I not too long ago did a presentation evening with my mates. In case you’re unfamiliar with the concept, it’s when a gaggle of mates will get collectively to share displays they created a couple of subject of their selection.
The subjects are usually light-hearted and enjoyable. For instance, mine was “my mates as obscure animals.”
You’d be shocked how troublesome it was to develop concepts for one thing as foolish and unserious as a social presentation evening.
So, it’s naturally even tougher to ideate presentation subjects for knowledgeable setting with the strain of needing to impress, affect, educate, or entertain.
I’ll share the right way to develop thought-provoking and related subjects on your displays to make sure they’re memorable and resonate nicely along with your viewers.
Desk of Contents
The right way to Select a Nice Presentation Subject in 5 Steps
I’ve damaged down the painstakingly lengthy course of of selecting a subject into 5 easy and simple steps. Let’s stroll by way of it.
Step 1: Start with the top in thoughts.
“Some issues are higher left unsaid” is what I don’t need folks to say about my displays. That’s why I at all times have a particular purpose earlier than selecting a subject.
Some questions I ask myself are:
- What do I hope to attain from the presentation?
- How do I need to come throughout?
- What do I need my viewers to remove from the presentation?
Having a stable purpose helps me start crafting the title of my presentation. As an illustration, if I’m presenting a seminar about AI, my purpose may be to persuade my viewers to include extra AI into their each day lives.
A punchy thought for a title might be “Why AI Is NOT Ruining Your Life.”
Step 2: Know your viewers.
Let’s say I’m getting ready an inside presentation for my crew at Nickelodeon. I might first take into account my viewers’s expertise and pursuits.
I don’t need to current one thing they already know nicely or have the subject go over their heads. Because it’s my crew, I might really feel assured that these elements overlap comfortably with mine.
In case you’re presenting to an unknown viewers, analysis the people or basic demographic if particular names aren’t out there.
Subsequent, I’d take into account what fashion is most well-liked. Some workplaces may be extra formal, requiring a severe presentation tone.
Based mostly on the kind of content material we work on at Nickelodeon, we preserve issues gentle at work, so I’d combine humor and an off-the-cuff tone into my presentation.
Professional tip: All the time take into account your viewers’s information degree on the subject earlier than drafting your presentation. For instance, a presentation on social media focused at Gen Z will differ from that focused at Millennials.
Step 3: Be present.
Of presenters, 47% tailor their presentation subjects to present occasions, which is a straightforward means to make sure the subject is novel.
I’m not saying the presentation must be utterly centered round a present occasion. Even together with sure references or themes can alert audiences that this isn’t a cut-and-paste presentation that’s been carried out earlier than.
As an illustration, if I have been giving a presentation to my crew at Nickelodeon, I’d slip in a humorous reference to the 2024 movie Depraved because it’s very culturally related.
If I needed to tailor my total presentation to this subject, I might spotlight a number of the methods the PG-rated film manages to seize hearts of all ages, which is related to our crew’s family-friendly content material.
Step 4: Be exact.
Finishing these first three steps places me in a spot with respectable subject concepts. Now, I can minimize out the surplus and choose a distinct segment subject with a particular purpose.
That is crucial as a result of the broader the subject, the harder it is going to be for my viewers to remove key concepts and actionable ideas. Additionally, it will be harder to collect an viewers intrigued and excited by my subject.
As an illustration, the primary subject within the picture is generic, sounds obscure, and doesn’t specify any clear advantages. Then again, the second subject mentions the target market, tells them what to anticipate, and gives a transparent, actionable plan.
The viewers is aware of precisely what they may take away from the presentation.
Step 5: Add a private contact.
Shows with tales are 22 times more likely to be remembered than these with straight details. Such is the facility of narrative and personalization in storytelling.
Subsequently, I at all times take into account subjects I can tie again to myself, which additionally helps the displays really feel extra genuine. There are a couple of methods I might do that:
- Choose a subject I’ve first-hand expertise with.
- Present a novel opinion or learnings/findings so as to add worth to my phrases.
- Let the viewers view a controversial subject from my perspective.
- Select a subject I’m genuinely enthusiastic about.
- Inform a private story that features as a metaphor for my subject.
Professional tip: Take into consideration the place your pursuits {and professional} expertise meet. Then, slim these subjects or themes all the way down to 2-5 driving elements to deal with in your presentation.
120 Presentation Subject Concepts
Under is an intensive checklist of presentation concepts from private experiences to digital advertising and marketing and AI. I at all times reference this checklist once I discover myself in a rut.
I can preserve the framework and swap out key phrases for a lot of of those titles, offering an infinite mixture of concepts.
Presentation Subject Concepts for Private Experiences
- The failures that made “Me”
- My journey balancing full-time and freelance work
- How I made social media a productive house
- 5 life-changing behavior adjustments I made this yr
- How I received out of my longest writing rut
- My battle with Covid-19
- How I turned my weaknesses into strengths
- Dealing with anxiousness and despair
- Leveraging my hobbies to enhance my profession
- Distant vs. in-office: The place do I thrive?
- What I needed to be and what I grew to become
- How I rediscovered myself after hardship
Presentation Subject Concepts for Controversial Points
- Way forward for genetically modified meals and preservatives
- Privateness within the age of AI: Moral points
- The ability of social media in politics
- Freedom of expression or dangerous content material
- Navigating the road between cultural appropriation and appreciation
- What can we do to forestall local weather change?
- Ladies’s rights are everybody’s rights
- LGBTQ Rights: Balancing equality and custom sooner or later
- The ethics of animal testing
- The implications of social media for future generations
- How a lot display screen time is an excessive amount of?
- Punishment vs. rehabilitation
Presentation Subject Concepts for Present Traits
- 5 small efforts to battle local weather change
- How native politics play into the massive image
- What are blockchain and cryptocurrencies?
- The newest health tendencies of 2024
- Life on social media vs. actual life: The right way to preserve your self sane
- Water shortage and conservation
- Renewable and sustainable power sources: Are we prepared?
- The advantages of mindfulness and meditation practices for brand new mothers
- Understanding and addressing psychological well being points in Gen Z and Alpha.
- 12 Strategies for training self-care and self-compassion
- Transitioning again to hybrid or full-time workplace fashions after years of distant work.
- How X entrepreneurs develop their private manufacturers (and their ROIs)
Presentation Subject Concepts for Trade Insights
- How new AI applied sciences are altering the {industry}: 5 examples
- Six key tendencies and {industry} forecasts for the longer term
- The right way to overcome these 10 challenges to succeed
- Measuring and optimizing organizational advertising and marketing efforts utilizing AI
- Utilizing predictive analytics to extract key advertising and marketing insights
- 13 methods to extend buyer loyalty and retention
- Enhance your on-line visibility and visitors: 15 ideas from LinkedIn gurus
- Seven methods to create partaking video content material on your firm
- 5 methods for companies to construct a robust social media presence
- Which social media channels are greatest on your model?
- Is AI revolutionizing the retail {industry}?
- Digital studying and the way forward for conventional studying methods
Presentation Subject Concepts for Digital Advertising
- The following massive factor in digital advertising and marketing — unlocked
- The artwork of storytelling in advertising and marketing: 23 companies that kill it
- Advantages of cross-channel advertising and marketing for software program improvement firms
- Voice search and its impression on digital advertising and marketing in 2025
- Maximizing ROI on your startup advertising and marketing: 3 underestimated ways
- Modifications in client habits: Causes and implications
- Significance of personalization in digital advertising and marketing
- 10 Rising advertising and marketing tendencies and applied sciences
- Designing an efficient cell technique for your small business
- Significance of infographics in content material advertising and marketing: HubSpot’s case research
- Creating efficient advertising and marketing funnels for well being merchandise
- The ability of user-generated content material for firms
Presentation Subject Concepts for AI
- Six prime tales about AI in 2024
- 5 bizarre, however true, details about AI
- What these three enterprise specialists are saying about AI
- Three stunning methods AI could make you a greater marketer
- The Darkish Aspect of AI
- How do presidential campaigns profit from AI?
- 5 AI instruments each marketer wants
- AI and Massive Information: Altering the panorama of recent enterprise
- Which jobs will AI change?
- Why do these X celebrities and {industry} leaders love AI?
- AI in human assets: Recruiting and expertise administration
- The Ethics of AI: Balancing enterprise pursuits and societal impacts
Presentation Subject Concepts for Gross sales
- Chilly calls: Unethical ways and gray areas
- Gross sales: Expectations vs. Actuality
- Gross sales prospecting made less complicated with AI
- Gross sales calls: Do’s, Don’ts, and Musts
- Six gross sales methods you should throw out the window
- 5 abilities each salesperson must develop in 2024
- Constructing long-lasting relationships with clients utilizing these three tried and examined strategies
- Coping with rejections: 5 methods and one bonus tip
- Affected person ready and 7 methods to take care of it
- 13 efficient gross sales methods for constructing relationships and shutting offers
- Creating efficient gross sales coaching packages for brand new hires
- 20 efficient gross sales communication methods
Presentation Subject Concepts for Time Administration
- The right way to obtain a really perfect work-life stability for distant staff
- How a lot time do you have to ideally spend networking on LinkedIn?
- The right way to successfully delegate duties
- Purchase again your time: Methods and advantages
- Six enterprise ideas of time administration
- The right way to make an efficient plan: Three practices you can begin in the present day
- 15 methods to enhance private effectivity and productiveness
- The 5 steps of the Pomodoro Technique
- Goal setting and prioritization: For IT start-ups
- Nine best multitasking strategies of insanely successful businesspeople
- Time management for busy professionals: Where to start?
- Stop procrastinating: Eight ways starting tomorrow
Presentation Topic Ideas for IT
- Advantages and risks of adopting cloud software
- Open-source software: seven best practices
- Machine learning: Pros and cons for marketing
- How to create user-friendly interfaces for software and websites
- The role of IT in digital transformation
- The Internet of Things: five opportunities for businesses and consumers
- Six ways to protect your digital assets
- Seven benefits and three risks of moving to the cloud
- How does Big Data work?
- Best strategies to protect organizational data: five tried and tested techniques
- Technology and its impact on society and culture
- Mobile device management: Where to start?
Presentation Topics Ideas for Business
- Optimizing collaborations to save time across all departments
- Eight time management tools and apps for businesses
- 12 common skills of successful businesspeople
- 10 tips and techniques for a successful marketing strategy
- Harnessing the power of influencer marketing
- Allocating a marketing budget to maximize ROI in five steps
- Five manufacturing techniques to minimize costs
- Understanding ethical issues in business and marketing
- 15 ways to reduce your company’s carbon footprint
- Three old business models making a comeback
- Seven ways X developed a strong company culture
- 12 strategies for building a sustainable and responsible business in 2023
5 Presentation Tips
While I’ve stressed the importance of using presentation topics to put audiences first, offer direct solutions, and fill in knowledge gaps, there’s more.
After all, the part that usually keeps me up the night before a big presentation isn’t typically the topic but the thought of actually presenting.
That’s why I’m sharing my five best tips to help you ace your next presentation.
1. Design a clear layout.
I like to organize my presentations into four clear sections — introduction, body, conclusion, and follow-up — to help me construct a clear layout and attractive design. Here’s what I include in each area:
Introduction
- A catchy title with a hook
- A thesis statement or big idea behind the presentation
- Table of contents that gives my audience a preview into what’s coming
Body
- A clear explanation of my topic
- My argument, perspective, or main message I’m trying to convey in three to five key points
- Facts expertly interspersed to help bolster my claims
Conclusion
- A concise summary of the main points and takeaways
- A catchy line to inspire thought-provoking, vivid discussions.
Follow-Up
- Five to ten minutes at the end of my presentation for a Q&A, where I can dispel doubts and provide more context to my audience
2. Use visual aids.
I hate to admit it, but nothing makes me zone out quicker than a black-and-white, word-heavy presentation. My lower attention span and visual learning preference make it hard to focus on a strictly verbal or text-based presentation.
Presentation visuals can increase content engagement by up to 80%.
LinkedIn additionally gives a number of causes supporting the significance of visible aids, similar to capturing the eye and curiosity of audiences, lowering cognitive load by breaking down advanced ideas, and rising the retention and recall of verbal messages.
I work full-time in media and leisure, so it’s straightforward so as to add visuals to my displays within the type of key artwork, video promos, and character artwork.
Nevertheless, even in much less inventive industries, visible aids like charts and graphs, diverse shade schemes, and even model logos might help break up the textual content.
3. Select a presentation fashion that makes you assured.
I do know my strengths and weaknesses greatest on the subject of presentation abilities. I do know I’m not the very best at getting a excessive quantity of data throughout shortly, however I’ve an exemplary reminiscence (no speaker notes right here!) and ease of communication.
All this self-knowledge helps me put together presentation kinds that make me really feel most snug and assured. Presentation subjects also can dictate what fashion is greatest.
As an illustration, if my subject is “5 life-changing behavior adjustments I made this yr,” I’ll probably undertake a storytelling fashion. Then again, a subject like “The Ethics of AI: Balancing enterprise pursuits and societal impacts” may name for an teacher fashion.
The ethical is to decide on a means of presenting the fabric that makes me really feel most assured. The precise data could also be troublesome, however how I share it may be easy.
4. Design a slide deck to be happy with.
I stay by the phrase “look good, really feel good.” If I’m sick, exhausted, or simply having a nasty day, staying in pajamas and unwashed hair makes me really feel worse than I’m. However showering and sporting my favourite outfit can flip my total day round.
The identical concept applies to displays. I’ve needed to flip round last-minute displays on sloppy slides, and feeling embarrassed concerning the look may be sufficient to throw me utterly off.
This is smart since 91% of professionals really feel extra assured presenting a well-designed slide deck.
My firm makes use of branded slide templates, which eases the method, however manually entering into to make the fonts, colours, textual content spacing, and visuals look good is crucial.
It’s also possible to use presentation templates to save lots of time and uncover lovely, partaking designs.
It’s additionally essential to observe operating by way of these well-designed slides, particularly in case you’re driving the deck for a gaggle presentation. Stroll by way of the presentation in Slideshow mode and guarantee all the things seems to be as desired.
5. Have interaction along with your viewers.
Sometimes, my largest worry main as much as a presentation is guaranteeing that I relay all the knowledge I’ve ready.
Nevertheless, I needs to be extra fearful about creating a robust sufficient reference to my viewers that my presentation resonates of their minds lengthy after.
Of audiences, 79% favor interactive displays with alternatives to get entangled, so presenters have used instruments like polls and quizzes to extend viewers engagement by 40%.
That is additionally an effective way to alleviate a number of the strain from myself — by throwing to the viewers at occasions, I could make the presentation really feel extra conversational.
Listed here are a couple of ways in which my colleagues and I’ve made displays extra interactive:
- Begin by asking unusual inquiries to the viewers. Contain them from the get-go, saying issues like, “Increase your fingers if X.”
- Add polls to the slides and name on viewers members to share their responses.
- Make eye contact to construct credibility and present confidence. Don’t stare on the slides or notes. Smile sometimes and discuss to the viewers straight.
- Share a private perspective and ask if anybody within the viewers agrees or disagrees. Name on them to share why.
- Use lively and assured physique language. Don’t stand in the identical place your entire time. Transfer across the stage.
- Ask close-ended questions in between to maintain the viewers engaged with out dropping time. Deal with them utilizing their names to maintain issues fascinating.
- Share private experiences and tales that your viewers will discover fascinating and relatable.
Feeling Impressed But?
As a youthful skilled in my {industry}, I’m at all times searching for methods to make myself identified, stand out from the gang, and show my potential to be a pacesetter.
This weblog publish taught me that distinctive, memorable presentation subjects might help me accomplish these targets.
All of us have a wealth of experience, expertise, and persona, and that’s sufficient to create a narrative value listening to. So the query just isn’t “What ought to I say?” however reasonably “How can I say it?”
My most essential takeaway is that authenticity comes from discovering methods to personalize presentation subjects.
Even one thing data-driven or industry-focused has the chance for a reference to an anecdote, metaphor, distinctive perspective, or viewers interplay device that may take displays from informative to exceptional.
Editor’s observe: This publish was initially printed in August 2023 and has been up to date for comprehensiveness.