If you’re reading this article, you’re probably worried that shrinking attention spans modern audiences are infamous for may turn your upcoming presentation into a snoozefest. Your concerns are notably justified if the content is dry, boring, and risks subjecting the viewers to cognitive overload.
Turning your presentation into an interactive event seems like a great way to boost participation and attention, and, ultimately, help the spectators retain information you work so hard to deliver.
But how to do it? Plenty of fancy tools on the market can imbue your slide deck with dynamic visuals that briefly satisfy the need for instant gratification. But can you rely on these technical shortcuts alone to encourage meaningful participation and spark interest in the subject matter?
Below, we’ve put together a lineup of ways to make your presentation delivery more engaging. From creative ways to break the ice to meeting the audience where they are — er, in the audience — here are 15 ideas to enhance your next interactive presentation.
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1. Break the ice
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Breaking the ice right away sets the stage for an interactive presentation. You build rapport right off the bat; you ease tension and dread; you show the audience that you’re warm, personable, and aren’t there to bore them to death.
Kicking off your presentation by breaking the ice works especially well for informal presentations, that include workshops, team meetings, and training sessions. While it’s less appropriate for a data-heavy speech if you think your audience will appreciate a friendly start, don’t be put off by the formality of the subject matter.
An easy way to break the ice is to tell a joke that pertains to the presentation topic. Alternatively, tell the viewers a fun fact to foreshadow some of the upcoming takeaways or points of discussion. If the nature of the presentation demands interactivity from the get-go, starting with a game could also ward off boredom before it has a chance to set it and get your viewers to warm up mentally. Whichever method you choose, tailor it to the audience and the presentation topic.
2. Give viewers access to your presentation
Does your slide deck contain links to valuable external resources? If it does, let your viewers follow along on their mobile devices. Not only does this approach enable viewers to interact with the slide deck and make use of the resources you’ve shared, but it also fosters attention and engagement. Once the presentation is complete, the audience still has a chance to revisit some of the slides, and, again, make use of the links or materials in the deck.
If your interactive presentation is part of a conference or a training session, letting the viewers access it is a particularly useful strategy. On the other hand, you don’t want to share presentations that are confidential or proprietary, such as consulting decks.
Depending on the presentation maker you’re using, giving the audience access to a deck should be relatively simple. For example, if you make a Google Slides presentation with Plus AI, you can easily share it and let the audience view the content but not edit the slides. Other presentation makers allow participants to scan a QR code to open the deck on their mobile devices.
3. Get off the stage
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And into the audience, that is. Much like the jokes, facts, or games used to break the ice, the simple act of leaving the lectern and walking into the audience dissolves the barrier between you and the viewers. No longer are you separated by the physical distance and the height of the stage; the audience surrounds you, and you can address each nearby viewer as an equal. This departure from the norm does wonders in boosting attention and creating a more dynamic environment.
Leaving the stage is a suitable way to add interactivity to TED-style presentations, workshops, and motivational speeches. Conversely, it won’t work when delivering formal corporate pitches or other structured presentations.
The method is really simple: You walk off the stage and engage the viewers. Ask them questions about the topic — or topical tangent — and field their questions yourself. When you’re down in the audience, move about slowly and with a purpose; avoid pacing or walking around needlessly.
4. Inject interactive games into the presentation
Interactive games do more than lighten the mood and boost engagement. When used appropriately, they will help the audience understand key concepts and make the content more memorable. Team-building events and training sessions lend themselves well to interactive games, while more formal occasions, such as pitches and corporate reports, generally do not. That said, you can get creative and use this device if you think the audience will ultimately appreciate it.
Contextually relevant trivia, word association games, and other activities that likewise transpose the subject matter into game format can all be suitable. Jeopardy, matching activities, and choice-based games can all work well, depending on the topic at hand.
Needless to say, the games you inject into the presentation should align with your goals. If you’re trying to persuade the viewers, a “choose your own adventure” game will help your message resonate with the viewers as they navigate through different outcomes. On the other hand, Memory Challenge could help the audience absorb key points in an informative presentation.
5. Let the audience lead
What better way to shake things up and get the audience involved than to let it take the lead? By giving the reins to your viewers, you’re not just pulling them out of PowerPoint-induced dormancy; you’re getting them to think critically about the subject matter, and ultimately, absorb it better.
A simple way to put your spectators in charge is to construct a presentation that branches into different directions. Once the narrative of the presentation comes to a natural crossroads, ask the audience which way they’d like to proceed; you can do this easily via polling.
For instance, imagine you’re giving a strategy presentation on how companies approach crisis management. Ask the audience which of the three case studies below they want to explore:
- A food company mitigating a major PR blunder
- A tech company that previously had the market cornered dealing with a competitor’s newly launched product that’s exponentially cheaper and possibly better
- A retail company dealing with the fallout of international trade disputes affecting its supply chains
Once the viewers choose the case study through live polling, you can skip ahead to the slide where the selected case study begins. You can then bring the spectators to another crossroads, offering them a chance to explore different hypothetical decisions before revealing the actual outcome of the case study.
6. Ask the audience questions
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Do you want your viewers to actively listen, think critically, and have a personalized experience throughout the presentation? Add some interactivity to the event by reversing the more familiar Q&A format and asking the audience questions.
This approach is best suited for educational and training presentations. The questions urge the viewers to pay attention, keep them on their toes, and give you a chance to gauge their understanding of the subject matter. That said, you can also employ this approach in more structured presentations as a way to get the viewers thinking critically — especially before revealing key insights. Depending on the audience and the topic, you may pose open-ended questions or even poll the viewers. A good practice is to have a mental list of follow-up questions to build on the responses you get.
7. Try the fireside chat format
Fireside chats depart from the traditional presentation format since the focus of the event narrows around a conversation between the moderator and their guest. However, this idea can work well for presentations that involve case studies and testimonials. You could even get your viewers to come up to the stage and discuss hot-button issues pertinent to the subject matter, while you assume the moderator’s role.
A presentation that’s structured as a fireside chat lends itself perfectly to further interaction, including Q&A sessions, role-playing, or asking the viewers questions about the discussion they just witnessed. Likewise, you can let the audience moderate and vote for slides with different discussion topics, or otherwise steer the conversation taking place on the stage.
For example, let’s imagine that your presentation compares the threats and opportunities posed by AI in higher education institutions. Instead of outlining the competing points yourself based on research, you bring in a tech executive, a university administrator, and a student representative. You can moderate the discussion, asking your guests how AI is affecting different aspects of higher education. You’ll then turn to the viewers and get their input on the subject matter; if you like, you can even get the spectators to vote on discussion topics and conclude with a QA session.
8. Keep the viewers on their toes with quizzes
Much like games, quizzes have a threefold purpose in an interactive presentation: they help improve viewers’ attention; they reinforce learning; they add an element of competition. Informative presentations, as well as workshops and training sessions, are naturally well-suited for the occasional quiz to break up the monotony and get the viewers involved.
An easy and effective way to inject a quiz into a deck is with a polling tool, like Mentimeter. This way, the viewers will be able to complete the tests on their mobile devices. But if you don’t want the audience to hide behind their phone screens, just add the quiz to a slide and throw it up onto the screen. Then pick viewers at random to answer the questions and discuss the answers collectively.
9. Conduct polls
Polls work similarly to quizzes; in fact, you can use the same tools — like Mentimeter or manual polling with questions and answers on the screen — to conduct them. But their purpose is not to reinforce knowledge or gauge; rather, polls give you real-time audience feedback, while also making the viewers feel more valued and included. In many cases, the responses you get may provide important insights for everyone in attendance. That’s why polling the audience is particularly useful in strategic planning sessions, panel discussions, and market research presentations.
There are a number of tools that let you add polls to a slide deck. For example, Mentimeter enables you to create different types of polls; the viewers can access and complete them from their mobile devices by scanning a QR code. To keep the participants engaged, share the polling results in real time.
10. Brainstorm ideas with the audience
What better way to encourage engagement and lengthen attention spans than by shifting the focus from the presenter to the audience? People are generally more inclined to focus on their opinions rather than hear those of others, and hours of one-way information flow in traditional presentations is a contributing factor to the so-called death by PowerPoint. Collective brainstorming lets you channel this inherent human trait toward a more productive outcome.
If your presentation is part of a workshop or training session, brainstorm ideas and solutions with the viewers; knowing that their thoughts matter, they’ll feel empowered and naturally more interested in the presentation. On the other hand, this approach is unsuitable for technical briefings or structured product demonstrations.
If you add a brainstorming session to your presentation, be sure to set guidelines so that the discussion remains on-topic and delivers the solutions you’re looking for.
11. Start with a group activity
An effective way to set the tone for an interactive presentation is to start with a group activity. Not only does this tactic break the ice between you and the audience, but it also energizes the room and gets the audience to engage with each other. Moreover, group activities push viewers to start thinking critically about the subject matter before you even dive into the presentation.
This interactive presentation strategy is ideal for team-building events and leadership sessions, where fostering collaboration is an obvious objective. That said, even formal, structured presentations with a one-way information flow could be kicked off with a group activity to warm the viewers up and get their creative juices flowing.
12. Try role-playing with your viewers
Role-playing with the audience helps your interactive presentation in a few ways. For one, this simple tactic energizes the room and does away with boredom. But crucially, it helps the audience put the concepts you’ve just introduced into practice, thus enhancing comprehension and retention of the subject matter.
This idea can work for a range of presentation types, from team-building events to training sessions.
For instance, imagine that your presentation is on managing PR crises. Instead of spoon-feeding your viewers different strategies, give them a scenario, in which their company has a PR disaster on their hands. Then break the audience into several groups, and assign roles — think CEO, PR director, social media manager, etc. — to each group member. Next, ask the groups to brainstorm and present their responses. As they do, continue on with the presentation, heaping on more challenges to the evolving PR crisis, and eventually debriefing all your viewers.
13. Don’t forget the Q&A session
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One of the most common interactive tools, Q&A sessions generally conclude a presentation. They give the audience a chance to become involved, clarify certain points, or even challenge some of the information that was presented. For you, a Q&A session is a valuable insight that shows the viewer’s interest in the topic and reveals their top concerns.
You can add a Q&A session to just about any presentation type, as long as time permits.
However, be prepared to face two hurdles.
One, the audience may be hesitant to ask you anything. That’s why you should have seed questions prepared beforehand. Ask these at the start of the Q&A session if all you’re getting is crickets from the viewers. For example, you could kick the session off with a question you commonly get on the presentation topic, then ask the viewers how they’d answer it.
Another possible hiccup is getting awkward, or even openly hostile questions from the audience. If you end up fielding unpleasant queries, be ready to handle the issue with grace and diplomacy, using replies such as:
- Thank you for asking. And what do you think?
- That’s a valid question, but not one we can address here.
Don’t talk back or try to outwit your tormentors — that is, unless you’re really, really good.
14. Structure your presentation as a story
This is a best practice for all presentations. However, if you’re looking to add interactive elements, the story arc will serve as a good foundation. By immersing the viewers into a narrative — complete with a hero, a conflict, and a resolution — you’ll naturally set the stage for ongoing interaction, such as role-playing, games, and group activities throughout the presentation.
15. Allow the viewers to earn rewards
Promising your audience rewards is an easy and natural way to stimulate active participation, add motivation, and encourage learning. If you’re leading a workshop, sales meeting, or training session, this method is an excellent way to boost interactivity.
The types of rewards you offer will depend on the audience and the presentation type and topic. For example, answering a quiz correctly could give viewers entry into a prize draw. Or you could promise product samples or discounts for everyone who completes a poll during the presentation. Whichever giveaway format and prize you land on, make sure the rewards are somehow relevant to the presentation subject matter, and the activity complements the session instead of distracting from it.
How to implement all these ideas in an interactive presentation
You shouldn’t — and won’t be able to — implement all these ideas into a single presentation. Force too many of these methods into the speech, and these useful tricks will come off as annoying gimmicks that weaken your ideas and arguments. So, stick with one or a few that align with both the presentation topic and the audience best.
That said, some of these strategies can be used anytime and in conjunction with others. For example, breaking the ice at the start of the presentation is just good practice that should almost always pay off. The same goes for Q&A sessions, which shouldn’t interfere with other interactive ideas or make the viewers feel that it’s “too much”.
Learn to make presentations quickly with the power of AI
Much like writing slide content, implementing interactive ideas requires brainstorming, research, and planning. These tasks can add a significant amount of time to slide creation. And while coming up with ways to make a presentation more engaging should rest entirely in your domain, a quality AI-powered slide maker can take other, more tedious tasks off your hands.
For example, Plus AI works as an add-in in PowerPoint and Google Slides to generate entire slide decks from a single prompt that describes the topic. This way, instead of starting from a blank slide, you have a complete deck, with content and relevant graphics, as a solid jumping-off point. Now, all you need to do is refine it to your liking and inject the interactive strategies as you see fit.
Apart from inputting simple prompts, you can also feed Plus AI an entire document, or describe each slide individually and get a slide deck in the output. Fortunately, using this app is a breeze you’ll; as long as you know your way around PowerPoint or Google Slides, you’ll master the steps in minutes.
FAQs about interactive presentations
How do I make my presentation more interactive?
- Give the audience a chance to participate at every chance
- Involve viewers in decision-making
- Incorporate activities, such as games, Q&A sessions, and fireside chats
- Find ways to reward participation
- Be human: Break the ice, walk down into the audience, and use humor as needed
How can you make a presentation fun?
Exciting visuals, games, and activities can add an element of entertainment to a presentation. Masterful delivery can spice the event up with well-placed comedy. But the best way to make a presentation fun is to frame it as a story. A narrative arc, complete with heroes, villains, conflicts, and other literary devices, gives the presentation an inherent, captivating quality that even the most easily bored viewers will have a hard time resisting.
How to be an engaging presenter?
- Get to know your audience before the presentation
- Don’t read off the slides
- Use engaging, relevant visuals
- Make eye contact with the viewers
- Practice your delivery
- Be prepared to answer tough questions during Q&A
