, allegory, or even a reiteration of a well-known tale.
• Make your story extra dynamic by tapping into the feelings and senses of the moment. What was the weather like? Was there air blowing into the open window? Make your story as descriptive as you can so it sounds rich and interesting.

Use facts and quotes in your speech.

• If you’re directly quoting someone else, say “quote” before stating the quote and “unquote” after the quote’s final word.

Connect with the audience during your speech.

• Ask members of the audience to raise their hands if they’ve done X, Y, or Z.
• Toss in an energizing stretch break or audience-participation activity during the middle of your speech (this is great for a younger audience).
• Practice audience connection techniques in front of friends or family to test what works best for your speech.

Sync a slide presentation to your speech.

• Make sure to practice with your slideshow before presenting your speech, noting when you need to click over to another slide.
• Try to avoid reading directly from the slides. Your speech should already explain what’s on the screen. [7] X Research source

Play a video during your speech.

• Pick a video that has something to do with your speech. You want the video to add to your speech, not take away from it.
• Place your video at a point in your presentation where it’s natural. For example, don’t stop in the middle of a story to show the video version of what you’re describing. Play the video before or after you’ve said something important.

Walk around while giving your speech.

Time your speech while you practice and present.

• Practice your speech using different rhythms and pauses, and note what helps you stretch the time without awkward pauses.

Give the audience a handout during your speech.

• Try to walk and talk while you do this, so there isn’t an awkward silence drawing out the time.
• Hand out your resource during a lull in your speech or towards the end before a Q&A.

Take questions from the audience.

• Aim for leaving about 15 minutes at the end of your presentation for questions.
• Try bringing up your key points again if no one has any questions right away.

How Do You Change The Pace Of Your Speech?

Expert Q&A

You might also like.

• ↑ https://www.apa.org/monitor/2017/02/tips-speaking
• ↑ https://mannerofspeaking.org/2019/11/12/pauses-in-a-speech-why-when-and-how/
• ↑ https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/316145
• ↑ https://www.fau.edu/honors/undergraduate-research/documents/general-guidelines.pdf
• ↑ https://hbr.org/2013/06/how-to-give-a-killer-presentation
• ↑ https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2018/07/26/12-public-speaking-tips-to-make-your-speech-more-impactful/

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How to Cut Down a Presentation That's Running Long (Without Having to Talk Fast)

It’s the day of your big presentation. You’ve spent the last few weeks fine-tuning every detail. You rehearsed last night, and you were flawless. You’ve never felt more prepared.

But then you hear something that makes your stomach drop: “Sorry, but we’re going to need you to keep this to 10 minutes.” You’d planned for 20. How can you possibly pull it off in half the time?

Your first instinct is to just try and talk faster and maybe breeze past a less-important point or two–hopefully you can still cram in everything else, even if it’s a little rushed?

Nope, wrong strategy . Nobody can be effective speaking in hyperspeed. Here’s what to do instead.

Give Your Conclusion First

If you have only one takeaway from this article, make sure it’s this one: Always state your conclusion first. Running out of time before getting your key message across is devastating. So don’t wait. Get to the point right away, no matter what.

You may worry that your core message is kind of complicated and takes a little bit of background to spell out. Even so, get it out there first and then use your remaining time to fill in the context. If you can’t put your finger on what that essential conclusion actually is, though, you may have a bigger problem (but here’s how to solve it ).

Speak Either in “Layers” or “Modules”

Sometimes you may have a hunch that things could change and your talk might get cut short–which is great, because it gives you a chance to line up some contingency plans. There are two methods you can use to design your presentation with flexibility in mind so you can still manage to get through everything, even if you’re given less time:

This approach simply means designing your presentation from the inside out. The inner “layer” is your key message—the most important takeaway you want your audience to leave with.

The next layer consists of your other major points that directly support that key message. Then you have the details that support those key points—which together make up a third layer.

Think of it kind of like dressing for cold weather: If you get too warm, you can always take off a layer. Similarly, if you get short on time, you can take off one of the outer layers. What’s really important is that you communicate your inner layers effectively.

For example, let’s say you’re presenting about a project you’d like to get approval for. With the layering approach, you’d first deliver your key message about seeking approval for your project, followed by the supporting arguments and fundamental issues—the main benefits to approving the project, the outcomes it will deliver, and the challenges you may face. If you’re pressed for time, you’d simply leave out any additional details beyond that and stick just to those key points.

Modularizing

This means designing your presentation in “modules” that you can eliminate if necessary. While you still give your key message first, you don’t share all of your key points right away (even if they’re all relatively equally important).

Instead, you leave out some of the points altogether, depending on how much time you have. The thinking here is that it’s better to do a great job spelling out just one supporting argument, than doing a mediocre job rushing through three of them.

Think of it like going to dinner: You may want to skip either appetizers or dessert if you’re worried you’ll be late for the movie you bought tickets for.

So to continue the example from earlier, you’d deliver your key message, followed by your first key point (the reasons why the project should be approved) along with any relevant details. Then, if you have time, you can go over your next key point (intended outcomes of the project), along with those details. If you’re pressed for time, you’d drop the “challenges” point entirely.

Adjust Your Slides Accordingly (or Make Multiple Versions)

Finally, if you sense your presentation time might get cut down, you should design your slide deck to adapt—reflecting either a layered or modular approach, depending on which one you’d prefer taking. Or, you could just save a couple different versions of your deck so you can pick the right one depending on the circumstances.

At any event, when your time gets cut short and you’re forced to give an abbreviated presentation, having your slides out of order is going frustrate you as well as your audience. It’s much better to create either a few different slide decks or one that will work in any situation. While time is one factor you may not be able to control, how you use it is.

This article was originally published on Fast Company . It has been adapted here with permission. You can find more tips on starting your career in Fast Company’s newsletter, Hit The Ground Running .

11 Time-Saving PowerPoint Hacks For Creating Quick Presentations

If you’ve ever left a PowerPoint presentation for the last minute, you’ve probably ended up with the surprise that it takes up way more time than expected. We’ve all been there! Going from the default all-white canvas slides to a professional presentation that truly conveys your message and represents your brand takes time and effort. The easiest way to save time creating PowerPoint presentations is to outsource the process . It is, hands down, the most effective way to get the task of doing PowerPoint out of your hands forever. However, there are still a lot of time-saving PowerPoint hacks that do not need any money investment. Here you’ll find 11 easy tips to save time when creating PowerPoint presentations.

And even better, these PowerPoint hacks work even better in unison. At the end of the article, you’ll find a step-by-step guide on how to use these presentation tips in conjunction to save time and make a professional-looking slide pack in less than 3 hours.

The average time spent working on presentations is 4 hours

Working on presentation slides is a common task for pretty much everybody. Whether you’re a student, a manager, or a CEO, PowerPoint offers an incredible array of options for public speaking. Chances are, you’re already investing hours and hours of time and effort into PowerPoint presentations. For those who have to constantly work with it, learning how to save time creating PowerPoint presentations can become a key skill. According to our surveys, the average executive will spend around 4 hours a week working on presentations . This might not sound as much, but it sums up to 141 hours a year -probably at least $7,000 worth !

This means that learning how to save time creating PowerPoint presentations will not only free you time for more important tasks, but it can even save you precious money. Hopefully, these 11 time-saving PowerPoint hacks will help you become more efficient in your presentation creation process!

11 time-saving PowerPoint hacks to optimize your time better

The easiest way to make a PowerPoint presentation that looks both good and doesn’t take much time is to keep it clean and simple. A minimalistic style can be a great approach if you’re trying to save time when working on a PowerPoint presentation.

Luckily, there are a lot of options for improving your presentations’ design while still saving time! You don’t have to spend hours and hours working on PowerPoint presentations if you’re strategic in your approach. The PowerPoint hacks you’ll find in this list are easy to implement whether you’re a newbie or you’ve been working with PowerPoint all your life. And they will help you create a presentation that looks professional without taking hours of your time!

Time-saving PowerPoint hack #1: Plan ahead

One tip for saving time when creating a PowerPoint presentation that many people forget to take into consideration is working on the planning stage . Outlining might feel like a waste of time when you’re trying to get something done as fast as possible. However, it can be an invaluable step that can help you reduce time in the following tasks.

Planning can be something as easy as asking yourself some baseline questions for your presentation. For example, who is my audience, and what previous knowledge of this topic do they have? Or how do I want my brand to be perceived? Thinking about these things beforehand can help you define what you should include in your presentation and what it should look like. It can help you define what sort of data and information you need so you can make sure to collect it all beforehand. It can give you an idea of what sort of slides you should include, like a timeline, or a bar graph.

Even if it’s just a quick brainstorming session, having some previous idea of what you want your presentation to include will make the process of creating and designing your slides much more easier and efficient. Planning ahead will not only help you save time but also improve the quality of your presentation. By doing the extra work of outlining your presentation, you will be able to make sure that all the important points are being delivered and that your message is being conveyed exactly as you want it to be.

Time-saving PowerPoint hack #2: Outsource your PowerPoint presentation design

The most effective way to save time when creating a PowerPoint presentation is, hands down, not to do it yourself! This might come as a surprise for you, but outsourcing presentation design has become a very common practice among professionals in all kinds of industries. And no wonder why! It allows you to completely get rid of the annoying task of fiddling around for hours in PowerPoint while still getting an amazing final product.

If you want a truly outstanding presentation that will impress your audience and make them remember you long after the presentation is over, then professional help is probably the best way to go. By outsourcing your PowerPoint design you’ll not only get the ‘wow-factor’ assured, but you’ll also have much more free time for working on your presentation’s content and rehearsing or even other business tasks.

The power of outsourcing presentation design

When talking about being strategic with your time management and your presentation-making process, outsourcing is definitely at the top of the list . Leaving it at the hands of professional PowerPoint designers has been proven to save around 37 minutes per slide . This means that in a small presentation of just 7 slides you would be saving more than 4 hours!

Many people quickly dismiss outsourcing because they think that the price is too restrictive, or simply not worth it. But you would be surprised by the number of offers and options when talking about outsourcing presentation design. You can hire freelance designers , but there are also design agencies that work with worldwide companies and are experts on professional PowerPoint design. 24Slides works with some of the biggest companies worldwide, and offers custom-designed slides starting at only $9 ! You can even adjust the price according to how much detail you want to be put in your slides and how soon you want them to be delivered.

For a little extra pay, outsourcing offers you the possibility to completely forget about working on presentations, freeing up time for more important tasks. Plus, you get a custom-made, professional design that will take your presentation from ‘okay’ to ‘unforgettable’.

Time-saving PowerPoint hack #3: Use PowerPoint Templates

If you prefer non-paid options, however, there’s still a lot of PowerPoint tips and hacks you can use to save time when working on your presentations. And one of the most effective ones is definitely to work with templates . Templates are pre-made presentation designs you can fill and edit to fit your own needs. Microsoft Office itself offers a huge library of PowerPoint templates that you can go through to easily upgrade your presentations in pretty much no time.

There are also thousands and thousands of templates you can find online. There are probably PowerPoint template designs for every single topic you can think of. So if you’re looking for a specific business model or theme, it’s definitely worth looking up for some specialized templates that will help you get a great presentation with minimal effort.

On our Templates by 24Slides platform, you’ll find hundreds of professionally designed PowerPoint templates. And the best thing is, these are all completely free of charge ! You can download as many as you like, and even mix-and-match slides to create your perfect presentation.

The downside of using templates is that you’ll still have to invest some time in editing and formatting the slides to fit your presentation. Even if it’s only just adding the text to the template, you should still expect some effort to be needed. And as specialized as a template might be, you’ll never find a slide-pack that fits exactly your every need like a custom PowerPoint presentation would. But it is still a great option when looking for ways on how to save time creating presentations, as you’ll no longer be creating a presentation from scratch.

Time-saving PowerPoint hack #4: Convert your documents into PowerPoint slides

Another PowerPoint hack that can save you time when creating a presentation is directly converting your document into a PowerPoint file. For example, you can automatically convert a Word document into PowerPoint slides . You can even use different title sizes to divide your document into slides automatically!

However, it’s important to remember that a PowerPoint slide should never have the same amount of text as a word document. This PowerPoint hack is great to save your time with some tedious copy-and-pasting. But you’re still going to have to edit and alter it to make the most of your PowerPoint presentation. Filling your slides with text blocks is one of the easiest ways to bore and lose engagement with your audience. So when using this tip, be sure to be strategic when working with text!

Time-saving PowerPoint hack #5: Use the Design Ideas Tool

If you don’t find a template to fit your needs, or you want to make your slides from scratch, there are still some quick hacks that can make your PowerPoint design tasks easier. A great option for this is to take advantage of the Design Ideas Tool . This is a new feature for the Microsoft 365 subscription that will truly change how you design PowerPoint slides.

The Design Ideas Tool offers automatically generated design suggestions for your slides. It has great-looking, professional layouts, and it allows you to convert text into images and even graphs. This smart feature is definitely a gold mine when talking about saving time when working on PowerPoint slides. Like many features, it has a learning curve, but it’s fairly easy to use. You can also easily customize the slides after you’re done with what the Design Ideas Tool has to offer. In short, it’s a great starting point for quick PowerPoint slide design!

Time-saving PowerPoint hack #6: Use a unifying customized background

A great hack to make your PowerPoint presentations look better and cleaner with minimum effort is to work in your slides’ background. An all-white default slide background is a telling sign of a last-minute presentation, and it can make you look lazy and not detail-oriented. A good background can completely change the look of your entire presentation. And the best thing is that it’s very easy to do !

A dark background , for example, can give your presentation a very clean and professional look. It can help make the other elements pop-up, and keep your audience engaged. A textured background can take a plain presentation into an interesting one. The most important thing to keep in mind when working with backgrounds in PowerPoint is that it should never get in the way of your slide’s content.

An extra tip for saving time with PowerPoint backgrounds: Use a neutral backdrop that can be used for several slides. Not every single slide needs to have a unique background. You can save a lot of time repeating the same background along with your presentation. Even better, it’ll become a unifying design element, and you can save a more eye-catching, unique background for a title slide, for example.

Time-saving PowerPoint hack #7: Work with icons

Icons are great visual elements that can truly upgrade your presentation’s looks. This PowerPoint hack can quickly and easily turn a plain slide into a professional-looking one. Icons are an amazing tool for presentations because they can represent all kinds of concepts and categories in a very small space. Plus, the fact that they are images instead of text will help you declutter your presentation’s slides and make them look cleaner and sharper. Use icons to play with your slides’ layout. You’ll see how easy it is to make a presentation look much better with just a few of them!

The best thing about icons is that they’re easily accessible too. You can find hundreds of free icons online and import them into PowerPoint. You can even create your own icons! When talking about time-saving PowerPoint hacks, however, the best option out there is the Templates by 24Slides platform . You’ll find icon packs for all kinds of business topics that you can download for free and directly copy-and-paste into your own slides.

Time-saving PowerPoint hack #8: Stick to a single color palette

One of the most tricky things to take into consideration when working on PowerPoint design is the color palette. It can easily become a very distracting and time-consuming detail. Picking a color scheme will help you easily edit any PowerPoint template you choose to use, or even the slides you create with the Design Ideas tool. It gives you quick access to a determined color palette so it’s easy for you to edit and unify your slides’ design.

Microsoft Office offers some pre-made color palettes you can pick from, but you can also create your own color scheme in PowerPoint! This will not only save you time when working with your slides, but it’ll make sure that all your presentations stay on-brand.

Time-saving PowerPoint hack #9: Make the most of PowerPoint add-ins

Another PowerPoint hack that very few people take advantage of is using PowerPoint add-ins . PowerPoint add-ins are specialized tools that give you extra features beyond what Microsoft Office offers by default. If you’re someone who works with presentation design constantly, PowerPoint add-ins can help you make your work a little bit easier.

You can find amazing free PowerPoint add-ins for very specialized tasks. For example, THOR allows you to copy an image’s position into another slide -great for adding watermarks and logos. Word Cloud , just like its name suggests, helps you create and personalize word clouds for your presentations. Or my personal favorite, PowerPointLabs .This add-in has a lot of amazing PowerPoint hacks that will make your life easier. Its “Positions Labs” automatically organizes images and icons in your slides, making sure they’re the same size and arranged just like you want them to be, so you don’t have to do it manually. It might seem like a small thing, but if you have ever worked with icons and tried to get several of them in a straight line, you surely know how much time it can take!

Time-saving PowerPoint hack #10: Learn to use master slides

Master slides are perfect for “baking” repetitive elements. It can help you add watermarks, logos, and any kind of element that you want to keep throughout your presentation. You can even set information concerning the design, like themes, backgrounds, colors, animation effects, and much more. While it might be tricky to get the hang of this PowerPoint hack at first, it’s definitely worth the effort, as it can help you save tons of time.

Learn more about working with master slides with this Ultimate PowerPoint template guide .

Time-saving PowerPoint hack #11: Reuse your slides

Finally, a must-do for all those who have to constantly work with PowerPoint presentations: Reuse ! Why start a new presentation from scratch every time when you’ve already spent so much time and effort on the last one? This doesn’t mean that all your slides will look the same. You can still edit them and change elements. Reuse a set of slides for another presentation by changing the color themes and icons to fit the new topic. You can even reuse slides within the same presentation. For example, you can reuse a slide layout that can be used to convey different kinds of information.

How to save time when working with a constant presentation demand?

Working with PowerPoint presentations constantly can feel like a tiresome, tedious task. But practice makes perfect. The more you get to work with PowerPoint design, the more likely it is for you to become better and spend less and less time on it. The last two PowerPoint hacks are a must for those who have to constantly create new presentations. Learning how to use master slides will allow you to have a go-to design whenever you need to work on a new presentation. And reusing your slides for a new presentation is definitely a life-saving hack when working on PowerPoint!

If your work demands a high amount of PowerPoint presentations constantly, you might also want to consider getting a dedicated team of designers for it. If it’s a repetitive task that takes time away from you and your team recurrently, then it’s definitely worth it to get some professional backup.

24Slides offers subscription packages that will allow you to tackle anything from 50 to 10,000 slides per month . The best thing about it is you get a dedicated team that will learn everything about your brand and preferred design styles, so the outsourcing process will be more seamless each time. This assures you a constant flow of unique, outstanding slides without any worry . And, you can share your subscription with your colleagues, guaranteeing that everyone’s slides in the team will be sharp and perfectly aligned with your overall brand.

How to make a presentation in less than 3 hours

Working on a last-minute presentation? Don’t worry! As daunting as it might seem, it’s possible to make a clean-looking presentation with limited time. Of course, how much time you spend working on a presentation depends on the amount of information, the number of slides, and the design effort you want to invest in them. But it is possible to make a good, quick presentation . Especially when using the PowerPoint hacks detailed above! Here I’ll show you how to use these time-saving PowerPoint tips to create a quick minimalistic presentation that still looks good with minimal effort.

Step 1: Planning (25-30 min)

You might be surprised to spend so much time on this first step, but it will help you go through the next ones more easily. Think about what your audience should take away from your presentation. Organize your topic point by point to make sure you’re covering everything you want to convey.

Take time to also think about how you are going to present specific information. If you have chronological information, will you use a timeline? If you have number-based data, will you use a graph or chart? What kind of graph? This will help you define what kind of slides you need when looking for templates. Try to collect beforehand all your information so you’ll not have to go back and forward when you’re working on filling your template.

Step 2: Pick your main template (15-20 min)

There are so many great templates options out there that it’s easy to lose time just browsing through. That’s why it’s extra important to set yourself a limit if you’re short of time. Keep tabs on your options as you go through, and after your time is done, pick one template to use as a base.

This base template doesn’t need to fit your presentation outline perfectly. It’s more about design and style, as you can add things and edit them later. To truly make a presentation in less than 2 hours, preferably pick a neutral base template, as it will be easier to standardize later if you decide to add other slides.

Step 3: Search for complementary slides (20 min)

Now is when your outline and planning will come in handy. Look for specific slides according to your needs. For example, a timeline slide design, an organization chart, title slides, or anything your base template does not have. Again, the more neutral the slides you pick, the easier it’ll be to make them fit later!

Step 4: Fill your slides’ content (20-25 min)

Now that you have all the slides together, it’s time to fill them with your information. You can use the conversion Powerpoint hack if you have all your information in a Word document, for example. Just remember to limit the amount of text on your slides. Your PowerPoint slides are a complement to the speaker, not the other way around! They should have written every single word you’re planning to say.

Step 5: Add icons and visual aids (30 min)

PowerPoint is a visual medium, so take advantage of it! If anything can be replaced by an icon, graph, or image, is probably a good idea to do so. This will make your presentation more visually appealing and will make your information easier to read for the audience too. This step is all about adding icons, changing the template’s images to something that fits your topics, and so on.

Step 6: Standardize your slides’ design (25 min)

Finally, make sure your slides match each other, especially if you’ve added slides from different templates packs. Make sure you’re using the same color scheme throughout your presentation to make it look cleaner. You can also add design elements from your base templates (if it has any) to your added slides to create a feeling of unity. In short, make sure all your slides’ designs match!

Step 7: Rehearse (20 min)

Before a presentation, rehearsal is a must! Even if it’s just going through your slides to check everything is in order, double-checking can make or break your presentation. Some as easy as typing errors can make your presentation look sloppy and last-minute. Go through your outline and make sure that everything you need to add is converted and tweak the final details.

And that’s it! A clean-looking presentation in less than 3 hours. It’s not likely to be a work of art, but a minimalistic PowerPoint presentation can still look professional and sharp. It’s all about practice, and the more time you invest in working with PowerPoint, the easier and better it will become.

Save time by outsourcing: How to get a GREAT presentation in 1 hour!

However, if you do want a work of art that will leave an impression on your audience, and still get a presentation done at record time, then why not let professionals do what they do best? Creating outstanding PowerPoint slide designs takes not only time and effort but also experience. While anyone can make a PowerPoint presentation, there’s no easy and quick way to make a truly unique, eye-catching presentation.

If you’re looking for ways to save time creating presentations, outsourcing is the best possible solution for you. And, you’ll save tons of time! Even if it is a last-minute project, you can get amazing results you wouldn’t be able to get otherwise by entrusting your presentations to professionals. If you want a PowerPoint to wow your audience but you’re a little bit tight on your schedule, outsourcing your presentation design can become a true live-saving investment!

Outsourcing Step #1: Get your content ready (20-25 minutes)

Most PowerPoint outsourcing agencies work exclusively with the design part of the presentation. This means the presentation’s content is all on you. After all, you’ll be the one presenting! If you’re looking to outsource your PowerPoint presentation design, make sure you have your content ready to show how you want it divided into slides. A default all-white presentation is enough. If you have any design references, brand colors, or any other details that you want to be included in your presentation you should also think about them beforehand!

Outsourcing Step #2: Upload your presentation (10-15 minutes)

Now you just need to give your baseline presentation for the designers to work their magic! 24Slides offers an integrated platform where you can upload your presentation, select your design style, slide treatment, due date, complementary services, and any other detail you want to include for your presentation.

After it, you can just rest and relax, as the designers will do all the rest! You can even save time in your presentation by turning it in to be worked overnight. 24Slides’ designers will have ready your custom PowerPoint design by the morning.

Outsourcing Step #3: Give your feedback (15 – 20 minutes)

24Slides is committed to creating the perfect presentation design for you. That’s why you’ll always be able to give feedback and ask for changes if you think something is missing. Customer satisfaction is fundamental for our designers. You’ll always get a draft so you can approve or change anything you think necessary. You won’t be charged until you’re 100% happy with how your presentation looks!

Outsourcing Step #4: Wow your audience with an outstanding presentation!

Finally, you’ll receive the final presentation, perfect and ready for you to make an impression on your audience. And you have had the content ready from step #1, you can even start practicing and rehearsing while your presentation is getting done by our best designers. Outsourcing is an incredibly empowering tool for speakers in all sorts of business. It frees precious time and allows you to make the most of every tool PowerPoint has to offer.

Start saving time and effort in your PowerPoint presentations

Working on your PowerPoint presentations can be a tiresome, time-consuming process. Hopefully, these PowerPoint time-saving hacks will help you make your process a little bit more efficient. Remember that practice makes perfect! The more you try out and learn how to make the most out of these tips, the easier it’ll get. Try not to go for big, complicated designs and focus on getting clean and sharp slides that look professional before working on something more advanced.

Outsourcing presentation design is a great way to not only save time when creating presentations. It’ll also get you the best possible results to impress your audience. Professional PowerPoint designers will make sure that not only your message is perfectly conveyed, but also that your brand is represented and that your slides are as visually engaging as possible. And the best thing is, you can relax and completely forget about PowerPoint presentations forever! We’ve polled thousands of customers, and the overall consensus is that professional presentation design has helped them save an average of 37 minutes per slide . Just imagine how much time you would be able to save in a simple 20-slide presentation!

If saving time and effort when creating PowerPoint presentations sounds good, then you must try 24Slides design services . We work with some of the best companies all around the world by creating amazing PowerPoint slides that bring their message to life. Our designers will transform your presentation into a work of art that will make sure to stay in your audience’s mind long after the presentation is over.

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The Seven Best Ways to Make a Speech Longer

Hrideep barot.

• Speech Topics , Workplace Communication

Giving a speech can seem like an ordeal, especially if you don’t know ways to keep it engaging and comprehensive, covering everything and not going off track. Whether it is a school or university speech, a corporate meeting speech, or an event-based speech – you might be required to speak for approx. 5-7 minutes. If that seems like a task to you, here are some insightful ways that will help you make your speech longer and let those minutes sweep by!

Some practical and resourceful ways to prolong your speech can be classified in two ways: one in terms of content that is through voiceful delivery, sharing resources and videos, providing additional examples that support your content, and second in terms of interaction which involves exchanging stories, including question and answer rounds as well as fun segments such as quizzes, polls, and other relevant activities.

However, even before you put these techniques into practice, it’s essential to be focused and specific on the research because “content is the key.” If you aren’t well-versed with the content you provide, you may not be able to use these methods as you will lack materials in the first place. Thus, even before looking for additional ways to support your speech, ensure that the primary content is in place.

1. Practice Voice Modulation to Make Your Speech Longer

The importance of voice modulation is not hidden. If you have ever come across someone who speaks so fast that one cannot grasp a single meaning out of the speech and someone who speaks so slow that one has slipped into daydreaming, then you are undoubtedly aware of how essential voice modulation is and its benefits.

Advantages of Using Voice Modulation

Voice modulation and regulation have numerous advantages. Some of the most important ones include:

• Firstly, it keeps the audience hooked to your speech. For example, when a theatre artist or an actor performs a monologue, you will see that their delivery will include high tones, focusing on the critical and low and medium on the not so essential and passerby information. Additionally, thanks to their voice modulation, there is a very high chance that you even vividly remember what they might have said.
• Secondly, pauses help emphasize the key pointers. Not only does voice modulation include alternating between tones but also taking pauses. When you pause, mainly after an important message, you give time for comprehension and allow your message to sink in with the audience.

The pointers mentioned above have been evident across many famous speeches for a long time. For example: In the very famous “I Have a Dream” Speech by Martin Luther King, you will find that the phrase “I Have a Dream” has been emphasized by using a higher tone compared to the surrounding content. Similarly, effective pauses have been made throughout the speech after conveying important messages where the audience is seen pondering over the content just delivered to them.

So, to elongate your speech, it is essential to practice voice modulation, as changing your tone, pace, and pausing will not only buy you time but will also simultaneously reap fruitful outcomes such as impacting your audience and giving them time to think over what you just said.

“The most precious things in speech are the pauses.” Ralph Waldo Emerson (quotesgram)

2. Lengthen Your Speech by Engaging with Your Audience

Talking for 5 minutes on a stretch can seem burdensome; in the sense that there is a chance that questions like “what will I say for so long,” “how can I talk for 5 minutes? That’s too much!”, “What am I even going to say?” are popping up in your head. But here’s the secret – you don’t need to deliver a monologue for the entire time if you include multiple engagement segments with the listeners.

Ways to Engage With the Audience

You can interact and engage with the audience by including sections such as:-

• Questions and Answer Rounds – Here, you can ask questions to the audience related to the previously delivered content. This will make the environment interactive and help you infer if they have grasped the message you want to provide. For example, consider that you are delivering a speech on the topic “Investment Strategies You Can Follow.” After sharing ways you can invest; you can include a quick Q and A segment asking the audience strategies you shared, the more/ less risky ones, etc.
• Sharing a Story – This can often entail asking people in the audience to share their personal experiences or give their viewpoints about the topic. Taking the same example of “Investment Strategies You Can Follow ,” you can, at certain intervals, ask the audience their experience with any of the strategies, if they have had a positive or negative experience, and any tips to add to the same. 

Benefits of Engaging With the Audience

• Including multiple conversational segments makes the audience feel like their views matter, and they tend to concentrate, grasp, and interact to their best capability.
• Additionally, interacting with the audience is an insightful way to gain non-verbal feedback. It will help you understand if the audience can make sense of the information you are delivering.

Thus, engaging with the audience is a constructive way to make your speech longer and gain subtle feedback.

3 . Lengthen Your Speech by Showing Videos

Another method that you can include in your speech delivery to make it longer than usual is by showing videos and other visuals like presentations to the audience. You will benefit from a few minutes to spare when your viewers engage in such visuals and gain some simultaneous benefits.

Benefits of Including a Visual Stimuli

The impact of visual learning is way higher than verbal. One can keep explaining and elaborating on a very expertized topic, still find that their audience isn’t much engaged since they don’t have any visuals to look at. However, learning and understanding are increased when both modes are combined. To continue with the same example of “Investment Strategies,” ; along with your speech, you can prepare a presentation highlighting key strategies and testimonials of people who have benefited from the same. Moreover, you can find some informational videos on YouTube and other platforms that can supplement your content, and you will be good to present!

Thus, if you wish to elongate your speech to meet the allotted time, you can always show videos on relevant topics and keep a presentation covering pointers or examples that the audience can see!

“Content is the king, but design is the queen.” Anonymous (Pinterest)

4. Include Examples to Lengthen Your Speech

If you were to follow a traditional outline and give an introduction, a few pointers, advantages, disadvantages, and then the conclusion, there is a chance you might be left with some time in hand before your fixed time is up. However, one way to make your mundane framework a little more comprehensive is by including relevant examples.

Why Is It Essential To Include Examples

Supplementing your theoretical content with some helpful examples has some hidden benefits –

• Firstly, Examples help better understand the extensive content more straightforwardly. If you were to talk about “Environmental Awareness,” you can include examples of the Chipko Movement in India or the Contemporary Environmental Movement in Europe to set the context of how environmental awareness has been done through history.
• Secondly, you can also link examples to the previously mentioned interaction with the audience by asking relevant examples from their end and making the session more engaging and interactive!

Similarly, if I were to state the subtopics and give a brief explanation in this article, there are likely some unfilled gaps of understanding still left open. However, if not noticed, I am trying to include relevant examples such as “Investment Strategies” and “Environmental Awareness” mentioned above to help you better understand the theoretical information provided.

Hence, if you wish to communicate the information thoroughly, try to include relevant examples wherever possible so that passive listeners easily understand it! And I’m sure 2 minutes will sweep by!

5. Incorporate Fun Segments to Lengthen Your Speech

You are more likely to enjoy a speech or a talk if it’s engaging rather than monotonous. Having to hear some continuously for a considerable period is a task, and to deliver one – is a more strenuous one. So, to make it less challenging and more interactive and fun – it’s advisable to include collaborating segments to your speech.

Some Creative Ways to Make Fun Segments

These sections can take the form of anything – ideas as mentioned earlier, such as conversing with the audience or showing videos; however, you can choose to be more creative by including:

• Polls: wherein you can put up a question and ask the audience to vote and choose a particular option. For example, “ Shares vs. Property,” which is a more risky investment? ” can be an example of a poll question.
• Games: This can be a more informal way, such as giving a picture, finding an object, solving a riddle, etc. For example, Word Puzzles of investment strategies can be a fun and light game to play.
• Quizzes : This can include a series of questions similar to polls but having more options and elaborative than the former. One such question could be – “What is the best way to learn about investment – books/news/media/none.”

Comprising your speech with such segments will also help you understand if the audience is grasping the content and take up a few minutes of your otherwise speaking time.

Resources You Can Use While Making Your Segments

There are some helpful websites that you can use to make quizzes, polls, and games such as: –

• Slido – https://www.sli.do/
• Mentimeter – https://www.mentimeter.com/
• Kahoot – https://kahoot.it/
• Padlet – https://padlet.com/

These websites are user-friendly and have been used by people worldwide to supplement their presentations, talks, and lectures. So, go ahead and use these tools smartly to make your speech not only unique but also secretly longer!

6. Share Resources Towards the End

A very subtle way to lengthen your speech without seeming repetitive or dragging is to share some helpful resources on your topic towards the end.

How Does Sharing Resources Help?

Sharing resources and additional information has its pros. Mainly, it portrays the idea that you wish to help the audience gain more insight on the said topic and lets you gain some opinions and views from the audience. So, when you research and prepare the content for your delivery in the first place, you can save some resources in the form of articles, papers, videos, movies, books, and NGOs (whichever applies to your respective topic), which you can then provide in the form of presentations, pamphlets or even verbally.

For example: in this very article, I have tried my best to provide you resources through videos, website links, and examples. Similarly, if you were to talk about “Investment Strategies,” you can provide website links, news and journal articles, video suggestions, courses, and books that will assist them in understanding the concept at a deeper level.

Sharing helpful resources can take up approximately 2-3 minutes, often aiding in lengthening your speech helpfully and effectively.

7. Reiterate The Main Points to Lengthen Your Speech

Another way that you can make your speech longer yet more impactful is by repeating the main themes and points you want to convey to the audience. You can do so by paraphrasing and focusing on the tone and pauses through voice modulation.

For example, if “a happy mind is a key to a happy heart” is the message that I wish to convey, I can directly say this statement once at the start and once at the end. Other times, if I want to communicate the same idea subtly, I can include phrases like – “a happy heart often depends on a happy mind” or “happiness of mind and heart are linked.”  

So, I essentially wish to convey that by summarizing the essential pointers and phrasing the content, you can elongate your speech and gain the benefit of creating a substantial impact on the audience.

As we approach the end of the article, I have tried my best to provide resources that answer your question and subtly help you gain some benefits. One can also include some not so helpful ways, but if you were to take up some tools, it might as well be beneficial! We hope that this article has been helpful to you! Happy Speeching!

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Maya Angelou

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• Video Editing
• Animation Tips
• Website Tips

The best AI animation generator in 2024

Renderforest Staff

02 Sep 2024

13 min read  

Hear us out: you no longer need to hire an animator or spend hours struggling with animation software to bring your creative vision to life. Why? Because, like everywhere else, AI is taking over. If you have a great animation in mind and are not sure where to start, keep reading. To save you hours of research, we’ve put together a list of the best AI animation generators that can help you create professional animated videos in no time.

The best AI animation generator

• Renderforest for creating professional-quality videos
• Pictory for converting long-form content into short videos
• Lumen5 for transforming text into video content
• Offeo for creating short, attention-grabbing videos
• Synthesia for creating videos with virtual presenters
• InVideo for social media and marketing content
• Animoto for creating marketing videos and slideshows
• FlexClip for all-in-one video creation
• Magisto for creating polished videos from raw footage
• Veed.io for online content creation and editing
• Wave.video for video ads and promos

What makes the best AI animation software? 

When it comes to the best AI animation software, a few key features can set a platform apart from others. Let’s take a look at what makes a top-notch AI video generator and why these factors are key to creating high-quality content.

AI-powered editing capabilities

Needless to say, the main thing to consider in an AI animation generator is its AI capabilities. Look for an AI technology that can analyze your footage, generate videos that match your brand’s tone of voice, suggest outlines for your videos, and so on. 

Also, if the AI features are too complicated to work with, you may want to try something else. The best animation apps shouldn’t make you spend hours figuring out how to make an AI video . In fact, the whole point of AI is to make your life easier. You should be able to enjoy the benefits of the AI video generator without any hassle. 

Template variety and customization

Next, we have template variety and customization options. Whether you’re making an explainer video, a social media clip, or a presentation, having a range of templates makes it easy to find a style that suits your needs. The best animated video maker will also let you tweak these templates to match your brand’s colors, fonts, and overall vibe. This level of personalization is key to making your videos feel unique and grabbing your audience’s attention right from the start.

Text-to-video conversion

Text-to-video conversion is proving to be a game-changer in video production. This feature allows you to turn written content into videos with just a few clicks. Imagine being able to turn your blog post into a dynamic video without needing to film anything. It’s perfect for anyone looking to repurpose content in minutes. This way, you can reach audiences who prefer watching over reading.

AI-generated voiceovers and avatars

AI-generated voiceovers and avatars add a fun twist to your animations. Look for an animation maker who can create realistic voiceovers in different languages and accents, making your videos accessible to a broader audience. Plus, customizable avatars can represent your brand or message in a unique way. This helps humanize your content and can make your videos more relatable.

Access to a stock media library

Finally, check whether or not your animation app gives you access to a stock media library. The best AI animation software should offer a rich collection of images, video clips, and music tracks that you can use for various animation styles. This saves time and money since you won’t have to search for or purchase external media. It also boosts the quality of your videos, making them more visually appealing.

How we evaluate different tools

We take our evaluations seriously, relying on reviews, ratings, and thorough research to assess each tool. Our approach is all about honesty and authenticity; we’re never paid for placements. Instead, we dive deep into user experiences and expert insights to bring you genuine recommendations. You can trust that our selections are based on what truly works, not on who’s paying us. Your trust matters, and we’re committed to earning it by providing real, unbiased evaluations.

Quick look at the best AI animation generators 

Best free AI animation generator for creating professional-quality videos

Renderforest.

Renderforest pros

• User-friendly interface that’s easy to navigate
• Powerful AI technology that generates a video from a simple idea input
• Wide variety of animated templates suitable for different types of projects
• High-quality exports available in various resolutions and formats
• Large library of music tracks and sound effects
• Customizable characters and scenes
• Cloud-based platform so you can work from anywhere 
• Collaboration tools that make it easy to work with team members
• Affordable pricing options 

Renderforest cons

• Advanced features require a premium subscription
• Higher-resolution exports may need a paid plan

If you want to have professional videos ready in no time without spending a fortune on them, Renderforest is possibly the best free AI animation generator you can find. 

What’s best about Renderforest is the variety of templates it offers. Once you pick the template, you can choose to go with the AI flow, which gives you a professional animated video ready in just a couple of minutes. It does all the hard work by generating an outline, script, and, of course, the video itself, all of which you can customize and edit if necessary.

On top of it all, Renderforest has a very intuitive interface so that even those new to video creation can customize their projects. The video editor also includes a rich library of music and sound effects, helping you enhance your videos without needing to source audio elsewhere.

Renderforest pricing

Renderforest offers both free and premium plans. The free plan gives access to basic features, while premium plans start at $9.99 a month and unlock advanced functionalities, including higher-resolution exports and more customization options.

Best free AI animation generator for converting long-form content into short videos

Pictory pros 

• User-friendly interface 
• Great voice sync capabilities
• Simplifies video creation with quick and easy branding options
• Feature-rich

Pictory cons 

• Limited ability to use multiple audio files and background music (BGM) for different scenes
• AI occasionally struggles with selecting appropriate stock content
• Inaccuracies in identifying specific objects or scenes within images
• Doesn’t support team collaboration
• Limited options for text-to-speech voices

Pictory is a viable option for those who want to break down their longer-form content into short animations. Using AI technology, Pictory takes the hassle out of editing by automatically creating short clips from lengthy text or videos. It also comes with great features for branding—like adding your custom logos, colors, and fonts—so your AI-powered animations always match your brand’s style.

Some of the standout features of Pictory include adding text to videos through audio and even providing automated transcription suggestions. You can use Pictory to quickly generate highlights from long webinars or other extended videos and save yourself hours of editing.

Pictory also supports bulk uploads, voice-overs, and subtitle management, making it a good choice for anyone looking to streamline their video creation process.

Pictory pricing

Pictory’s pricing starts at $25 a month for the Starter plan, $49 a month for the Professional plan, and $119 a month for the Teams plan. They also offer customized Enterprise plans and a free 14-day trial.

Best free AI animation generator for transforming text into video content

Lumen5 pros

• User-friendly, web-based platform
• Rapid text-to-video conversion
• Extensive collection of royalty-free media
• Various customization options
• Streamlined team collaboration

Lumen5 cons

• Basic editing capabilities
• Occasional glitches with beta features
• Premium plans can be pricey
• The free version includes watermarks
• Lacks color correction tools

Lumen5 is all about making video creation easy, especially if you’re not an editing expert. Just drop in your text or a URL, and Lumen5’s AI does the rest, turning your content into high-quality videos. It’s a great way to repurpose blog posts or other written content into videos with minimal effort.

What makes Lumen5 stand out as the best AI animation generator for storytellers is its simple drag-and-drop interface. You can quickly create videos that look professional without getting caught up in the details. And with access to a huge library of stock photos and videos and the ability to customize templates, it’s easy to keep your videos on-brand.

Lumen5 also offers AI-generated voiceovers in over 40 voices and multiple languages, helping your videos reach a wider audience.

Lumen pricing 

Lumen5 offers pricing starting at $29 a month for basic features, increasing to $199 a month for advanced professional functionalities. A custom plan is also available for enterprise needs.

Best free AI animation generator for creating short, attention-grabbing videos

• User-friendly interface with plenty of features for the price
• High-quality templates and useful animation presets
• Integration with Shutterstock for stock media
• Background remover is currently disabled
• Some bugs can occur when working with heavy animations or scenes
• Video export and preview can be a bit buggy
• Download times tend to be slow

Offeo is the best AI animation video generator if you want to create quick yet attention-grabbing videos. This cloud-based video creation tool makes it easy to animate logos, create product videos, and prepare social media posts in different formats—square, vertical, or landscape. With a bunch of predefined templates at your fingertips, you can easily edit and personalize your designs to fit your marketing campaign.

What makes Offeo stand out is how easily it turns static projects into fun animations. You can control layers and timing, which is helpful for advertisers. The platform also allows graphic designers to mix images, remove backgrounds, and adjust colors, as well as add text, graphics, and even watermarks. 

Offeo pricing 

Offeo is priced at $19 a month for monthly payments and $14.08 a month when billed annually.

Best AI animation generator for creating videos with virtual presenters

Synthesia pros 

• Huge library of realistic AI avatars
• Supports multilingual video creation with built-in translation
• Offers customizable templates and backgrounds
• Includes cloud-based storage for easy access to media assets
• Facilitates teamwork with collaboration features

Synthesia cons

• Limited customization of avatars beyond pre-set options
• Some users may find the AI-generated voices less natural
• Higher pricing compared to simpler video creation tools
• Dependence on AI means occasional limitations in creativity and flexibility

Synthesia is a solid choice if you’re on the hunt for the best AI animation maker to create videos with virtual presenters. Launched in 2017 by a group of AI researchers and entrepreneurs, Synthesia’s mission is to democratize video creation—by eliminating the need for costly equipment and professional skills. With Synthesia, all you need to do is type your text, and the platform’s advanced AI technology converts it into a polished video featuring virtual presenters. 

In terms of features, Synthesia offers a user-friendly experience packed with tools that make video creation easier and more personalized. One of the standout features is its wide selection of AI avatars, which can deliver your content in various languages and accents. 

The platform also lets you customize templates and backgrounds to match your brand’s look, guaranteeing consistency in every video. And if you’re working with a team, Synthesia’s collaboration features make it easy to share and edit projects together, streamlining the entire animation process.

Synthesia pricing Synthesia offers a Free plan with basic features, and paid plans range from $18 to $59 a month. Custom enterprise pricing is also available.

Best AI animation generator for social media and marketing content

InVideo pros

• No steep learning curve
• Effortless AI video generation from text
• Extensive stock media library with over 16 million assets
• Realistic, human-sounding voiceovers in multiple languages
• Real-time collaboration tools for team projects

InVideo cons 

• Limited AI generation minutes in lower-tier plans
• Slower loading times on occasion
• Pricing may seem high to some users

InVideo is a user-friendly platform ideal for creating videos without the hassle of complicated editing. As one of the best AI animation generators , it takes your text and converts it into high-quality videos.

With its AI-driven capabilities, you can automatically generate scripts and add video clips, background music, subtitles, and transitions. The platform also features an intuitive editor, allowing you to tweak scenes or change voice accents with simple commands. 

InVideo’s vast library of over 16 million stock photos and videos, combined with its realistic AI voiceovers, ensures that your videos look and sound top-notch. Plus, it supports real-time collaboration, so you and your team can work on projects together seamlessly.

InVideo pricing

InVideo offers a free plan with basic features and limited AI generation minutes. The paid plans start at $25 monthly for the Plus plan, which provides more minutes and storage. For more advanced needs, there’s the Max plan, which costs $60 a month and offers even greater access to features and resources. Both of the plans have discounts if you opt for the yearly packages. 

Best AI animation generator for creating marketing videos and slideshows

Animoto pros

• Pre-built video templates tailored for various needs
• Simple drag-and-drop editor for quick video creation
• Large stock library with photos, videos, and music
• Easy sharing options on social media platforms

Animoto cons

• Limited editing features for more advanced users
• The premium version can be quite pricey
• Lacks deep customization options

Animoto is a user-friendly video creation tool that comes in handy for anyone looking to make quick videos without dealing with complicated editing processes. Its intuitive drag-and-drop editor lets you piece together a professional-looking marketing video in just minutes. The platform also comes with a large library of stock photos, videos, and music, making it easy to create high-quality animations for your social media channels.

Like many other AI animation tools on our list, it offers collaborative features that allow your team to work together on projects. In other words, it’s a solid pick if you’re searching for the best AI animation generator to streamline your video production process.

Animoto pricing

Animoto offers a free plan, with paid plans costing $16 a month, $29 a month, and $79 a month. 

Best AI animation generator for all-in-one video creation

FlexClip pros 

• Easy-to-use drag-and-drop interface
• Large library of royalty-free music and visuals
• Supports multiple video formats and resolutions
• Custom branding options with logos and watermarks
• Simple voice-over recording and editing tools

FlexClip cons

• It can be slow with larger files due to being cloud-based
• Template quality may not be as high as some competitors

FlexClip is among the best AI animation generators , especially for those needing a cloud-based video editing platform that can help create video content in minutes. With its drag-and-drop interface, this software lets you create videos and presentations without the need for editing experience. Its large library of royalty-free music, videos, and images lets you add a professional touch to your projects. 

FlexClip supports different video formats and resolutions, so you can share your work on various platforms. You can also boost your brand visibility by adding custom logos and watermarks to your AI-powered animation videos.

FlexClip pricing

FlexClip offers a free plan to get started, while paid plans begin at $19.99 a month for monthly packages. With paid plans, you gain access to features like 1080p downloads, custom branding, and additional storage options.

Best AI animation generator for creating polished videos from raw footage

Magisto pros 

• Smart editor that simplifies video creation
• Access to a vast library of stock footage
• Easy to use with templates for various occasions
• Compatible with iOS, Android, and web platforms

Magisto cons 

• Occasional import glitches
• Subscription plans can be pricey

Magisto , brought to you by the well-known video-sharing platform Vimeo, is a user-friendly video editing app perfect for anyone looking to create quality content on the go. Designed for mobile devices and accessible on iOS, Android, and web platforms, it simplifies the video creation process with AI. 

The platform also allows you to import clips from your device or Google Photos™ and even access licensed music tracks to set the mood for your videos. It offers templates for different occasions, like birthdays, anniversaries, and work updates, making video editing simple and fun.

Magisto pricing

Magisto’s pricing starts at $9.99 per month for the Professional plan.

Best AI animation generator for online content creation and editing

Veed.io pros

• User-friendly interface
• Quick video edits with simple tools
• Great for social media content creators
• Auto-subtitle and translation features
• Fully online, no downloads needed

Veed.io cons 

• Limited advanced editing features
• Some features require a strong internet connection

Veed.io is an online video editing platform designed to simplify video creation. With its user-friendly interface, even those with little to no experience in video editing can dive right in and start creating. The platform is entirely web-based, so you can work from anywhere without downloading hefty programs and slowing down your computer. 

What really sets Veed.io apart is its focus on speed and simplicity, making it perfect for social media content creators, marketers, and influencers. You can put together engaging videos in no time, thanks to features like auto-subtitles and easy editing tools for the animation creation process.

Plus, its efficient processing means that you won’t be waiting around for your projects to finish. If you’re in a rush and need a reliable tool to help you create professional-quality animations effortlessly, Veed.io is one of the best AI animation generators available.

Veed.io pricing 

Veed.io offers plans starting at $19 a month for the Basic plan. Discounts for yearly payments apply. 

Best AI animation generator for video ads and promos

Wave.video pros

• All-in-one platform for recording, editing, and hosting videos
• Supports live streaming with guest features
• Offers secure, password-protected video sharing
• Includes advanced tools like animated text generator and subtitler
• Easy-to-create, stylish video thumbnails

Wave.video cons

• Advanced editing features might feel overwhelming for beginners
• Limited customization options for some templates
• Pricier than some alternatives for full features

Wave.video is a versatile tool that does more than just basic video editing. It’s a comprehensive platform where you can record, edit, and even host videos, making it a great option in your search for the best AI animation video generator .

The platform has tools like an animated text generator, subtitler, and video collage maker, allowing you to transform rough cuts into polished, professional-looking clips. Plus, with its secure hosting and password-protected sharing, you can control who sees your videos. You can even create video thumbnails directly within the platform.

Wave.video pricing

Wave.video offers plans starting at $20 monthly for basic features, with more advanced packages available depending on your needs.

What is the best AI animation maker? 

So, what is the best AI animation tool? While there’s no definite answer, Renderforest has the best and easiest-to-use AI technology out there. With a range of templates, access to stock footage, and various customization tools, the video maker offers everything you need to create the AI animations you have in mind. Try it out yourself, and let us know what you think.

Related reading:

• The best video editing software for YouTube in 2024
• The 9 best AI video generators of 2024
• The 16 best animation apps of 2024

Best AI animation generators FAQ 

What is the best ai cartoon generator.

Renderforest is one of the best AI cartoon generators you can find. It offers a user-friendly platform for creating animated cartoons and videos with customizable templates. Users can adjust characters, scenes, and animations to bring their creative ideas to life. Renderforest’s versatility makes it a top choice for both beginners and professionals looking to create animations without advanced technical skills.

What is the most popular AI anime generator?

The most popular AI anime generator is arguably Waifu Labs. It allows users to create custom anime characters by adjusting various features such as hair, eyes, and clothing. You also have Artbreeder, which combines different artworks to create unique anime-style images, and DeepAI’s Anime Style Transfer, which can transform photos into anime art. For regular cartoons and animations, Renderforest offers a range of templates you can work with.

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18 Surprising Things That Happen to Your Body When You Stop Drinking Alcohol

From weight loss to better sleep, the long-term and short-term side effects can be noticeable.

What happens to your body when you stop drinking?

Alcohol withdrawal timeline, how to stop drinking, bottom line.

If you’re thinking about joining the #SoberCurious movement , you’re not alone. There are currently over 750,000 uses of the hashtag on Instagram, and more and more people are considering giving up alcohol as an experiment (think: Dry January but at other points in the year) — or for good. So what happens to your body when you stop drinking alcohol? We asked experts to break down everything you might notice immediately, and the effects that can continue long after you’ve had your last sip.

What does alcohol do to your body?

You’d be hard-pressed to think of something in your body that isn’t impacted by alcohol. According to Matthew Mosquera , MD, the Medical Director of the Alcohol, Drugs, and Addiction Inpatient Program at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts and an instructor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, alcohol affects three main systems in your body:

Light drinkers tend to be mostly spared from the effects on the liver, but for heavy drinkers, the liver becomes inflamed, which can be dangerous over time,” says Dr. Mosquera. According to The National Institute for Health,  light drinking is defined as seven drinks per week for women, with no more than three in one day, and no more than 14 drinks per week for men, with no more than four in one day .  That said, your liver has to work hard to process and filter alcohol, no matter the quantity. When you’re drinking heavily on a regular basis, it can overwhelm the liver’s capabilities, causing a cascade of health issues, including liver disease, liver cancer, and  acute alcohol-related hepatitis  — all of which can be deadly.

Cardiovascular System

“Alcohol is a monkey wrench in our homeostasis,” says Dr. Mosquera. “Both light and heavy drinking dehydrates you, so your heart compensates by elevating your blood pressure and your heart rate.” In fact,  an analysis of seven studies  in the journal Hypertension , found that  people who had just one drink per day showed elevated blood pressure when compared to non-drinkers.

Cognitive Function

Drinking increases anxiety levels and impairs your memory’s ability to function, adds Dr. Mosquera. But we’re not just talking about one night of “blacking out” and forgetting what happened. The compound effects of drinking on your brain can be serious. One study found that even moderate alcohol consumption can cause changes to the brain’s structure , leading to cognitive decline in areas associated with memory and reasoning. In the study, more excessive drinking translated to more rapid cognitive decline.

While these areas may take the greatest hit from regular drinking, they aren’t the only ones affected. Alcohol’s inflammatory properties don’t just affect the liver — the stomach can also become inflamed, which, along with the dehydration, can affect digestion and lead to constipation . While your liver and stomach can usually rebound if you stop drinking, with inflammation comes an increased cancer risk over time.

Alcohol can also impair your ability to get restorative rest because you’re less likely to enter REM sleep, which has been shown to increase your risk of dementia .

Regular drinking raises estrogen levels and reduces testosterone. For men, this can look like lowered libido and erectile dysfunction, as well as decreased muscle mass. For women, it can increase the risk of breast cancer, impair bone health, and lead to mood changes.

And, emotionally, alcohol can make you not only more anxious, but more irritable, more impulsive and less inhibited — not just after a drink, but compounded over time, says Dr. Mosquera. These effects can also be exacerbated if you have a mental health diagnosis like bipolar disorder, he says.

Ironically, some of the first things you might notice are similar to what happens to your body when you’re drinking. “Anxiety is the most common thing people notice upon stopping,” says Dr. Sharone Abramowitz , MD, a psychiatrist and president of the California Society of Addiction Medicine . She also notes that a craving for alcohol is common once people stop.

Other common side effects:

• rapid heart rate
• restlessness
• sleep problems

The good news? These effects will subside as your body adjusts to the absence of alcohol.

The first few days:

Some positive effects of no alcohol will come on after just a few days of giving up your nightly nightcap. Alcohol inhibits your ability to reach a REM state while asleep, so after a few days without alcohol, you’ll start to notice that you’re dreaming more and getting deeper, more restorative rest. “You’re also more hydrated, so your heart rate will start to go down,” says Dr. Mosquera. “After a few days, you’ll notice an increase in energy and more mental clarity.”

After a week:

After just seven days without alcohol, your immune system starts bouncing back. While you might not notice it, your hormones are starting to improve as well, with libido and sexual function revving back up. While heavy drinkers are the only ones who experience liver effects from alcohol, the improvements can be felt very quickly. “If you’re a heavy drinker, this is where your liver health starts rebounding,” says Dr. Mosquera.

After a month:

Your body’s systems bounce back over time, but after about 30 days, you’ll start seeing a difference. “Your skin has had a month to absorb all the hydration and nutrients and B vitamins that your body hadn’t been getting while you were drinking, so this is when you’ll see noticeable improvements to your skin,” says Dr. Mosquera. There’s also likely to be some weight loss within a month, due to the absence of the calories you were ingesting in alcohol (as long as you haven’t swapped them for equally high-calorie comfort foods).

After 3 months:

Consider this when the cloud will start lifting mentally. “After a few months, the brain will begin to return to health,” says Dr. Abramowitz. Your alcohol-induced anxiety levels have likely stabilized, too. Your sleep cycle is continuing to improve, so you’re getting even more REM sleep and feeling more rested.

After 6 months:

Six months without alcohol is when you can begin to see your immune system optimizing and fighting the good fight again, though depending on the time of year and your environment, you might not immediately notice. If it’s winter, you may notice fewer colds than in the past, but in warmer months, the changes may be more subtle, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t there. Your body is starting to operate more efficiently, too. “Giving your body six months of water absorption will improve your digestion and constipation,” says Dr. Mosquera.

After a year:

“The one-year mark is when your overall risk of different cancers has leveled off,” says Dr. Mosquera. “No level of drinking is safe when it comes to cancer risk, but after a year without alcohol, you’ve experienced a significant risk reduction.” After all this time, you might also appreciate a lot of the emotional effects of a life without alcohol. “Your relationships are likely improved, and your resilience has increased,” says Dr. Mosquera.

On top of that, you’re likely feeling less anxiety and are better able to regulate your emotions when life’s hiccups arise.

Depending on whether you’re a light or heavy drinker, your strategy around cutting back will be different. “For a light drinker, you don’t really need to taper,” says Dr. Mosquera. “Heavy drinkers should make a plan to avoid withdrawal symptoms like seizures.” If you’re drinking more than seven drinks a week for a woman or 14 for a man, especially for extended periods of time, consider talking to a doctor first before stopping cold turkey.

If you’re considering a break from alcohol, it might also be helpful to think about why you drink. “Everyone turns to alcohol for a reason,” says Dr. Mosquera. “Maybe it’s relief from your worries or connection with friends. Try to think about what you’ll replace alcohol with so that you can still get that outlet.” Instead of meeting friends regularly at a bar to connect and wind down, suggest a new workout class you could do together or just meet up for a walk. If drinking is your go-to way to blow off steam after a busy week, schedule a booze-free, self-care activity for Friday afternoons, like indulging in a hobby you enjoy or a pampering session like a massage.

Quitting without a plan can be extra tough because you’ll still want to fill the emotional void that alcohol used to sop up. Make sure you have another strategy lined up that actually works for you (i.e., don’t say you’ll take up yoga if you hate yoga), so you won’t feel tempted to rush back to drinking when life gets stressful. Another potential option: The rise in great-tasting non-alcoholic beverages may make the switch even easier.

Why trust Good Housekeeping

Brittany Burke Robert, the author of this article, has written about health for Oprah Daily, Well+Good, Livestrong, Reebok and other publications and digital brands for over 15 years. She has extensive experience working alongside clinicians and providers to create physical and mental well-being content that's useful, informative, and clinically effective. For this article, she conducted interviews with multiple doctors for their expertise and recommendations and read research on alcohol and its effect on the body. In addition, the editor of this article has spent the last 15 years as a health editor, covering all things health, fitness, nutrition, and wellness and adheres to the highest journalistic standards.

Brittany Burke Robert has written about health for Oprah Daily, Well+Good, Livestrong, Reebok, and other publications and digital brands for over 15 years. She has extensive experience working alongside clinicians and providers to create physical and mental well-being content that's useful, informative and clinically effective.

Jihan Myers is an award-winning journalist and editor who has covered women's health for more than 17 years for digital brands and publications including Good Housekeeping, O, The Oprah Magazine, Prevention, and Marie Claire , among others. She has experience covering all things health, fitness, nutrition, and wellness and adheres to the highest journalistic standards.

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Ina Garten's Baked Potatoes Are the Best I've Ever Tasted

I never really considered changing my method until now.

Simply Recipes / Getty Images / Molly Adams

As a child, I would look forward to the weekly roast dinner my dad would make. Instead of fighting over the perfectly rare slices of beef, my sisters and I would duke it out over the largest baked potato , dressing them up with butter and sour cream.

The baked potatoes I grew up with were simple: poke a few holes in a russet and roast until tender. Nothing fancy, but it got the job done. I never considered changing the way I’d always made them. Why fix something that isn’t broken, right?

Well, that all changed when I came across a baked potato recipe from the queen of elevating everyday recipes: Ina Garten. True to Ina's form, the ingredient list for her Crusty Baked Potatoes with Whipped Feta Cheese is simple, but the method and layering of flavors take the humble baked spud to new heights. I gave the recipe a try for a recent Sunday family dinner, and in my husband's words, “This is the only way to eat a baked potato.”

Simply Recipes / Molly Adams

How Ina Brilliantly Elevates Baked Potatoes 

So what makes this version of baked potatoes so special? There are several things, but let’s start with my favorite: the crust! I’ve always eaten the skin of baked potatoes. Growing up, my mom told me that the skin, just like the bread crust, made you smart. In Ina’s version, no clever tricks are required to convince diners to enjoy the entire baked potato. In fact, the skin is the very best part.

To create an amazing crust, Ina calls for making a herby, lemony sea salt to rub all over the potato. A mini food processor is best for this job, but if you don’t have one, you could use a mortar and pestle, or chop the herbs very finely before mixing them with the salt and lemon zest.

For the salt rub to adhere to the potatoes, ensure they are super dry after scrubbing them clean. I use a stiff bristle brush to clean the potato skin, then wrap them in a tea towel for several minutes to get rid of residual moisture. Then, I brush each potato with olive oil and use my hands to adhere the salt rub to the surface. Once the potatoes are properly seasoned, they roast for 60 to 75 minutes at 400˚F. My potatoes were of average size, as shown in the image below, and they took 75 minutes to become tender. When they emerge from the oven, the skin is crisp, golden brown, and full of flavor.

These baked potatoes would be perfect as is, but they are taken up another notch with a dollop of whipped feta . Crumbled feta, cream cheese, fresh lemon juice, and olive oil get whizzed in the food processor until smooth, then the creamy spread is set on top of the split baked potatoes. The warm, fluffy interior of the potato paired with the cool, tangy whipped feta is like a symphony of flavors and textures for the senses.

I served the baked potatoes with grilled ribeye , seasoned with some leftover herbed salt, and steamed green beans , giving a whole new meaning to meat and potatoes!

My only advice? Make a double batch so that you have leftovers. I've been reheating the potatoes in the air fryer for a quick lunch. The skin gets even crispier, and the feta topping gets bubbly and golden brown. What could be better than that?

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The HBR Guide to Standing Out in an Interview

• HBR Editors

How to dazzle your interviewer — and what to do if the conversation goes sideways.

Job interviews can be daunting. In this video, author Amy Gallo culls advice from top experts in the field and shares strategic tips on how best to prepare, what to do, and what to say so that you can make a great impression in your next interview. She also offers advice on what to do if you notice your interviewer losing interest or you’ve stumbled over some answers. Mistakes happen. Just keep going and stay focused. Answer the current question as if it’s the first one. Even acknowledging the situation with a corrective statement like, “Am I giving you what you need? Is there other information I could give you?” and then following their cues can help dig you out of the current hole and get the conversation back on track.

There are many moving parts to a job interview, which go far beyond just questions and answers . This video, hosted by HBR’s Amy Gallo, offers a quick, all-in-one guide to acing an interview , from preparation to real-time strategies. Have interview-related topics we should cover or questions you want us to answer? Let us know here .

• This story is by the staff at Harvard Business Review.

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David Firestone

Deputy Editor, the Editorial Board

Trump’s Misleading Attempt to Make Harris Responsible for Inflation

A new TV ad from Donald Trump’s campaign shows how desperate he is to tie Kamala Harris to President Biden’s economic policies, and how far he is willing to stretch the truth to make that point to voters who just aren’t buying it.

The ad, titled “The Debate We’ve All Been Waiting For: Harris vs. Harris,” shows Harris talking on a TV screen about high prices.

“Everyday prices are too high,” she says. “Food, rent, gas, back-to-school clothes.”

Then, on another TV screen beside the first one, she says, “That’s called Bidenomics.”

This goes on a few times, with Harris talking about the price of ground beef and housing, skillfully edited with a clip of her saying, “Bidenomics is working,” as if part of the same sentence.

FLASH: Multiple presidential campaign ads have run nationally on ABC during Clemson-Georgia so far including this Trump campaign spot -- pic.twitter.com/ppChtCkjwq — Medium Buying (@MediumBuying) August 31, 2024

But of course these remarks were not made at the same event, or even in the same year. She was talking about the high prices caused by the pandemic at an event last month in Raleigh, N.C. , where she acknowledged the financial pressure of inflation on middle-class families and unveiled an economic plan to address it.

The clips about Bidenomics were from a speech in Washington in August of 2023, where she was promoting the good news from the monthly jobs report that had come out that day. The full context of her remarks :

And as today’s jobs numbers make clear: Bidenomics is working. Last month, we created 187,000 new jobs. That means today — yeah, go ahead and clap. I don’t want to step on the applause. That means, today, 187,000 more Americans are able to go to work, to provide for their family and invest in their future. Today’s numbers reflect the point that President Biden has made many times: America’s economy is strong and experiencing stable and steady growth. In fact, since we took office, we have created more than 13 million new jobs. In two and a half years, we have created more jobs — more new jobs than any other administration has created in four.

Harris, now running her own campaign, won’t be using the word Bidenomics anymore; it will be uttered only by Republicans, trying to blame her for the post-pandemic rise in prices. That hasn’t been very successful so far. As a recent Washington Post poll shows , only about a third of Americans believe she had significant influence on Biden’s economic policies.

But Republicans won’t be mentioning the 15 million jobs created during the Biden administration, the robust stock market or the dwindling remains of inflation. Instead, following the standard Trump method, they will just issue a series of misleading, distorted ads.

Katherine Miller

Opinion Writer and Editor

In Harris’s Ads, Project 2025 Is No Longer a Joke

Every week on The Point, we kick things off with a tipsheet on the latest in the presidential campaign. Here’s what we’re looking at this week:

Donald Trump will speak to the Fraternal Order of Police board of trustees on Friday in North Carolina, then hold a rally near Wausau, Wis., on Saturday. Tim Walz will be in Pennsylvania on Wednesday and Thursday. After a fairly busy Labor Day weekend, Kamala Harris’s plans are so far light for the week — but presumably both she and Trump will be prepping for next week’s debate.

On Thursday, Judge Tanya Chutkan will hold a status hearing in the federal Jan. 6 case, in which Trump is still charged with four felony counts, after a variety of filings from both Trump’s team and prosecutors last week. We might find out more about what, if anything, will happen with the case before the election.

Just to give you a sense of how soon the election is in a world of absentee and early voting: In North Carolina, officials will begin mailing absentee ballots on Friday. That’s basically the earliest that happens, but over the next few weeks, more and more states will mail out absentee ballots or open early-voting locations.

One thing, tonally, that came up during the Democratic convention was the shift toward more jokes about Trump versus the very solemn and dark approach often taken by President Biden. That sometimes created jarring swings in tones, particularly during the nightly segments on Project 2025, which often were delivered pretty ironically. A specific policy agenda like Project 2025 can be either a serious problem or an object of joking derision for critics, but it’s harder for it to be both at the same time from the same person. On television, however, the Harris campaign is running a dark, non-joking ad about Project 2025 with a vintage voice-over that feels like something from the 1990s or 2000s.

As we get closer to the election, it can be hard to keep up with what to read. Here’s some informative reporting from the past week worth checking out: Jazmine Ulloa of The Times drove around Pennsylvania looking for Nikki Haley voters and interviewed them about their diverging plans for the fall. David Weigel of Semafor took a look at the Trump campaign’s strategy in embracing Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard. There was a great article by Richard Rubin of The Wall Street Journal on what Harris’s tax plans would actually mean.

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Gail Collins

Opinion Columnist

Whale Beheading, Bear Carcass Dumping and Trump Boosting, Oh My!

Our presidential folklore is awash with animal stories. Remember Franklin Roosevelt’s dog Fala? No? Well, it was a while ago. President Biden is a big dog lover, but his pets were exiled to Delaware after multiple biting episodes. Jill Biden brought in a cat to fill the void.

Kamala Harris has been photographed cuddling puppies, but if there’s going to be any Republican animal stories during the campaign this fall, chances are they’re going to be sort of unpleasant. Donald Trump doesn’t like animals — naturally, since they draw attention from him. And now he’s got a new supporter who’s famous for his run-ins with their corpses.

Yeah, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. once allegedly chain-sawed the head off a dead whale on a beach, bungee-corded it to the roof of his car and drove it five hours to the family home. Some years ago, Kennedy’s daughter Kick Kennedy called the episode “the rankest thing on the planet.”

People, does that remind you of anything? Back when Mitt Romney was running against Barack Obama, his son once told the story about a family vacation in which Romney put Seamus, their pet Irish setter, in a roof crate for a 12-hour drive to Canada. Apparently, Seamus weathered the trip fine, but the presidential campaign in 2012 was very boring . As a diversion, I decided to try to see how many times I could mention the story before Election Day. Diligent readers counted around 80 mentions.

How would you compare the whale incident with that? Does it make you miss Romney? Yes, he was boring, but we’ve certainly learned how much worse a candidate can be. Don’t forget: Kennedy also dumped a dead bear cub in Central Park. His explanation was that he’d found it on the side of a road and decided to take it home to refrigerate its meat. Then, upon realizing that he was late to a steakhouse dinner, he changed his mind and left the carcass in the park, creating a stir he called “amusing.”

Kennedy, you may remember, says he once suffered from memory issues because of a dead worm in his brain. He’s now supporting Trump for president, and Trump might even consider giving an administration job to his new pal.

No further comments seem necessary. Just remember that whale.

Frank Bruni

Contributing Opinion Writer

Why Kamala Harris Might Just Win North Carolina

When Vice President Kamala Harris started talking policy with a heavily promoted speech about voters’ top concern — the economy — where do you suppose she did it?

My home state, North Carolina. And my governor, Roy Cooper, was the Democrat chosen to introduce her on the climactic final night of the party’s convention.

But then Donald Trump stages a rally in North Carolina seemingly every other week — often enough that I’m terrified he’ll build and start hanging out at some Tar Heel analogue of Mar-a-Lago. He’s fixated on this place.

For good reason. North Carolina has 16 Electoral College votes — the same as Georgia, one more than Michigan and only one fewer than Ohio. And they appear to be in play. On Tuesday, the Cook Political Report moved North Carolina into the tossup category .

The state hasn’t voted Democratic in a presidential election since 2008, when Barack Obama won, but Joe Biden lost here in 2020 by only about 75,000 votes, or under 1.4 percentage points.

And 2024 is different. Political analysts here tell me that they’re struck by the burst of energy for the Harris campaign and its significant investment in the state, where, according to the Pew Research Center, about 23 percent of eligible voters are Black, in contrast to 14 percent nationally. They haven’t seen anything like it since 2008.

Additionally, Michael Bitzer, a professor of politics and history at Catawba College in Salisbury, N.C., noted that in the Republican presidential primary here, Nikki Haley received hefty percentages of the votes in urban counties even though her campaign by then was a lost cause. That suggests a potent anti-Trump sentiment among moderate Republicans and independents.

There’s yet another distinctive dynamic this time around. The slate of Republican candidates for statewide office is MAGA fury through and through. Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, the Republican nominee for governor, is a firebrand with a history of misogynistic, homophobic, antisemitic and altogether deranged remarks . Michele Morrow, the Republican nominee for superintendent of public instruction, has suggested that Cooper, Biden, Obama, Hillary Clinton and Anthony Fauci should be executed for treason — and that Obama’s killing should be televised.

Asher Hildebrand, a fellow professor at Duke University’s School of Public Policy, said that while that extremism probably won’t “push too many voters to the polls for Harris, it very well might keep some Trump voters home.”

And in an election potentially decided by one measly percentage point, such disaffection absolutely could turn North Carolina blue.