preparing a 5 minute presentation for an interview

How to Make a 5 Minute Presentation with 30 Topic Ideas in 2024

Leah Nguyen • 05 April, 2024 • 16 min read

Are you looking for 5 minute presentation ideas? How to make a 5 minute presentation properly? What should I cram into my presentation? Is it okay if I cut this out? What information is valuable to the audience? 

The struggle is real, guys. The five-minute presentation, though intriguing to your audience (no one likes to sit through a one-hour-feels-like-a-decade kind of talk), is a nuisance when you have to decide what to cut and what to put in. It may seem like everything happens in a blink of an eye.  

The clock is ticking, but you can keep your panic attack at bay with our step-by-step guide with free topics and examples. Get the full lowdown on how make 5 minute presentation for a team meeting, college class, sales pitch, or wherever else you need it! So, let’s check out 5-minute presentation samples!

Table of Contents

• Present better with AhaSlides
• 5-Minute Presentation Topic List
• How to Make a 5-Minute Presentation
• 5 Common Mistakes

5-Minute Presentation Examples

Present better with ahaslides.

• Types of Presentation
• 10 20 30 Rule Presentations
• Top 10 Office games
• 95++ Fun questions to ask students
• 21+ Ice breaker games
• Better Engagement by Fun Brainstorm Tools like AhaSlides  Word Cloud
• Use Randomness to Decide your Fate by AhaSlides  Spinner Wheel

5 Minute Presentation Ideas

How to make a 5-Minute Presentation? What are the best topics for a 5-minute oral presentation? Ignite the sparkle in the eyes of the audience with this 5-minute presentation topics list.

• The danger of cyberbullying
• Freelancing under the gig economy
• Fast fashion and its environmental impacts
• How podcast has evolved
• Dystopian society in George Orwell’s literature
• Common health disorders you might have
• What is aphasia?
• Caffeine myths – are they real?
• The perks of having a personality test
• The rise and fall of Genghis Khan 
• What happens to the brain when you’re in long-distance relationships?
• Is it too late to care about the environment?
• The consequences of relying on Artificial Intelligence (AI)
• The ways anxiety disorders disrupt our life
• 6 economic terms you need to know 
• Gods in Greek mythology versus Roman mythology
• Origins of Kungfu
• Ethics of genetic modification
• The supernatural strength of cockroaches
• Is social media detox necessary?
• The history of the Silk Road
• What is the world’s most dangerous disease in the 21st century?
• Reasons to do self-journaling everyday
• New trends in careers
• Five reasons to get some quality time for yourself
• The best food to cook when you’re in a hurry
• How to order the best Starbucks drink ever
• Ideas and practices that you follow and would like others to know about
• 5 ways to make a pancake
• Introduction to blockchain 

Start in seconds.

Get any of the above examples as templates. Sign up for free and take what you want from the template library!

Hope you’ve had abundant ideas for your 5-minute presentation topics. Before going way to deep of how to make a 5-minute presentation, together, let’s walk through tips for 10-minutes presentation one! With the clock starts running down, every single second counts, and you begin to sweat then how can you pull out a great 10 minutes presentation under that pressure?

In this video, we want to share with you how we overcome the challenge to create 10 minutes presentation structure. Hope you enjoy this video and find it helpful in preparing for your quick presentation! Let us know what you feel.

Bonus Video ▶ Going for 10 Minutes ?

If you feel like a 5-minute presentation would be too stifling, stretch it to 10! Here’s how to do that…

How to Make a 5-Minute Presentation?

Remember, less is more, except when it comes to ice cream. 

That’s why amid hundreds of methods to use, we’ve boiled it down into these four simple steps to make a killer 5-minute presentation.

Let’s jump right in!

#1 – Choose your topic  

How do you know if that topic is “the one” for you? For us, the right topic ticks everything on this checklist:

✅ Stick to one key point. It’s unlikely you’ll have time to address more than one topic, so limit yourself to one and don’t go over it! 

✅ Know your audience. You don’t want to waste time covering information they already know. Everyone knows 2 plus 2 is 4, so move on and never look back.

✅ Go with a simple topic. Again, explaining something that requires time should be off the checklist since you can’t cover it all.

✅ Don’t dwell on unfamiliar topics to minimise the time and effort you spend preparing the presentation. It should be something you already have on your mind.

Need some help finding the right topic for your short presentation? We’ve got 30 topics with different themes to captivate your audience.

#2 – Create your slides 

How many slides for a 5-minute presentation? Unlike the long presentation format in which you can have as many slides as you want, a five-minute presentation typically has significantly fewer slides. Because imagine each slide would take you roughly 40 seconds to 1 minute to go through, that’s already five slides in total. Not much to think about, eh? 

However, your slide count doesn’t matter more than the essence each slide contains. We know that it’s tempting to pack it full of text, but keep in mind that you should be the subject your audience focuses on, not a wall of text. 

Check these examples below.

Make the text bold to highlight important parts and use italics primarily to denote titles and the names of particular works or objects to allow that title or name to stand out from the surrounding sentence. The underlining text also helps draw attention to it, but it is most commonly used to represent a hyperlink on a webpage.

You obviously saw the second example and thought there’s no way you’re going to read through this on the big screen.

The point is this: keep slides straight, concise, and short, as you’ve got 5 minutes only. 99% of the info should come from your mouth.

When you’re keeping text minimal, don’t forget to befriend visuals , as they can be your best sidekicks. Startling statistics, infographics, short animations, pictures of whales, etc., all are great attention grabbers and help you sprinkle your unique trademark and personality on each slide. 

And how many words should be there in a 5-minute speech script? It mainly depends on the visuals or data you show in your slides and also your speech speed. However, a 5-minute speech is roughly 700 words long. 

Secret tip: Go the extra length by making your presentation interactive. You can add a live poll , Q&A section , or quiz that illustrates your points and leaves a lasting impression on the audience.

Get Interactive, Fast 🏃‍♀️

Make the most of your 5 minutes with a free interactive presentation tool!

#3 – Get the timing right

When you’re looking at this, we only have one thing to say: STOP PROCRASTINATING! For such a short presentation, there’s virtually no time for “ah”, “uh” or short pauses, because every moment counts. So, plan the timing of each section with military precision. 

How should it look? Check out the example below: 

• 30 seconds on the introduction . And no more. If you spend too much time on the intro, your main part will have to be sacrificed, which is a no-no.
• 1 minute on stating the problem . Tell the audience the problem you are trying to solve for them, i.e, what they are here for. 
• 3 minutes on the solution . This is where you deliver the most essential info to the audience. Tell them what they need to know, not what is “nice to have”. For example, if you’re presenting how to make a cake, list each item’s ingredients or measurement, as that’s all essential information. However, additional information like icing and presentation is not essential and can be cut.
• 30 seconds on the conclusion . This is where you reinforce your main points, wrap up and have a call to action.
• You can end with a small Q&A .  Since it isn’t technically a part of the 5-minute presentation, you can take as much time as you want to answer the questions. 

How many times should you practice a 5-minute speech? To nail these timings down, make sure you practice religiously. A 5-minute presentation requires more practice than a regular one, as you won’t have as much wiggle room or chance for improvisation.

Also, don’t forget to check your equipment to ensure everything runs smoothly. When you’ve only got 5 minutes, you don’t want to waste any time fixing the mic,  presentation, or other equipment.

#4 – Deliver your presentation 

Imagine you’re watching an exciting video but it keeps.lagging.every.10.seconds. You’d be super annoyed, right? Well, so would your audience if you keep confusing them with abrupt, unnatural speech. 

It’s normal to feel pressured to talk because you feel every minute is precious. But crafting the convo in a way that makes the crowd understand the assignment is so much more important. 

Our first tip for delivering a great presentation is to practice flowing . From the introduction to the conclusion, every part needs to connect and link with each other like glue.

Go between the sections repeatedly (remember to set the timer). If there’s any part in which you feel the urge to speed up, then consider trimming it down or articulating it differently.

Our second tip is for reeling in the audience from the first sentence .

There are countless ways to start a presentation . You can get factual with a shocking, on-topic fact or mention a humorous quote that gets your audience laughing and melting away their (and your) tension.

Secret tip: Don’t know if your 5-minute presentation makes an impact? Use a feedback tool to collect the audience’s sentiment right away. It takes minimal effort, and you avoid losing valuable feedback along the way.

5 Common Mistakes When Giving a 5-Minute Presentation

We overcome and adapt through trial and error, but it’s easier to avoid rookie mistakes if you know what they are👇

• Going way past your allotted time slot. Since the 15 or 30-minute presentation format has long dominated the scene, keeping it brief is difficult. But unlike the long format, which gives you a bit of flexibility on time, the audience knows exactly what 5 minutes feels like and, therefore will expect you to condense the information within the time limit.
• Having a decade-long introduction. Rookie mistake. Spending your precious time telling people who you are or what you’re going to do isn’t the best plan. As we said, we’ve got a bunch of beginning tips for you here . 
• Don’t dedicate enough time to prepare. Most people skip the practice part since they think it’s 5 minutes, and they can quickly fill that up, which is an issue. If in a 30-minute presentation, you can get away with “filler” content, the 5-minute presentation doesn’t even allow you to pause for more than 10 seconds.    
• Devote too much time explaining complicated concepts. A 5-minute presentation doesn’t have room for that. If one point you’re explaining needs to link to other points for further elaboration, it’s always a good idea to revise it and dig deeper into only one aspect of the topic.
• Putting too many complex elements. When making a 30-minute presentation, you might add different elements, such as storytelling and animation, to keep the audience engaged. In a much shorter form, everything needs to be straight to the point, so choose your words or the transition carefully.

To help you grasp how to make a 5-minute presentation, check these short presentation examples, to nail any message!

William Kamkwamba: ‘How I Harnessed the Wind’ 

This TED Talk video presents the story of William Kamkwamba, an inventor from Malawi who, as a kid experiencing poverty, built a windmill to pump water and generate electricity for his village. Kamkwamba’s natural and straightforward storytelling was able to captivate the audience, and his usage of short pauses for people to laugh is also another great technique.

Susan V. Fisk: ‘The Importance of Being Concise’

This training video offers helpful tips for scientists to structure their talk to fit the “5 Minute Rapid” presentation format, which is also explained in 5 minutes. If you plan to create a “How-to” quick presentation, look at this example.

Jonathan Bell: ‘How to Create a Great Brand Name’

As the title refers to itself, the speaker Jonathan Bell will give you a step-by-step guide on how to create a lasting brand name. He gets straight to the point with his topic and then breaks it down into smaller components. A good example to learn from.

PACE Invoice: ‘5 Min Pitch at Startupbootcamp’

This video shows how PACE Invoice , a start-up specialising in multi-currency payment processing, was able to pitch its ideas to the investors clearly and concisely.

Will Stephen: ‘How to Sound Smart in Your TEDx Talk’

Using a humorous and creative approach, Will Stephen’s TEDx Talk guides people through the general skills of public speaking. A must-watch to craft your presentation into a masterpiece.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why 5-minute presentation is important.

A 5-minute presentation shows ability to manage time, grab audience attention, clarification as it requires lots of practice to make it perfect! Besides, there are various suitable speech topics for 5 minutes that you can refer to and adapt to your own.

Who gave the best 5-Minute Presentation?

There are lots of impactful presenters overtimes, with the most famous man named Sir Ken Robinson’s TED talk titled “Do Schools Kill Creativity?”, which has been viewed millions of times and has become one of the most-watched TED talks of all time. In the talk, Robinson delivers a humorous and engaging presentation on the importance of nurturing creativity in education and society.

Why is Ted Talks famous for presentation?

TED Talks is successful as it’s present in a short format, engaging speakers, diverse topics, high production value and it’s accessible everywhere!

Leah Nguyen

Words that convert, stories that stick. I turn complex ideas into engaging narratives - helping audiences learn, remember, and take action.

Tips to Engage with Polls & Trivia

More from AhaSlides

Interview presentation preparation tips

The interview presentation is becoming more common in the hiring process. It gives employers a better overview of your general aptitude and provides you with an opportunity to showcase your skills, knowledge, and experience. But how should you prepare for an interview presentation? What should you include? What if it goes wrong?

4th Jun, 2021

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What is an interview presentation?

As you progress further in your career, particularly to executive level, you may be asked to give a presentation for interview. Perhaps you’ve been asked to conduct research and present your findings to a panel, complete a task and show how you approached it, put together a business plan and present your ideas, or even give a presentation about yourself and how you would excel in the role. Whatever you are presenting about, how you approach it should remain the same.

Many people find giving presentations intimidating, especially during an interview when you’re already nervous, but it’s something that you may have to do throughout your career – the sooner you tackle this skill, the better.

Why are you being asked to do a presentation for a job interview?

Many employers opt for a presentation-style interview as it gives a better overview of your general aptitude when compared to, or combined with, a traditional question and answer interview, like a competency-based interview . The interviewer is looking for proof that you can do the job and that you possess the required skills and traits.

Additionally, if you put time and effort into your presentation, this will highlight to the hiring manager that you are committed to the role and enthusiastic about joining the company. How many times have you been asked in an interview ‘Why do you want this position?’ or ‘What is it about this role that attracted you to it?’. They want to know how much you want this position, rather than just any position.

How to prepare a presentation for an interview

Where do you start? What should you include? The presentation is your opportunity to showcase your knowledge, experience, and communication skills as well as your organisational skills and diligence – so start with the job description and person specification and pick out key skills and traits that the company is looking for. Then you can prepare your presentation around what they want to see.

For example, if the business is looking for someone creative, pay great attention to the style of your presentation. If it is looking for someone who is a confident public speaker, spend more time perfecting your speech. If attention to detail is paramount in the role, double and triple check your spelling and grammar. This is a great starting point and gives you something to build your presentation around.

What to include in an interview presentation

Although you may be tempted to go all out and show your potential employer that you are committed to the job, don’t fall into the trap of creating a 30-slide presentation with reams of text. Try to keep each slide short and significant and aim for no more than 10 slides. This ensures the information you deliver is memorable and will help you to stand out from other interviewees. Some interviewers may even give you a specific amount of time for your presentation, make sure you factor this in and don’t go over the time limit – otherwise you may appear to have poor time management skills.

Another way to make sure your presentation engages hiring managers is to include a range of formats to help you illustrate your points. Include graphs, statistics, diagrams, video clips, and images to help break up large volumes of text and maintain the attention of the interviewers.

If you are conducting research as part of your presentation, include quotes from industry leaders and/or research pieces. This gives your points authority and demonstrates your commercial awareness.

You should also try to incorporate the company’s colours, fonts, or style in your presentation. This will show that you have done your research and highlights your brand awareness.

Finally, check your spelling and grammar thoroughly! Small mistakes can really undermine the content of your presentation.

Tips for presenting at the interview

Presenting is a skill which can be learnt. Even if you are not a confident public speaker, the more you practice, the better you will become.

Present confidently and enthusiastically - Remember to speak clearly, make eye contact, and use open body language.

Don’t just read the slides - There is nothing worse than watching a presentation where the presenter has their back to you the whole time just reading reams of text from their PowerPoint notes.

Try not to talk too fast - Make sure you breathe, and take your time.

Practice, practice, practice - Ensure you are well rehearsed so that you are familiar with the structure of your presentation and are able to deliver it smoothly. If possible, practice your presentation with family members or friends to get used to speaking in front of other people.

Arrive early to give yourself time to set up the presentation and settle any nerves - Get comfortable with PowerPoint and presentation equipment. Make sure you know how to work any projectors, screens, or remote controls before you begin to avoid any awkward stumbles or pauses.

Stay within the allocated time - If you have not been given guidance on length, aim for the 10-minute mark. Time your presentation when you are practising to make sure it will fit within the time limit. If you need to reduce the content of your presentation, cut out the least relevant or weakest points.

Be prepared to adapt - You may have practised your presentation in a certain way, but the interviewer might not respond accordingly. Be prepared to be interrupted by questions or further discussion unexpectedly.

Breathe and try to enjoy it - By relaxing, you will find yourself presenting better and, if you enjoy it, your interviewers will respond to that and be better engaged with what you are saying.

Tips for keeping the interview presentation simple

It can take a lot of work to make something simple, yet effective, and when it comes to interview presentations less is often more. Keep it short - As previously mentioned, try to keep each slide short and aim for no more than 10 slides in total.

One idea per slide - To make sure your presentation is clear and concise, each slide should represent a different point/idea you want to make.

Stick to the important bits only - If you don’t think it’s important enough to spend time on, don’t have it on your slide.

Use the 4x6 rule - Aim for either four bullet points with six words per bullet point, or six bullet points with four words per bullet point. This way, your slides won’t look too busy.

Minimal text - Instead of writing paragraphs of text, use bullet points and a minimum font size of 24.

What's better for your interview presentation? Cue cards or presenting from memory?

Should you use cue cards in your presentation for interview or try to present from memory?

The answer to this question depends on what you feel most comfortable doing. If you find that having cue cards will help ease your nerves and ensure that you don’t forget your speech, then there is nothing wrong with that.

However, if you choose to use cue cards, you should not rely too heavily on them. You shouldn’t stand in front of the interviewers and look down at the cards continuously, neither should you write your whole speech out on the cards and read directly from them. They are cue cards for a reason and should only give you prompts on what to talk about. If your interview presentation has a lot of statistics on, using cue cards to remember the figures if you are unable to memorise them all is an excellent strategy.

What to do when things go wrong

You can practice your interview presentation as much as possible, but something may still go wrong and it’s important to be prepared for this eventuality. Here are some things that could go wrong and how to deal with them: Technical issues

There is not a lot you can do to prevent technical issues, especially if you are using someone else’s computer. But there are ways you can prepare just in case. Ensuring you have access to multiple sources of your presentation is key. Email the file to yourself and the recruiter, bring a copy on a USB stick and printed handouts. This way you are covered if anything goes wrong with the file you’re intending to use.

Your mind goes blank

Even those who are pros at presenting can sometimes lose their train of thought and find that their mind goes blank. The key here is not to panic. If possible, take a bottle or glass of water in with you and use this chance to take a sip, breathe and try to relax. Then look at your presentation slide or your cue cards and pick up where you left off. It may be helpful to repeat the last point you made as saying it out loud could spark your memory for your next point.

You are asked a question that you don’t know how to respond to

If you have allotted time at the end of your presentation to allow the interviewer to ask any questions (which is recommended), don’t worry if someone asks a question that you are not sure on. It may be that the interviewer is looking to see how you respond to a challenging question, so how you react is often more important than the answer itself.

If you do not understand the question, ask the person to explain. There is nothing wrong with doing this and shows more confidence than just saying that you don’t know. If you understand the question but are not sure of the answer, then admit that you don’t have the full answer, provide what information you do have, and offer to come back to them at a later date with a complete answer.

10-minute interview presentation template

Below is a presentation for interview example. Use this as a baseline and adapt or reorder where appropriate based on the task you have been set by the interviewer. Slide 1 - Introduction – Reiterate the objectives you have been set and lay out the structure of your presentation so that the interviewers know what to expect. Slide 2 - About you – Detail your professional experience, skills and working style. Slide 3 - Company history – Give a brief summary of the company history, any milestones or awards. Slides 4-7 - Answering the brief – Give your responses to questions you’ve been asked to answer, the benefits and limitations of your suggestions. Slide 8 - Question and answers – Include a slide titled ‘questions and answers’ as a cue to pause for interaction. Slide 9 - Conclusion – Sum up the key points you have made, reach a decision, and explain your reasoning. Slide 10 - Personal achievements – End the interview on a high with a brief slide highlighting achievements that show how you will succeed in the role.

For more information on how to ace your interview, download our free guide, ‘ Getting the best from your interview: Candidate interview tips and tricks ’, or contact your local recruitment specialist today.

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Frequently Asked Questions

A job interview presentation is all about selling yourself. Be confident, speak clearly, and make eye contact with the interviewer. Don’t be afraid to promote yourself and highlight your achievements. This is your chance to really show the interviewer that you are capable and have the necessary skills to do the job. By putting time and effort into your presentation, you can show them how dedicated you are to the role and the company. For more information on how to ace your interview, download our free guide, ‘ Getting the best from your interview: Candidate interview tips and tricks ’.

Using cue cards can support you with your interview presentation, as long as you use them for their intended purpose. Do not write your entire presentation for interview out on cards and read from them word for word or constantly hold them in your hand and fail to make eye contact with the interviewer. Use them only to prompt you or for remembering key facts and figures. For more tips, read our article on ‘interview tips & questions’ .

If you have been sent a presentation brief that you do not understand – don’t panic. If there are words that you are not sure about, do some research and try your best to figure out what the organisation is asking of you. If you are still unsure, you could ask your recruiter as they may have seen this brief before and can give you an idea. If you are dealing directly with the hiring manager, then it may be worth checking that your interpretation of the brief is correct.

It is better to ask the question than present on something completely different to what the interviewer has asked. However, instead of saying to them that you don’t understand the brief and leaving it at that, tell them your understanding of it and ask if this is correct. This will show that even though you are unsure, you have taken the time to try to come to a conclusion yourself before asking for help. Download our free interviewing guide for more tips and advice.

How long your job interview presentation should last depends on what guidance you have been given. Thoroughly read the brief, as the recruiter or hiring manager may have specified the length of time you have for your presentation. If they haven’t given any indication, you should aim for 10 minutes, including time for questions and answers. For more tips on interviewing, read our article on ‘interview tips & questions’ .

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Complete Guide For Preparing Job Interview Presentation With Examples

Making a presentation during an interview can be intimidating! Still, it’s a terrific method for you to highlight your abilities, personality, and suitability for the position and an excellent approach for employers to learn more about your expertise and knowledge.

Your ability to effectively communicate essential information and the quality of your design can frequently make the difference between a failed and successful presentation. No matter how solid your research or ideas are, excessive slides, packed content, and unreadable fonts might turn interviewers off. However, developing an eye-catching presentation can support your expertise and give you more confidence. It is a skill you should invest time in learning.

In today’s blog, we will go through all the components you should include in a presentation for interview and how to deliver them efficiently.

What Is A Job Interview Presentation?

Before seeing what you should include in a presentation for interview, let us discuss what is an interview PowerPoint presentation: 

As your career advances, especially to an executive position, you might be required to give a presentation during an interview. These kinds of presentations help the hiring manager in doing employee performance reviews and let them decide whether you’re worthy of the position. 

You may have to assemble a business plan and present your ideas, finish a task and demonstrate how you approached it, conduct research and submit your findings to a panel, or even give a presentation about why you would be an excellent fit for the position. All these presentations and tasks can be classified as interview presentations as they will convey your knowledge about the industry, organizational skills, communication skills, attention to detail, creativity, and more.

Giving presentations is something that many people find scary, especially when they’re concerned about an interview. However, you might have to do it at some point in your career, so the sooner you learn how to do it, the better. So, in the next section, we will see what an employer expects to see in your presentation for interview. 

What Is the Employer Looking for in a presentation for interview?

The employer searches for a candidate who will stand out throughout the hiring process. They are looking for someone who will blend in with the business culture and who is knowledgeable about their profession. Another method to determine if candidates are qualified for the position is to ask them to give a presentation.

During the interview, your employer might notice the following crucial competencies:

• Your written and vocal communication style
• The way you interact with your audience
• Your profession and industry expertise
• Your capacity to adhere to a brief
• Your capacity for organization
• Your meticulousness

When an employer witnesses a blind presentation, they can additionally note:

• Your ability to function under pressure
• How imaginative you are

In the end, the employer is also determining whether you fulfill the requirements listed in the job description, so make sure to review it while you prepare.

What to include in a job interview presentation template

Here are a few components that you should consider while preparing a powerpoint presentation for interview:

Presentation type and topic

Choose a presentation style before you start getting ready for a presentation. It will impact the kind of template you make. For a virtual slideshow presentation, write a simple slide breakdown or a script for an oral presentation. The technologies used during your interview also influence your presentations. Consider contacting a recruiting manager with any queries before making any preparations if you need clarification on what they anticipate. When given a topic for your presentation, you can plan your study accordingly. Alternatively, suppose you have the freedom to select your topic. In that case, it’s advisable to focus on themes that ignite your passion and align with your expertise, ensuring you can effectively convey your message quickly.

Make a shorter presentation with tons of words, even if you want to impress your potential boss by showing how much effort you put in. Keep it simple with short slides that look good and convey your message. Aim for no more than ten slides, and make everything brief. It guarantees that the material you present will stick in the recruiter’s mind and make you stand out from the other applicants. Some recruiters might even allot a certain amount of time for your presentation; be sure to account for this and stay within it to avoid giving the impression that you lack time management abilities.

Include research findings and quotes from prominent figures in the industry in your presentation if you are performing research for it. It exhibits your business awareness and lends authority to your ideas.

Brand Style

Use the presentation and style of the company. It will demonstrate your diligence in research and draw attention to your brand awareness.

How To Prepare A Presentation For A Job Interview

To prepare a PowerPoint presentation for interview, follow these five steps:

1. Analyze the business

Be sure to research the company you are applying to before submitting your application. By exploring the business, you can incorporate crucial details into your presentation. To learn more about the company’s offerings, application procedure, market size, performance, leadership, and governance, visit their website. Examine news stories, features, and press releases recently covered by the media. If the business has a social media account, review the most recent updates to see the preferred tone and any new advancements.

2. Recognize your target audience

The audience for your interview will probably vary depending on the job you are applying for. It is essential to know who will be at your presentation, their departments, roles, and what they’re good at. For example, suppose you’re applying for human resources. In that case, your presentation will differ from someone applying for a sales or executive role. Hence, it will be more effective if you customize your presentation for the audience. Make a PowerPoint presentation that interests and is relevant to the audience’s technical and non-technical segments.

3. Get notes ready

Make notes on the company or sector you will present for. It’s crucial to be ready to discuss the topic you’ll be given during the interview. The interviewer can gauge your understanding of the more significant business the company works in, so include current industry news in your notes.

4. Adopt a rational framework

Make sure that the format of your presentation is well-organized. An organized presentation makes it easier for your audience to follow along and stay interested. A strong finish, exciting material, and an engaging introduction define a successful presentation. A strong opening grabs the audience’s attention, and your engaging facts persuade them that you are a standout contender.

5. Work on your delivery

Once your presentation is ready, practice delivering it. You can also catch presenting mistakes with proper practice. You can get prepared by using a camera to record yourself. You can also present in front of your friends and solicit their opinions on what went well and what still needs improvement.

How to Deliver Your Presentation For Interview

When delivering a PowerPoint presentation for interview, follow these tips:

• Seek advice
• Recognize your target
• Identify a central idea
• Tell an engaging tale
• Take a strategic stance
• Adopt a constructive mindset
• Get comfortable delivering
• Communicate nonverbally
• Conclude powerfully

1. Seek advice

Ask the recruiting manager for any clarification you might need before you start working on your presentation. Read and review all the directions regarding the presentation first. Ask the hiring team if they would prefer to hear about a particular topic or if you should develop your own if the instructions do not specify one. Next, determine how long you can expect to speak with the hiring team. You can show that you are detail-oriented, receptive to criticism, and have practical communication skills by asking for help.

2. Recognise your target

Find out how knowledgeable the audience is so that you can communicate at a level that is understandable and sophisticated. To better understand the audience and adjust your discussion to your audience’s knowledge, experience, and interests, think about asking for names and positions. Obtaining all your information will help you make your discussion more effective and relevant, raising your candidature rating.

3. Identify a central idea

Be careful to choose a focal point when deciding on a presentation topic. Ensure the audience understands your presentation’s main point by organizing it around a single idea. Reduce the points in your presentation to make it seem comprehensive, well-thought-out, and professionally prepared.

4. Tell an engaging tale

Some of the best ways to organize a presentation are through conventional storytelling techniques , whether you’re talking about a finished project or a highly technical subject. Using a proven method, you can make your message stick in people’s minds and grab their attention. To tell an engaging story, take the following actions:

• Describe the issue.
• Describe the significance of the issue.
• Talk about the difficulties you encountered while trying to find the solution.
• Finish with a powerful impact and resolution.

5. Take a strategic stance

Without being too commercial, use your presentation to establish yourself as the protagonist of your own tale. When feasible, use evidence to support your claims; otherwise, highlight your best traits and the most pertinent experience in your presentation. Seize the chance to show that you are a candidate who can quickly help the organization achieve essential goals.

6. Adopt a constructive mindset

Throughout your presentation, maintain an optimistic attitude while discussing your challenges. Consider emphasizing how you improved a problematic situation or discussing your efforts to overcome difficult circumstances. When appropriate, project an image of being proactive and emphasize your steps to resolve a problem. Let the information and data lead your presentation so the interviewers can grasp your thought processes.

7. Get comfortable delivering

To ensure you leave a positive first impression on the recruiting team:

• Practice your presentation multiple times in advance.
• Try presenting without consulting your notes or reading your script after a few practice sessions.
• Keep track of the time during each practice session to determine the perfect pace.
• Choose the main themes you want to discuss as you review each presentation segment to help it sound more natural and prevent it from coming across as too prepared.

8. Communicate non-verbally

Practice confidently expressing yourself while standing up and speaking. Face the audience directly, have a cheerful look, and smile naturally. To make points, keep your shoulders back and utilize small hand motions. Keep eye contact throughout your job interview PowerPoint presentation, particularly when making a crucial point.

9. Conclude powerfully

Create a memorable conclusion to ensure your presentation is as compelling as possible. A broad, open-ended question that came up throughout your study could be an excellent way to wrap up. A one- to three-word key takeaway that helps your audience recall the presentation’s primary point can also be used to wrap up. Integrating your message with an intriguing quotation next to the organization’s mission, vision, and goals is another effective wrap-up technique. In closing, raise any queries to show you are receptive to criticism and conversation.

Helpful tips For the Job interview Presentation

Here are some tips that you can use during the presentation for interview: 

1. Create the outline

When requested to give a presentation at an interview, you should have enough time to organize it according to a predetermined outline. If the interviewer still needs to provide you with all the necessary information, ensure you know how the process will work out regarding the topic, time limits, available multimedia devices, and participants. Remember that adhering to the brief is a necessary component of the evaluation process, so if you’re requested to do the task in less than or equal to 10 minutes, stay within that amount of time. After you’ve confirmed the nature of the interview, you should begin preparing a presentation that will wow the audience and showcase your qualifications for the post.

2. Establish a framework

Developing a presentation with a coherent framework facilitates the communication of your ideas. A well-considered framework conveys your thoughts intelligibly and concisely rather than jumping from one notion to another. Naturally, an introduction is the ideal place to begin. Set the scene immediately and emphasize how your solution makes a real difference. Next, compose a story using informative statistics and first-hand accounts. It should demonstrate how your skills and expertise help the business achieve its objectives.

3. Improve the visual assistance

Your audience shouldn’t just be able to read the slides from your presentation. They must endorse what you’re saying to keep their attention on you. It entails using fewer wordy slides and increasing the number of images to illustrate your arguments better.

4. Practice For The Job Interview Presentation

Although it may seem obvious, people must practice their presentations long enough. Even if you have a better idea than the other interviewees, there’s a considerable possibility the hiring panel will only understand the relevance of your speech if you convey it well. To find the ideal balance, practice with friends or family and ask for feedback on your areas of weakness.

5. Get ready to adjust

It would be best if you rehearsed to project a powerful presence during your presentation. Still, the hiring panel may try to knock you off balance. Consider potential question topics when you draft your presentation. It might assist you in preparing answers that demonstrate that you have thought through the issue.

6. Pay attention to the little things

Once the creation of your presentation is complete, focus on fine-tuning the minor elements. We’ve already discussed the need to speak deliberately. Still, to project confidence, you should also remember to make eye contact and display open body language. Your presentation will go more smoothly if you are more prepared. Ensure you arrive early on the interview day so you can set up your presentation. Ensure your tech gadgets function properly, bring extra batteries for your remote controls, and allow enough time for a final evaluation.

Lastly, you can ensure you deliver a standout presentation showcasing your most substantial skill sets by giving your job interview presentation more thought and preparation.

Job Interview Presentation Examples:

Here are some job interview presentation examples of a presentation template to assess a candidate’s ability to teach by having them give thesis statements:

What Is A thesis statement?

Introduction.

Brad Cooper

As a seasoned academic writer, I plan to teach English in middle schools. A thesis statement is a crucial sentence that sums up your paper’s central topic. I will define a thesis statement today and give you an example to see what one may look like in an academic work.

Defining a thesis statement

A thesis statement is a sentence that exposes the reader to the primary idea of a paper or essay in the opening paragraph. Your thesis statement is one of the most crucial sentences in your work and one of the first things the reader will see, but it may also be one of the most difficult to compose! 

An example of a thesis statement

It is an illustration of a thesis statement for a literary devices-related English paper: The central premise of this novel is that hardship can lead to triumph with hard effort and perseverance; the author presents this idea through metaphors and foreshadowing.

As I explained in my presentation today, a thesis statement is a paper’s central notion. Since it’s an essential component of the writing process, young children must know this subject as soon as possible. I appreciate your attention to my presentation. Do you have any questions concerning my credentials or the information I provided? I would be happy to help.

Job Interview Presentation Templates

SlideUpLift is well-known for its vast collection of expertly designed PowerPoint templates covering a wide range of subjects and businesses. One notable category within its repertoire is the Job Interview Presentations section. Here, you can find templates explicitly tailored for interview scenarios, enabling seamless presentations during job interviews such as job interview presentation examples. These templates come in various styles, such as making dynamic employee profiles and using the STAR system to highlight skills. 

Interview Resume Presentation PowerPoint Template

The Interview Resume Presentation PowerPoint Template aims to help people with different professional backgrounds increase their chances of getting hired. This template consists of 11 slides, including all the relevant information that a job seeker should include in their resume to seek an excellent job. Job seekers, interns or students, professionals looking for a promotion, independent contractors, consultants, etc. can all use it.

Presentation Agenda PowerPoint Template

The Presentation Agenda PowerPoint template is valuable for incorporating a structured agenda into your job interview presentation. The Agenda Presentation template features four dedicated agendas, providing a clear, organized layout highlighting key topics. The slide can be included in your presentation, allowing you to communicate the issues to be covered effectively. Whether you are outlining the interview process, presenting key points, or discussing specific aspects, this template ensures a professional and visually appealing agenda for a presentation.

Star Job Interview Presentation Template

The Star Interview PowerPoint template adopts a structured format featuring four blocks: Situation, Task, Action, and Results. 

This template is tailored for interviews or presentations using the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Results) method to assess or communicate experiences. Each block provides dedicated space to articulate the specific Situation, Task at hand, Actions taken, and Results achieved.

30 60 90 Day Plan for Interview PowerPoint Template

A 30 60 90 Day Plan for an interview presentation is a structured outline that illustrates your intentions and proposed actions during the first three months of your employment in a new role. It’s a tool used to demonstrate your understanding of the position, your strategic thinking, and your ability to set goals and achieve them.

Animated Job Interview Presentation PowerPoint Template

This is another amazing resume PowerPoint template for you. The unique thing is that it comes with animations. These Animations make your presentation more exciting and attractive for the audience. Download it and customize it as per your requirements. Add your details, and you are good to go.

With all the information and tips in this detailed article, you can end your worries and prepare for your job interview presentation like a pro . You now possess all the specific presenting advice needed to ace the interview. If the design aspect overwhelms you, peruse our vast collection of PowerPoint Presentation templates and select particular components (such as data charts, shapes, and diagrams) to give your presentation the best visual appeal.

How long should my job interview presentation be?

Aim for a concise presentation, typically lasting 5-10 minutes, to maintain audience engagement.

What's the best way to conclude my job interview presentation?

The best way to conclude your job interview presentation is by summarizing key points, expressing enthusiasm for the role, and opening the floor for any questions from the interview panel.

What should be the key focus of my job interview presentation?

Prioritize showcasing your skills and experiences and how they align with the job requirements and company values.

How can I handle questions during or after the presentation for interview?

Be prepared for questions by anticipating potential inquiries related to your content, experiences, or the role.

How can SlideUpLift benefit me in preparing a job interview presentation?

SlideUpLift provides a wide array of professionally designed PowerPoint templates, including specific templates for job interview presentations. This resource can significantly help you create a standout and impactful interview pitch.

Table Of Content

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Resume Templates Collection

30 60 90 Day Plan For Interview Presentation Template

STAR Interview Presentation Template

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How to Create an Engaging 5-Minute Presentation

Published: September 15, 2023

A 5-minute speech can feel both incredibly short and infinitely long.

While this short format encourages audiences to pay more attention, presenters often struggle to fit everything into five minutes even as they navigate nervousness that seems to stretch out each second.

As a result, preparation is key for 5-minute speech success.

But how can you ensure your presentation accomplishes everything it needs to within just five short minutes? We’ve put together an (appropriately condensed) guide on five-minute presentations to help you get started.

How many words are in a 5-minute presentation?

A five-minute presentation is approximately 700 words long. The average person speaks 120 to 160 words a minute, which means the average five-minute presentation is 600 to 800 words.

10 Free PowerPoint Templates

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• Creative templates.
• Data-driven templates.
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You're all set!

Click this link to access this resource at any time.

To calculate your own personal speaking speed (words per minute, or WPM):

• Make an audio recording of yourself speaking for one minute.
• Use a free transcription service to generate a text version of your speech.
• The number of words you spoke in that minute is your personal WPM.

When constructing a longer presentation, you might be more concerned about transitions and keeping the audience engaged with more extensive narrative elements.

In a short presentation, everything you say should directly tie back to your central premise and further advance your main point.

Keeping a tight scope and using your words carefully ensures your time isn't wasted and the audience leaves with a clear, singular takeaway.

How many slides are in a 5-minute presentation?

Five or six slides, or about one per minute, is a good baseline for a 5-minute presentation. Depending on your subject matter, however, you might use up to 20 slides and spend about 10 or 15 seconds on each.

More important than your slide count is what each slide contains. It‘s a good rule of thumb to keep your slides simple and focused on visuals instead of text for a presentation of any length.

This becomes especially important when you’re dealing with a condensed presentation window.

Trying to cram in as much information as possible within a short time frame can be tempting. Resist the urge. Instead, focus on simple, clean visuals that all tie back to your central premise.

You can also use these free presentation templates to arrange your slides in a way that makes the most sense for your delivery and the content of your presentation.

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Ultimate 5 Minute Speeches & Presentations (A-Z Guide)

Hrideep barot.

• Presentation , Speech Topics

“If you want me to give you a two-hour presentation, I am ready today. If you want only a five-minute speech, it will take me two weeks to prepare.”  ― Mark Twain

Delivering presentations and speeches can be challenging, especially if you have a short time. Covering the essential information you wish to convey and making an impact in these 5 minutes requires much backend work. The good news is that individuals are more likely to retain succinct but significant content than a long but tedious speech.

It’s important to remember some things when delivering a 5-minute speech, such as developing a thorough overview, allocating time for each slide, refraining from memorizing or monotonously reciting your information, using actions rather than words, including compelling visuals, sharing supplementary information for use after the speech, and practicing a lot more—at least three times more—than usual.

How Many Words are there in a 5-Minute Presentation?

Considering that an average person talks 120 to 160 words per minute, a five-minute presentation will typically be between 600 and 800 words long. When you deliver such a brief presentation, a few pointers need to be kept in mind –

• Every statement you make during a brief presentation should be related to your main idea and the message you want to get through.
• It is beneficial to avoid wasting time and make sure that the audience has only one clear takeaway by keeping your scope narrow and utilizing your words sparingly.

While this is just an average, it can vary depending on the speed at which you speak, the topic that you choose, and your thoroughness with the content. To know how many words you will be needing in a 5-minute presentation, you can –

• Find out how many words are read in 5 minutes by timing yourself as you read a speech or an article.
• Use useful internet resources like the Speech Calculator to determine how many words you will require based on your speech rate.

Tips to keep in mind for your 5-minute Presentation:-

1. give a comprehensive overview.

When you have just 5 minutes to give an interview, diving deep into the topic won’t help. Instead, providing an overview of the subject and subtopics can help introduce each point and not take up all the precious minutes. 

How to give an overview?

When giving an overview, there are some questions to tick that can help you know if you have covered the basics; such as:

• What does this topic mean in 1-2 sentences? 
• When can this information be useful to someone?
• What impacts does this topic have in 1-2 sentences?
• Where can you see its practical/theoretical application? 
• How is this going to benefit my audience?

These are some basic questions, and if you notice, cover the basic WH questions . Thus, following the WH Pattern is helpful when you want to give a brief overview.

2. Structuring The Presentation with Time Allocation 

Structuring your presentation is extremely important, irrespective of the style and pattern of presentation you opt for or the time you are allowed, since it provides a framework for your subsequent preparation. And when you have just 5 minutes, structuring it according to the time becomes more critical. 

Steps to Structure your Presentation

A general outline that progresses from the fundamentals to the particular should be used when preparing a presentation or speech. This will give those less familiar with the subject a quick overview of the topic before delving further. Here are some steps you may take if you’re wondering how to budget time and logically format your content –

• General introduction of the content (1 minute) 
• Aim/Objectives or the motives (1 minute) 
• Body wherein you discuss the main content such as pros and cons, how it helps etc. (2 minutes)
• Conclusion and feedback (1 minute) 

You can follow this general template; however, it is important to tailor it to your specific topic and style. To prevent running out of time, don’t forget to multiply your estimated time by the number of minutes.

If you’re seeking ideas on how to organize your speech, visit our blog 3 Ways To Structure A Speech The Professional Way where we help you plan out your next speech more professionally.

3. Avoid memorizing or monotonously speaking your content

Memorizing or reading from the content could seem like a good approach when you are short on time, but it is the opposite. Reading or learning the material is not advised because the audience may lose interest and zone out within the first 30 seconds. An improved strategy is understanding and presenting the material as a narrative or story. 

What can you do instead of memorizing? 

If you’re someone who needs chits or keywords to refer to, just speaking might be a difficult task for you. In such cases, you can complement your speech by –

• Showing a slideshow of visuals that compliment your speech.
• Make slips with keywords for each subtopic, so you know what to elaborate upon.
• Storytell – Share personal life anecdotes and relate your content to them.

When you speak in a narrative style rather than reading, you grab the audience’s attention more and are better able to connect with them, determine whether they can understand the topic from their non-verbal cues, and adjust your delivery accordingly. As a result, genuinely comprehending your topic is considerably more beneficial for you and the audience than simply reading it from a piece of writing.

4. Use actions more than words

It is much said that actions speak louder than words, which is one trick to stick to when you have much less time and comments to express. Actions here include non-verbal gestures, body language, and facial expressions that convey the intensity of the message that you want to deliver. 

What are the different types of actions that you can use

A} non-verbal gestures.

Non-verbal gestures refer to the complimentary use of your hand expressions and body language to support a verbal point. As they are frequently accurate predictors of what you are saying, these behaviours are accorded a great deal of weight. Thus, if you want to draw the audience’s attention to any particular or central point, it is helpful to use hand gestures to imply them effectively.

There are various gestures that imply certain meaning, such as –

• Pointing a finger to stress a particular word. 
• Circling your hands to show a sign of moving to the next topic. 

Here is a video that tells you 10 hand gestures, their meaning, and how to use them effectively!

B} Facial expressions

Facial expressions refer to using your facial appearance to amplify your spoken words. Compared to a neutral expression, having a smile, making eye contact, or even having a shocking expression to a point has a lot greater impact. The audience is least likely to pay attention to what you’re saying and lose interest if you maintain a static expression.

Imagine if you had to look at a face that had a neutral look for 5 minutes and one with a jolly expressionist face.

Who would you most like look forward to and be interested to listen?

Your answer right there tells you the importance of facial expression.

Actions speak louder than words; you must use them effectively in these 5 minutes!

5. Include Visuals 

Five minutes is too short a time to speak about every detail, and that’s when visuals and graphics take the stage. Much like the famous quote, a picture is worth 1000 words, correctly chosen illustrations can complement your verbal speech and enhance the intensity by large.

Guidelines to follow when adding visuals 

It’s not difficult to add images and videos, but it’s crucial to pick the one that best conveys your message while also standing out. Thus, the following are some things to keep in mind when adding a photo or any other visuals:

• Is this photo self-explanatory, or do I have to allocate time to explain it?
• Are the videos easy to comprehend and cover the basics of my topic? 
• Have I added at least one picture to each subtopic I will cover? 
• Lastly, does the picture in any way hurt any sentiments? 

Visual communication can engage and attract the readers because they have something to look at when you are speaking. Thus, when both the modes of delivery are combined, it leads to a much better understanding and retention of the audience. 

6. Share additional post-speech resources

As much as you try, you cannot cover all the information you would if you had a 20-minute presentation against a 5-minute one. But now that you do have this task, it is a good idea to share some helpful post-speech resources that can help the audience delve deep into the topic if they wish to. 

Ways in which you can share additional information 

A} Videos: Recommending videos is one of the quickest and most effective ways to give some extra information. When researching your content, if you come across any videos that are too long to use in your presentation but are a valuable source of knowledge, linking them in the last to share it with the audience is a helpful thing, which in some ways can also convey the message that you are invested in the topic and want the audience to know more about it.  

B} Brochure : Although this might seem like a bit of work or a step forward, this is another excellent takeaway you can give. Brochures filled with a summary and more information on the topic can be a helpful guide for the audience to return to if they wish to explore the matter further.

7. Rehearse 3x times more  

It goes without saying that you should practice your speech or presentation, but given the time limit, it is advisable to practice for longer. This is because multiple rounds of practice will give you the following benefits –

A} Let you see if you finish the content structured in 5 minutes – The first time you practice the speech, you might be unable to complete it in the allotted time. Still, subsequent practice sessions will allow you to determine whether you are running on time or not, without rushing and efficiently covering all the points. Thus, if you finish late, you will have a lot to work on, such as speeding up or reducing the content, and if you finish early, you have precisely the opposite.

B} Allows you to become thorough with the content – The more you practice, the more you will become adept at knowing your material inside and out. This is advantageous because you will be able to describe it in terms that are much simpler to understand, create a narrative around it, provide instances to support it, and reiterate it if necessary.

C} You can see if your speech is understandable – When we prepare a speech, we may at times believe that it is logical and runs smoothly. However, by regularly practicing, especially in front of friends and coworkers, you can determine whether the material and flow are coherent and simple to follow, giving you time to correct and alter if there are any gaps or missing pieces as per the feedback.

Structure of a 5-minute Presentation

Your presentation should also be organized similarly to how a speech is – with a beginning, middle, and an end.

When you have just a few minutes to present, it’s important to have a captivating and attention-drawing statement that can keep the audience hooked to the latter part of the presentation. In such cases, you can –

• open up with strong statements that might take the audience by awe – when you start a speech with some powerful and provocative statements on the topic, it can lure the audience into it because they might hold similar or different views and thus pay attention to support or argue their point.
• start with a reflective question that puts the audience into thinking – if your topic was an investment and its returns, questions like “what would you do if you had 1 cr when you were 70” or “do you dream of a trip after your retirement?” such personal and reflective questions make the audience think that the speaker is going to answer a way to make them true, which can, in turn, tune them into the talk.

Thus, having an impactful beginning is vital to get the audience to stick around and focus for the rest of the talk.

With regards to the speech’s body, due to time constraints, it is crucial to keep the substance brief. When you have just a few minutes to cover the content, it is important to – refer to and follow the WH Question Rule that can help you cover all the basics of a topic in a short period of time.

What should be kept in mind though should be that – you should not try to delve deep into any sub-topic and stick to the basics only. Here the WH Questions help as they checklist all the basic questions that need to be answered in a 5-minute presentation.

In about the last 60 seconds, you should conclude your speech. Whilst delivering this, you must very effectively use the quality of Repetition – that is reiterate the main or central theme that you wish to stick with the audience. It is helpful to say one impactful line rather than summarizing more than the need and not letting the main point stand out.

Samples and Examples of a 5-minute speech

Despite the fact that there are plenty of 5-minute speeches and presentations online, some of them are incredibly well-written and presented. Here are a few videos you can watch to get an idea of what a five-minute presentation should be like.

The danger of silence by Clint Smith

What If I Had Three Minutes To Change The World? by Asia Greene

5-Minute Presentation Topics

Presentation topics on science.

• Greatest Scientists and their discoveries
• Human Evolution and progress of Man
• Is there a parallel dimension?
• Physics in everyday life
• Emerging fields of Biology

Presentation topics on Technology

• Android vs. Apple
• Technology and its Evolution
• Trends in Technology
• Technology and its link to science, media, and other fields of education
• Careers in the field of Technology

Presentation topics on Finance

• What is Stock Market?
• Financial Freedom and how to achieve it?
• Investments in your life – from your 20’s to your 80’s
• Basics of demand and supply
• History and Future patterns of the economy

Presentation topics on Humanities and Arts

• Positive Psychology
• Gender Studies and its importance
• Branches of Social Science and its advent
• Careers in the field of Social Science
• Literature – why humans crave reading and writing

Presentation topics on Media

• History of Media and its Founders
• Employment in the field of Media
• Print Media vs Digital Media
• Use vs. Abuse of Media
• Is media the future?

Is Public Speaking Hard?

Speeches and Presentations are an integral part of our professional lives no matter what career we choose. Compelling presentations can be extremely helpful and effective provided all the necessary steps are taken beforehand.

Overall, public speaking can initially be a difficult task but it is not an impossible one; if all the stages and steps are followed, giving a speech can be a fairly simple undertaking.

If you are almost set to prepare your presentation but want to know more about the 5-minute presentation, ways to present, key tips, and much more, watch this video where we give you a visual guide to your next speech!

We hope that after this article, you’re all set to start your 5-minute presentation preparation!

If you are looking for a guide to your 30-minute or 10-minute presentation, then head onto our blog where we tell you everything you need to know from writing, topics, and delivery for your next speech!

Happy Presenting!

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Home Blog Presentation Ideas How to Give A Compelling Interview Presentation: Tips, Examples and Topic Ideas

How to Give A Compelling Interview Presentation: Tips, Examples and Topic Ideas

Interview presentations have now become the new norm for most industries. They are popular for sales, marketing, technology, and academic positions. If you have been asked to deliver one for your job interview presentation, prepare to build a strong case for yourself as a candidate.

Giving a general presentation is already daunting. But selling yourself is always the hardest. Spectacular credentials and stellar expertise don’t count much if you cannot present them clearly, which you are expected to do during your interview presentation.

So, let’s prime you up for the challenge. This post is action-packed with job interview PowerPoint presentation examples and will teach you the best way to do a presentation without stressing too much!

Table of Contents

What is an Interview Presentation?

What should an interview presentation look like, how to prepare for a job interview presentation: the basics, define your structure, what slides to include, how to come up with 15-minute interview presentation ideas, how to conclude your interview presentation, how to prepare for an interview: the final tips, what to do at the first interaction with the company elevator pitch for interview, presentation design tips, how to overcome presentation anxiety, tips on maintaining positive body language throughout the presentation, your final act.

An interview presentation, also known as a job interview presentation or interview portfolio, is a formal and structured way for candidates to showcase their skills, qualifications, and suitability for a specific job position during an interview. It goes beyond the typical Q&A format of interviews, allowing candidates to demonstrate their expertise through a prepared presentation. Employers commonly request interview presentations in various industries, such as sales, marketing, technology, academia, and management roles. These presentations serve several important purposes: assessing communication skills, evaluating cultural fit, measuring expertise, analyzing problem-solving skills, and observing presentation skills. While the specific format and requirements of interview presentations vary widely, candidates typically receive guidelines from the employer regarding the topic, duration, and any specific criteria to be addressed. In essence, an interview presentation is an opportunity for candidates to make a compelling case for their candidacy, showcasing their qualifications, experience, and suitability for the job. It requires careful preparation, effective communication, and the ability to engage and persuade the interview panel. A successful interview presentation can significantly enhance a candidate’s chances of securing the desired position.

Think of your interview presentation as a sales pitch.

Your goal is to convince the human resources team that you are the best candidate. The kick here is that you will present to a warm audience – you already impressed them enough with your resume to be called in for an interview. We recommend generating a strategy and presentation based on a 30 60 90 Day Plan .

Employers request interview presentations for a few simple reasons:

• To assess your communication and public speaking skills.
• To understand whether you are the right cultural fit for the company.
• To develop a better sense of how well-versed you are in the domain .

So, your first job is ensuring your presentation fits the criteria. Review the company’s job description again and jot down all the candidate requirements. Take the time to read about their company values and mission. Be proactive and ask precisely what you should cover during your presentation.

Most interview presentations will differ in content and style, but here’s a quick example to give you more context:

[ Use This Template ]

Before you get elbow-deep in designing that PowerPoint for a job interview presentation, do some scouting and reach out to the HR team with a few questions.

You want your presentation to be on-point and technically accurate, so ask your contact the following:

• How long should an interview presentation be? Fifteen minutes is the golden standard, though some employers may ask to cut it down to just 10 minutes or extend it to 20-25.
• Who exactly will be present? A conversational presentation would undoubtedly be welcomed by your peers and a team leader but may appear too casual for the senior managers or board of directors.
• Does the HR team have a particular agenda in mind? Ask some leading questions to understand what kind of skills/experience they want you to demonstrate. If needed, use a proper agenda slide to include your content.
• What’s the IT setup? Should you bring your laptop? Do you need an adapter to connect to their projector? What kind of presentation software have they installed – PowerPoint, Keynote, Google Slides?

Everyone appreciates clarity.

In fact, 89% of professionals state their ability to communicate with clarity directly impacts their career and income.

Your presentation should flow, not rumble. Make sure that your story is easy to follow and your key message is easy to digest, remember, and pass on. If you want people to retain your main points, opt for the following structure:

Source: this infographic was created with  3 Steps Editable 3D Ladder Infographic

Here’s an interview presentation example styled in this fashion.

What is: The company’s presence in the Middle East is low. Only 15% of revenues come from the top markets.

Why this matters: The UAE fashion market alone is expected to grow at a CAGR of 21% during the next five years.

What could be: I have helped my previous employer open a flagship store in Dubai, have a lot of industry contacts, and am familiar with the local legislature. Your brand can expect a 17% revenue growth within one year of opening.

You can find even more ideas for designing your presentations in this post .

The choice of slides will largely depend on whether you are asked to talk about yourself or present on some task that you will be required to do as part of your job (e.g., create marketing campaigns).

Most interview presentation templates feature the following slides:

• Opening Slide
• Quick Bio/Personal Summary
• Career Path
• Education timeline
• Key Skills and Expertise
• Case studies/examples of the problems you have solved at your past jobs
• Your vision for your future role.
• What exactly can you bring in as the candidate (we will come back to this one later on!)

Can’t figure out where to start? Check out our AI PowerPoint generator to create an entire interview slide deck in a couple of clicks, or just download a job interview template . Swipe down to learn from the either of the following job interview presentation samples.

Typically, a talent acquisition team will suggest broad interview presentation topics for you. For example, if you are applying for a sales position, they may ask you to develop a sales presentation for some product (real or imaginary).

Some employers will request a short presentation about you or your hobbies to understand whether you are a good “fit” for the team and share the company’s values. Remember this: your audience will be assessing your aptitude for the role, no matter which topic you were given.

In fact, the interviewers at this point don’t care that much about your experience and skills. They want to know how you can apply those to solve the company’s pressing problems – meet sales targets, improve ROI from social media marketing or help them earn more revenue.

Your job is to make an educated guess… predict the most wrenching problem, and pitch your “magic pill” during your interview presentation.

I know what you are thinking – but how do I find the right opportunity/problem to tackle?

Businesses across different industries pretty much struggle with the same generic challenges related to either of the following:

Your topic should clearly address one of these areas and offer a potential roadmap for solving some specific problem within it.

Let’s say that you are applying for a sales role. Clearly, you will want to tackle the “customer audience” set of problems. To refine your idea, ask yourself the following questions:

• Can you think of a new customer segment the company should target? Who are they, what do they want, and how you can help the company reach them?
• Do you have a network or experience to identify and pitch new clients?
• Can you think of new collaboration opportunities the company could use to attract a whole new niche of customers?

So a sample job interview presentation about yourself should include a series of Problem & Solution Slides , showing exactly how you will address that issue if the company hires you.

Here’s another PowerPoint presentation about yourself for job interview example worth using – incorporate a case study slide, showing how you have successfully solved a similar problem for your past employer.

Wrap up your presentation by laying out the key steps the company needs to take. Give an estimate of how much time it will take to tackle the problem, and what changes/investments should be made.

Your conclusion should tell this: “Hire me and I will solve this problem for you in no time!”.

Source: StockSnap

Dial-Up Your Power

Take a deep breath and strike a “power pose” before you enter the room.

According to her research, power posers performed better during interviews and were more likely to get hired. Another study also proved this theory: unaware judges gave major preference to the power-primed applicants. So yes, pep talks do work!

The first 30 Seconds Count The Most

What you do and say in the first 30 seconds will make the most impact. Psychological  research  shows that listeners form opinions about your personality and intelligence in the first 30 seconds of the interview. So be sure to start with a compelling opening, framing exactly how you want to be perceived.

Try To Appear Similar to the Interviewer

Lauren Rivera, a professor from Kellogg School,  came to the conclusion that interviewers tend to hire “people like them” .

Even the top human resource management folks fall for this bias and tend to base their evaluations on how similar a candidate is to them, instead of trying to decide whether the person’s skill set is ideal for the position. So to be liked, you will have to act relatable.

Back up your statements with facts

To deliver a presentation with a bang, you can make use of pre-analyzed facts to support your hypothesis. Make sure to do your homework, study the company and its competitive landscape, and do the professional work you would have done as a member of the company crew. At some point in your interview presentation, you go “off the script”, and pull out a bunch of documents, supporting your statements.

For example, you can give away a quick plan indicating a number of things the employer could do today to save money, even if they don’t hire you. Make sure to be meticulous; your work will speak for you. But giving away this work will show the employer your commitment, skills, and focus.

And that’s exactly how to make your job interview presentation stand out. Most candidates just ramble about their skills and past career moves. You bring specificity and proof to the platter, showing exactly what makes you a great hire fair and square.

Within a selection process, there are many interactions (interviews and dynamics) that you must successfully complete in order to be the next selected candidate. One of your objectives in this first interaction should be to generate a great first impression in the company. For this, we recommend using the Elevator Pitch for Interview technique.

The Elevator Pitch for Interview will allow you to present yourself in a solid and professional way in less than 60 seconds, in order to generate an outstanding first impression.

What is an Elevator Pitch for an Interview?

The Elevator Pitch is a condensed speech about yourself that aims to generate engagement in no more than 60 seconds. Entrepreneurs widely use this type of speech to persuade investors and job seekers in job interviews. Your Elevator Pitch for the Interview will generate a great first impression to the employer and be better positioned than other candidates. If your goal is to make a convincing presentation in a job interview, your Elevator Pitch needs to be well crafted.

How to Make an Elevator Pitch for an Interview

There are many ways and tips to make an excellent Elevator Pitch for a job interview. This section provides you with essential advice to make your interview more convincing.

Identify your target

You need to know to whom you are presenting yourself. Is it a recruiter? or an executive?. Your Elevator Pitch will change depending on the receiver.

Comprehend the needs of the hiring company

Make an advanced study about the search requirements for the job position. Identify your strengths. Highlight them. Demonstrate your experience. Identify your weaknesses. Show that you have a profile that seeks constant improvement

Create a clear, concise, and truthful Elevator Pitch

This point is critical. Your Elevator Pitch must be clear, concise, genuine, and impactful. Go from less to more. Generate a real hook in your audience. Try not to go off-topic or talk too much, and be brief in everything you want to say.

Speak naturally and confidently

If you can speak fluently and naturally, you can show a confident profile. Show you know what you are talking about and what you want.

Elevator Pitch Example for Job Seekers

This section illustrates an Elevator Pitch Example targeted to Recruiters. It will help you put together your own.

“My name is [NAME]. After graduating with a degree in Business Administration, I have spent the last five years accumulating professional experience as a Project Assistant and Project Manager. I have successfully managed intangible products’ planning, strategy, and launch these past few years. I was excited to learn about this opportunity in Big Data – I’ve always been passionate about how technology and the use of information can greatly improve the way we live. I would love the opportunity to bring my project management and leadership skills to this position.”

Ways to avoid common mistakes in your Elevator Pitch

Keep in mind the following points to avoid making mistakes in your Elevator Pitch for an Interview.

Don’t hurry to make your Elevator Pitch

The Elevator Pitch lasts approximately 60 seconds. Do it on your own time and naturally, as long as you make it clear and concise.

Do not always use the same Elevator Pitch for all cases

One recommendation is not to repeat the same Elevator Pitch in all your interviews. Make changes. Try new options and ways of saying the information. Try different versions and check with your experience which generates more engagement and persuasion.

Make it easy to understand

Articulate your pitch as a story. Think that the person in front of you does not know you and is interested in learning more about your profile. Don’t make your Elevator Pitch challenging to appear more sophisticated. Simply generate a clear and easy-to-understand narrative, where all the data you tell is factual and verifiable.

Don’t forget to practice it

Practice is the key to success. Your Elevator Pitch for Interview will become more professional, convincing, and natural with practice.

How to End an Elevator Pitch?

An essential aspect of ending an Elevator Pitch for an Interview is demonstrating interest and passion for the position. You have already presented yourself and established that you have the necessary background for the job. Closing with phrases revealing passion and attitude will help reinforce your pitch.

We recommend you use expressions such as:

“I have always been interested and curious about the area in which the company operates, and it would be a great challenge for me to be able to perform in this position.”

“I have been interested in moving into your company for a while, and I love what your team is doing in IT.”

“I would like to advance my career with an employer with the same values. I know that thanks to my profile and experience, I can make excellent contributions to your company.”

Keep It Visual: Use visuals like images, graphs, and charts to convey your points effectively. Visuals can make complex information more accessible and engaging. Consistency Matters: Maintain a consistent design throughout your presentation. Use the same fonts, color schemes, and formatting to create a cohesive look. Practice Timing: Be mindful of the allotted time for your presentation. Practice to ensure you can comfortably cover your content within the time limit. Engage the Audience: Incorporate elements that engage the audience, such as questions, anecdotes, or real-world examples. Interaction keeps the interview panel interested. Use White Space: Avoid cluttered slides. Use white space to create a clean and uncluttered design that enhances readability.

Presenting during a job interview can be nerve-wracking. Here are some strategies to overcome presentation anxiety:

• Practice: Practice your presentation multiple times, ideally in front of a friend or mentor. The more you rehearse, the more confident you’ll become.
• Visualization: Visualize yourself by giving a successful presentation. Imagine yourself speaking confidently and engaging the audience.
• Breathing Techniques: Deep breathing can help calm nerves. Take slow, deep breaths before and during your presentation to reduce anxiety.
• Positive Self-Talk: Replace negative thoughts with positive affirmations. Remind yourself of your qualifications and the value you bring to the role.
• Focus on the Message: Concentrate on delivering your message rather than dwelling on your anxiety. Remember that the interviewers want to learn about your skills and experiences.
• Arrive Early: Arrive at the interview location early. This gives you time to get comfortable with the environment and set up any technical equipment you use.

Maintain Good Posture: Stand or sit up straight with your shoulders back. Good posture conveys confidence and attentiveness. Make Eye Contact: Establish and maintain eye contact with your audience to show confidence and engagement. Use Open Gestures: Employ open gestures, like open palms and expansive arm movements, to convey enthusiasm and openness. Smile and Show Enthusiasm: Genuine smiles and enthusiastic facial expressions demonstrate passion and eagerness. Control Nervous Habits: Be mindful of nervous habits like tapping or fidgeting, which can distract your audience and convey anxiety.

Stop fretting and start prepping for your interview presentation. You now have all the nitty-gritty presentation tips to ace that interview. If you are feeling overwhelmed with the design part, browse our extensive gallery of PowerPoint templates and cherry-pick specific elements ( diagrams , shapes , and data charts ) to give your interview presentation the top visual appeal.

Here you can see some 100% editable templates available on SlideModel that could be useful for preparing an interview presentation.

1. Versatile Self-Introduction PowerPoint Template

Use This Template

2. Professional Curriculum Vitae PowerPoint Template

This a sample of PowerPoint presentation template that you can use to present a curriculum and prepare for a job interview presentation. The PPT template is compatible with PowerPoint but also with Google Slides.

3. Modern 1-Page Resume Template for PowerPoint

4. Multi-Slide Resume PowerPoint Template

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HR, Human Resources, Interview, Job, Resume Filed under Presentation Ideas

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Tips for Giving a Powerful Interview Presentation

Covid-19 has overturned the hiring process, with most companies opting for virtual interviews rather than face-to-face ones. A recent hiring trend is the emerging popularity of interview presentations among hiring managers. Statistics show that  76% of hiring managers find attracting the right candidates their greatest challenge . So how do you find the right fit for your company among the hundreds of job applications? The best option is to give candidates an opportunity to pitch their skills through a presentation. 

From the perspective of a candidate, this is a make-or-break moment. A well-crafted and unique presentation could be the key to landing your dream role, but a shoddy one can easily bring down your chances. If you are reading this, you are most likely looking for tips to create a presentation that will help you stand out from the crowd. You have come to the right place. 

Read on for tips to avoid ‘death by powerpoint’ and ace that interview presentation round.

What is an interview presentation?

You probably know what an interview presentation already is. For the unversed, an interview presentation, as the name suggests, is a presentation that has to be put together on a particular topic as part of an interview or recruitment process. An interview presentation could range from being a simple one focused on pitching why you think you would be the best fit for the role to solving a specific business dilemma. In some cases, you may even be expected to create a blind presentation wherein you would only be given a limited amount of time to prepare. However, the expectations for any kind of presentation remain the same.

As mentioned earlier, interview presentations help the employer to find a candidate who stands out from the crowd and also fits into their company culture. It also helps interviewers to assess a wide range of skills such as communication skills, industry knowledge, attention to detail, creativity, organizational skills, ability to engage with the audience, and much more. A successful presentation will put these skills on display and help your potential employer understand if you have what it takes to be a part of their organization.

From doing adequate initial research to nailing the delivery, there are several steps involved in ensuring your presentation goes well. 

Researching the Company and the Role

Consider your process of preparing for an interview presentation like that of painting a picture. You will naturally be starting with a blank canvas. Doing proper research about your potential employer and the role that you have been shortlisted for is the first brush stroke toward creating your masterpiece. 

Your initial research should be centered around the industry vertical that the company is a part of, the key players in the industry, and the ranking of the company within the industry. 

How to:  A simple Google search will help you in finding this information. 

Why:  Not only does this help you understand your role in the company better, but it also helps you structure your presentation accordingly. This will also help you to answer any questions that emerge during/after the presentation with much more clarity.

Once you are done with the initial research, the next step is to look further into the company’s core values and mission. Also, look at the company’s past successes and read up on their performance.

How to:  A company’s core values are often stated on its website. If not, take a look at their social media channels. To know more about the company, look at the case studies on its website and the news and PR articles.

Why:  Having a clear understanding of the core values and the current standing of the company not only demonstrates your enthusiasm but also helps you to determine the direction of your presentation.

In some cases, candidates are privy to information regarding who would be part of the interview panel. If you are not, you could figure it out on your own by doing quick research about the team members and who is most likely to be a decision-maker. Either way, ensure that you take a look into their job profiles, their background, and their career progression.

How to:  Most professionals are on platforms like LinkedIn, and you can find relevant information about them there.

Why:  Knowing your audience will help you customize your presentation accordingly and also give you an idea about their expectations.

Planning and Organising Your Content

You have painted the background of your portrait. What next? The next logical step is to plan and organize the content in your presentation. A well-structured presentation is crucial to preventing ‘death by powerpoint’ and nailing the interview. Start by determining what you would like to convey and how you would like to do it. Setting clear objectives will ensure your presentation doesn’t deviate from the topic. Now you are ready to structure the content of your slide deck.

As with most content, your presentation will require an introduction, body, and conclusion.

Introduction:  Keep in mind that you will never get a second chance to make a first impression. The opening of your presentation should hook the audience and intrigue them. However, also be careful not to make it too long and to keep it as short and precise as possible. 

Body:  This is where the majority of your content regarding the topic goes in. Try to back up your arguments with statistics or real-life examples to ensure credibility. You could also draw references from the core values of the company, if relevant.

Conclusion:  A conclusion is as important as an introduction. Neatly wrap up what you discussed during the presentation and summarise the main points to jog the memory of your interviewers. You can also use the conclusion to highlight your profile and show them why they should hire you.

Designing your presentation

Humans are visual creatures; we remember 80% of what we see. Paying attention to the visual appeal of your presentation is a great way to engage the audience during your interview.

While designing an engaging presentation, choose a simple template and legible font. But how to stand apart from the rest when everyone shortlisted for the interview is using the same Powerpoint or Google Slides templates? One thing that you could do is to use a free online presentation maker to ensure that yours is unique from the other candidates. These editing tools also offer custom fonts and designs that can’t be found anywhere else, helping you stand out.

Here are a few top tips to keep in mind while designing your presentation for the interview.

Consistency is key:  Try to incorporate the company theme into your presentation. Every company has a different brand identity, and hence it is important to spend some time researching the brand colors, fonts, and imagery they use. Keep it consistent throughout the presentation.

Create visually-appealing slides:  Try to make your slides look aesthetically pleasing but not too crowded with information. Do not shy away from using lots of white space or bullet points. Also, ensure that the text is easy to read and maintain a contrast between the background and the text.

Use high-quality images:  Images act as visual cues and are a great way to draw attention. However, pixelated images will leave a bad taste in the mouths of your interviewers. Thus, always try to use images that have a high resolution.

Use legible font:  While choosing a font for your presentation, use one that is clear and legible. Illegible fonts will make it difficult for the interviewers to read the text on your slides.

Rehearsing and practicing your presentation

Practice indeed makes a man perfect, and it’s a good idea to practice your presentation over and over again. Job interviews are nerve-wracking, and practicing your presentation beforehand will help you gain confidence and avoid  common presentation mistakes . Here are a few tips to keep in mind while rehearsing.

Firstly, practice speaking in front of a mirror so that you can see yourself from the point of view of an interviewer. You can also practice in front of your friends or family to get feedback.

Moreover, remember to time yourself to ensure that you do not exceed the time limit given to you. Running over time doesn’t leave a good impression!

Delivering your presentation

You have come to the end of the process of painting your masterpiece. All that requires now is the pièce de résistance, in other words, the delivery of your stunning presentation. All the work that has gone into creating your presentation would mean nothing if the delivery is not up to the mark. A few tips for nailing a good delivery are:

• Ensure that you speak slowly and clearly with confident and open body language.
• Maintain eye contact with the interview panel.
• Engage with the audience by addressing any questions or concerns that they may have. 

For more details on impressing your audience with your presentation, check out these  creative presentation ideas . 

Create a winning presentation with Powtoon today

To nail your interview every time, use Powtoon, a free presentation maker. With Powtoon, you gain access to amazing presentation templates that will help your own presentation stand apart from the average Powerpoint presentation. The templates have been designed by expert designers making it easy for non-designers to create beautiful presentations in minutes. 

Create a  Powtoon account  today and get ready to use the presentation maker to create stunning designs, animations, and video presentations.

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It is increasingly common to be asked to do a presentation as part of an interview. However, these presentations often have several important distinctions from others.

Fortunately, as long as you know what to expect, you can plan accordingly and make sure that your presentation is remembered for all the right reasons.

Forewarned is Forearmed

You have been invited to an interview for a job. The invitation to interview, however, has a paragraph at the bottom that says that, as part of the interview, you will be expected to present briefly (and a time limit is almost always given, usually five to ten minutes) on a given topic. You may be given a title, or asked to develop one.

There are a number of questions to which you may find it helpful to know the answers. For example:

• Will the presentation be in the same room as the interview?
• Will the interview happen first, or the presentation?
• Will you have access to a laptop and projector or similar?
• How many people will you present to?

You have a choice: do you phone up and ask, and risk looking a bit nervous, or do you just hope for the best?

The decision is really up to you. It is not unreasonable to ask if you will have access to a projector, and also if you can bring a handout for the interviewers. Other than that, you might have to play it by ear, and see if you feel able to ask more.

Who do you phone? It depends on who has invited you to the interview. If you have been invited by someone in the HR department, then it is not unreasonable to think of it as part of their job to deal with questions like that. If, on the other hand, you have been invited by someone quite senior, you might prefer to get in touch with their secretary or PA instead.

Further Reading from Skills You Need

The Skills You Need Guide to Getting a Job

Develop the skills you need to get that job.

This eBook is essential reading for potential job-seekers. Not only does it cover identifying your skills but also the mechanics of applying for a job, writing a CV or resume and attending interviews.

Developing the Content of your Presentation

It is reasonably common to ask you to present on something like the key challenges that you think you will face in your first month in the job , or how you plan to organise your induction into the new post .

Don’t panic! They don’t expect you to know what you’re doing before you’ve even started.

They do, however, expect you to have a reasonable idea of how to find out what you need to know.

Consider it your first test. Some good ways to approach information gathering include:

Phone a friend – do you know anyone working in that company or in a similar organisation or area of work? Give them a call, take them out for lunch, and pick their brains about the problems and challenges facing the company, and the area in which you will be working in particular.

Use the internet to do some research – as well as the company’s own website, have a look for news reports linked to the area in which you will be working and see what you can find out.

Use the clues in the job description and person specification – do these include requirements for particular skills that may not normally be associated with that kind of job? That might be a clue to a particular issue in the organisation.

Planning your Presentation

There are some general ideas about planning presentations on our pages Organising your Material and Writing your Presentation .

However, it’s important to think about a few points specific to interview presentations too, particularly:

You won’t be able to say everything that you’ve discovered in the space of five to ten minutes. Cut it down to the three main points that you want to make, and remember to emphasise that these are the three key areas.

What kind of visual aid will you use? If you are permitted to provide a one-page handout, how will it support your presentation?

How will you make your presentation stand out from among the crowd, in a good way? You may decide to do this by just being the best, or you could try starting by saying something memorable. Outrageous can work, but it can also be a bit risky, especially if you don’t know your interviewers. It depends a bit on the organisation and also the industry, so you will be best placed to decide what you can get away with.

Providing a Handout

Your one-page handout is what your interviewers will look at to remind them of your presentation. It therefore needs to showcase both the content of your presentation and your ability to summarise and show something in a brief visual form.

You could, of course, simply list your three key points, together with a few sentences about each one to summarise what you said. That will be perfectly acceptable.

But you could also produce something unique to you that showcases your thinking: a mind map, perhaps, or a visual summary of the situation, like a ‘rich picture’.

It does depend on how you think but, for more ideas, take a look at our page on Creative Thinking .

Ideally, you should use your handout as your notes for your presentation too, as it demonstrates that it really does capture your key points.

Handling Unusual Circumstances

You may well walk into your interview and find that something totally unforeseen has occurred.

For example, you have been told that you will be able to use PowerPoint, but there’s no laptop and projector because the interviewers have forgotten to organise it.

Don’t be thrown. Everyone else will be in the same situation.

Instead, use it as an opportunity to demonstrate that you are not put out by something unexpected since this is a valued skill. For example, have an alternative to slides, such as a one-page handout, or make a joke about technology always letting everyone down at crucial moments.

Your ability to handle problems in a good-humoured way will not go unnoticed.

Delivering your Presentation

You are unlikely to be expected to stand and deliver a presentation in an interview, because the room is likely to be very small.

However, it’s worth saying something like:

“ I think I’ll sit, as it’s a bit formal to stand. Unless of course you’d prefer me in full presentation mode? ”

They can then say if they want to see you do a formal presentation.

If you have been given a time limit for your presentation, do not go over it . You may have chosen not to practise fully, so as to be more spontaneous. However, be alert to how long your presentation is taking, and be ready to cut it short if necessary.

Do not rely on being able to see a clock in the room.

Instead, either take a clock that you can put on the table in front of you, or take off your watch, and place it where you can see it clearly at a glance.

It’s not a good idea to keep glancing at a watch on your wrist, as it is an off-putting piece of body language.

People are conditioned to read it as ‘ I don’t really have time for you ’, and this isn’t the impression that you want to give your interviewers, even inadvertently.

Remember to speak slowly and clearly, and check that your interviewers look like they have understood your points. Be alert for any body language that suggests lack of interest or disagreement, as you may want to develop those points further.

Make sure that you clearly conclude your presentation by summarising your key points, before inviting questions from the interview panel.

Presenting in a remote (online) interview

It is not unreasonable to be asked to make a presentation in an online interview.

However, it brings some additional challenges on top of presenting in person.

First, you need to be confident that you will be able to handle the technology , and share your slides with the interviewers. If you have not done this before, you have a choice. You can avoid having slides altogether, email through a one-page handout before the interview, or ask someone for help beforehand so that you know how to share your slides.

Second, you need to think about how you will appear . The section on presenting in our page on Remote Meetings and Conferences may be helpful here.

One Final Message…

Above all, remember that you will be at your best if you are relaxed and confident.

This is hard in any interview situation, but you are testing whether you want to work there as much as they are assessing you. Be yourself, as much in the presentation as in the interview itself. Focus on presenting you: your ideas, your plans. You will then have the best chance of getting the job if it is the right job for you.

Continue to: Interview Skills Coping with Presentation Nerves Dealing with Questions

See Also: Tricky Interview Questions and How to Answer Them Creating and Delivering the Perfect Job Interview Presentation The Most Important Skills for Job Assessments

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Presentation at an Interview

Have you had any experience of delivering a presentation at an interview? How do you prepare ? How do you engage your audience?

Presentations are a common part of the recruitment process for graduate, research, teaching, consulting and other professional roles across a range of sectors.

Whether you have had a lot or limited experience in delivering presentations through university or work, you might find the tips below useful when preparing for the next steps in your career.

Purpose of having a presentation at an interview

The employer wants to see evidence that you can do the job and evidence of your written and verbal communication skills, which we will cover in detail in the points below.

Notice of a presentation at an interview

It is usual to have at least 3-5 days advance notice on the content of your presentation, usually, you are notified via email or the recruitment portal. If the interview is held at an assessment centre, candidates might be told on the day that they are required to present and given the brief.

Presentations usually last 5 – 15 minutes and are often the first part of the interview process i.e. before a one-on-one or panel interview.

Understanding the brief

It is imperative that you are clear on what you have been asked to do. Always revisit the task and contact the employer if you have any questions. Sometimes you may be expected to present to the interview panel as if they were clients/students/colleagues etc. Examples of presentation tasks can include addressing how you would carry out one or more aspect of the role; a timeline of how you would spend your first few weeks or months in relation to a project; a strategy for engaging with multiple stakeholders, managing a budget or building a brand.

Think carefully about the task and how it relates to the job description and person specification. This is another opportunity for you to demonstrate you are a suitable match for the role. Consider the questions below:

• What do you need to address?
• How long have you got to present?
• Who is your audience?
• Where should your focus be?
• What research is involved?
• What is important to the employer e.g. skills and strategy?

Verbal communication – tone and speed of voice

Be aware of how you are perceived during your presentation,  do you use different tones of voice when speaking? Consider the subject matter and how your voice can convey the correct message. By practising your presentation, you are more likely to come across as confident in the delivery. Avoid relying on cue cards or simply reading text off a document or screen. Speech anxiety in this situation is common, but most of what we feel during this period is not usually visible to the audience.

Examples of nerves include shaking, a dry mouth and an increase in body temperature. We can often speed up the pace we are presenting at as a coping mechanism – rushing through the content for it to be over for example. We must learn to recognise if we are speaking too fast or our words are mumbled. Pauses during the presentation can be a great way to gather our thoughts and give a moment for everyone in the room to process what has been said.

Time management

Your ability to deliver your presentation within the allocated time limit says a lot about you. This shows you are organised and can complete tasks in a timely manner. The planning and preparation you put in beforehand will be helpful here.

Non-verbal communication – connecting with the audience

Whether you are presenting to two people or a larger audience, you need to find ways to connect with them. How many people are expected to be present and who are they? Think about your facial expressions, gestures and posture. Looking at individuals in the eye, smiling and having open body language can help to make the audience feel relaxed and you come across as more approachable.

Written communication – visual aids

Be mindful of the type of organisation you are applying to when preparing your resources – colours, logo, values and strategy. Ensure that if you are creating a PowerPoint presentation, the colours do not clash and that you do not include too much text on your slides. Think about the use of suitable images or charts.

Be confident when using this Microsoft Office application and save several versions of it on a USB and email it to yourself in case technology fails you when in the interview room. Remember that the audience can read everything on the slides very quickly. Use the slides for key points and keywords as prompts to lead you.

Handouts can also be useful as the interviewers will refer to this for more detail on the task.

Ensure your spelling, punctuation and grammar are correct. Avoid the use of Americanisms for non-US companies. Think about the language used and the role you are going for. Visit the organisation’s website to gain a further understanding of what type of employee they are looking for.

Dealing with the unexpected

Be prepared to adapt your presentation delivery style if the reality does not meet your expectations. Examples of this include the size of the audience, room and technical issues. It is important to not get stressed or look as though you are under pressure. Try to remain calm and positive as these are qualities employers look for in most roles. Have a plan B for your presentation delivery in case something does go wrong.

Always be prepared for questions at the end of your presentation. Individuals will have queries or want to make comment on specific content. Be open to these questions and any constructive feedback and respond in a professional manner. By giving yourself enough time to prepare your presentation, you will have the confidence to articulate your strengths and ideas.

Here is a checklist to use when preparing for your next presentation at interview

• Seek clarification on what you must do
• Identify your audience
• Get confirmation on the use of technology in the room
• Revisit the job description and person specification
• Spend time planning your presentation
• Practice your presentation in front of others
• Take a course or watch a webinar on confidence building, presentation skills or public speaking
• Speak to a career professional or mentor about dealing with nerves

You made a good impression during the application stage of the job and got shortlisted because the employer wants to meet you and hear about your strengths and ideas. Spend enough time preparing for your presentation so that you can demonstrate why you are suitable for the role.

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Nadine Lewis

Nadine Lewis is a qualified and experienced careers consultant currently working in higher education. She is passionate about empowering students, graduates and professionals to take control of their careers. Nadine has been published in Prospects and presented at various events. In her spare time, she enjoys attending cultural activities and travelling around Europe. LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/nadinermlewis

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23rd March 2021 at 9:00 am

Thank you for your kind advices

30th October 2021 at 5:10 pm

Thank you for this insight. I shall refer to this in my preparations. It will help me adapt my skills appropriately.

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• How Far Trump Would Go

D onald Trump thinks he’s identified a crucial mistake of his first term: He was too nice.

We’ve been talking for more than an hour on April 12 at his fever-dream palace in Palm Beach. Aides lurk around the perimeter of a gilded dining room overlooking the manicured lawn. When one nudges me to wrap up the interview, I bring up the many former Cabinet officials who refuse to endorse Trump this time. Some have publicly warned that he poses a danger to the Republic. Why should voters trust you, I ask, when some of the people who observed you most closely do not?

As always, Trump punches back, denigrating his former top advisers. But beneath the typical torrent of invective, there is a larger lesson he has taken away. “I let them quit because I have a heart. I don’t want to embarrass anybody,” Trump says. “I don’t think I’ll do that again. From now on, I’ll fire.” 

Six months from the 2024 presidential election, Trump is better positioned to win the White House than at any point in either of his previous campaigns. He leads Joe Biden by slim margins in most polls, including in several of the seven swing states likely to determine the outcome. But I had not come to ask about the election, the disgrace that followed the last one, or how he has become the first former—and perhaps future—American President to face a criminal trial . I wanted to know what Trump would do if he wins a second term, to hear his vision for the nation, in his own words.

Buy your copy of this issue here

What emerged in two interviews with Trump , and conversations with more than a dozen of his closest advisers and confidants, were the outlines of an imperial presidency that would reshape America and its role in the world. To carry out a deportation operation designed to remove more than 11 million people from the country, Trump told me, he would be willing to build migrant detention camps and deploy the U.S. military, both at the border and inland. He would let red states monitor women’s pregnancies and prosecute those who violate abortion bans. He would, at his personal discretion, withhold funds appropriated by Congress, according to top advisers. He would be willing to fire a U.S. Attorney who doesn’t carry out his order to prosecute someone, breaking with a tradition of independent law enforcement that dates from America’s founding. He is weighing pardons for every one of his supporters accused of attacking the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, more than 800 of whom have pleaded guilty or been convicted by a jury. He might not come to the aid of an attacked ally in Europe or Asia if he felt that country wasn’t paying enough for its own defense. He would gut the U.S. civil service, deploy the National Guard to American cities as he sees fit, close the White House pandemic-preparedness office, and staff his Administration with acolytes who back his false assertion that the 2020 election was stolen.

Trump remains the same guy, with the same goals and grievances. But in person, if anything, he appears more assertive and confident. “When I first got to Washington, I knew very few people,” he says. “I had to rely on people.” Now he is in charge. The arranged marriage with the timorous Republican Party stalwarts is over; the old guard is vanquished, and the people who remain are his people. Trump would enter a second term backed by a slew of policy shops staffed by loyalists who have drawn up detailed plans in service of his agenda, which would concentrate the powers of the state in the hands of a man whose appetite for power appears all but insatiable. “I don’t think it’s a big mystery what his agenda would be,” says his close adviser Kellyanne Conway. “But I think people will be surprised at the alacrity with which he will take action.”

Read More: Read the Full Transcripts of Donald Trump's Interviews With TIME

The courts, the Constitution, and a Congress of unknown composition would all have a say in whether Trump’s objectives come to pass. The machinery of Washington has a range of defenses: leaks to a free press, whistle-blower protections, the oversight of inspectors general. The same deficiencies of temperament and judgment that hindered him in the past remain present. If he wins, Trump would be a lame duck—contrary to the suggestions of some supporters, he tells TIME he would not seek to overturn or ignore the Constitution’s prohibition on a third term. Public opinion would also be a powerful check. Amid a popular outcry, Trump was forced to scale back some of his most draconian first-term initiatives, including the policy of separating migrant families. As George Orwell wrote in 1945, the ability of governments to carry out their designs “depends on the general temper in the country.”

Every election is billed as a national turning point. This time that rings true. To supporters, the prospect of Trump 2.0, unconstrained and backed by a disciplined movement of true believers, offers revolutionary promise. To much of the rest of the nation and the world, it represents an alarming risk. A second Trump term could bring “the end of our democracy,” says presidential historian Douglas Brinkley, “and the birth of a new kind of authoritarian presidential order.”

Trump steps onto the patio at Mar-a-Lago near dusk. The well-heeled crowd eating Wagyu steaks and grilled branzino pauses to applaud as he takes his seat. On this gorgeous evening, the club is a MAGA mecca. Billionaire donor Steve Wynn is here. So is Speaker of the House Mike Johnson , who is dining with the former President after a joint press conference proposing legislation to prevent noncitizens from voting. Their voting in federal elections is already illegal, and extremely rare, but remains a Trumpian fixation that the embattled Speaker appeared happy to co-sign in exchange for the political cover that standing with Trump provides.

At the moment, though, Trump’s attention is elsewhere. With an index finger, he swipes through an iPad on the table to curate the restaurant’s soundtrack. The playlist veers from Sinead O’Connor to James Brown to  The Phantom of the Opera.  And there’s a uniquely Trump choice: a rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” sung by a choir of defendants imprisoned for attacking the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, interspersed with a recording of Trump reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. This has become a staple of his rallies, converting the ultimate symbol of national unity into a weapon of factional devotion. 

The spectacle picks up where his first term left off. The events of Jan. 6 , during which a pro-Trump mob attacked the center of American democracy in an effort to subvert the peaceful transfer of power, was a profound stain on his legacy. Trump has sought to recast an insurrectionist riot as an act of patriotism. “I call them the J-6 patriots,” he says. When I ask whether he would consider pardoning every one of them, he says, “Yes, absolutely.” As Trump faces dozens of felony charges, including for election interference, conspiracy to defraud the United States, willful retention of national-security secrets, and falsifying business records to conceal hush-money payments, he has tried to turn legal peril into a badge of honor.

In a second term, Trump’s influence on American democracy would extend far beyond pardoning powers. Allies are laying the groundwork to restructure the presidency in line with a doctrine called the unitary executive theory, which holds that many of the constraints imposed on the White House by legislators and the courts should be swept away in favor of a more powerful Commander in Chief.

Read More: Fact-Checking What Donald Trump Said In His Interviews With TIME

Nowhere would that power be more momentous than at the Department of Justice. Since the nation’s earliest days, Presidents have generally kept a respectful distance from Senate-confirmed law-enforcement officials to avoid exploiting for personal ends their enormous ability to curtail Americans’ freedoms. But Trump, burned in his first term by multiple investigations directed by his own appointees, is ever more vocal about imposing his will directly on the department and its far-flung investigators and prosecutors.

In our Mar-a-Lago interview, Trump says he might fire U.S. Attorneys who refuse his orders to prosecute someone: “It would depend on the situation.” He’s told supporters he would seek retribution against his enemies in a second term. Would that include Fani Willis , the Atlanta-area district attorney who charged him with election interference, or Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan DA in the Stormy Daniels case, who Trump has previously said should be prosecuted? Trump demurs but offers no promises. “No, I don’t want to do that,” he says, before adding, “We’re gonna look at a lot of things. What they’ve done is a terrible thing.”

Trump has also vowed to appoint a “real special prosecutor” to go after Biden. “I wouldn’t want to hurt Biden,” he tells me. “I have too much respect for the office.” Seconds later, though, he suggests Biden’s fate may be tied to an upcoming Supreme Court ruling on whether Presidents can face criminal prosecution for acts committed in office. “If they said that a President doesn’t get immunity,” says Trump, “then Biden, I am sure, will be prosecuted for all of his crimes.” (Biden has not been charged with any, and a House Republican effort to impeach him has failed to unearth evidence of any crimes or misdemeanors, high or low.)

Read More: Trump Says ‘Anti-White Feeling’ Is a Problem in the U.S .

Such moves would be potentially catastrophic for the credibility of American law enforcement, scholars and former Justice Department leaders from both parties say. “If he ordered an improper prosecution, I would expect any respectable U.S. Attorney to say no,” says Michael McConnell, a former U.S. appellate judge appointed by President George W. Bush. “If the President fired the U.S. Attorney, it would be an enormous firestorm.” McConnell, now a Stanford law professor, says the dismissal could have a cascading effect similar to the Saturday Night Massacre , when President Richard Nixon ordered top DOJ officials to remove the special counsel investigating Watergate. Presidents have the constitutional right to fire U.S. Attorneys, and typically replace their predecessors’ appointees upon taking office. But discharging one specifically for refusing a President’s order would be all but unprecedented.

Trump’s radical designs for presidential power would be felt throughout the country. A main focus is the southern border. Trump says he plans to sign orders to reinstall many of the same policies from his first term, such as the Remain in Mexico program, which requires that non-Mexican asylum seekers be sent south of the border until their court dates, and Title 42 , which allows border officials to expel migrants without letting them apply for asylum. Advisers say he plans to cite record border crossings and fentanyl- and child-trafficking as justification for reimposing the emergency measures. He would direct federal funding to resume construction of the border wall, likely by allocating money from the military budget without congressional approval. The capstone of this program, advisers say, would be a massive deportation operation that would target millions of people. Trump made similar pledges in his first term, but says he plans to be more aggressive in a second. “People need to be deported,” says Tom Homan, a top Trump adviser and former acting head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “No one should be off the table.”

Read More: The Story Behind TIME's 'If He Wins' Trump Cover

For an operation of that scale, Trump says he would rely mostly on the National Guard to round up and remove undocumented migrants throughout the country. “If they weren’t able to, then I’d use [other parts of] the military,” he says. When I ask if that means he would override the Posse Comitatus Act—an 1878 law that prohibits the use of military force on civilians—Trump seems unmoved by the weight of the statute. “Well, these aren’t civilians,” he says. “These are people that aren’t legally in our country.” He would also seek help from local police and says he would deny funding for jurisdictions that decline to adopt his policies. “There’s a possibility that some won’t want to participate,” Trump says, “and they won’t partake in the riches.”

As President, Trump nominated three Supreme Court Justices who voted to overturn  Roe v. Wade,  and he claims credit for his role in ending a constitutional right to an abortion. At the same time, he has sought to defuse a potent campaign issue for the Democrats by saying he wouldn’t sign a federal ban. In our interview at Mar-a-Lago, he declines to commit to vetoing any additional federal restrictions if they came to his desk. More than 20 states now have full or partial abortion bans, and Trump says those policies should be left to the states to do what they want, including monitoring women’s pregnancies. “I think they might do that,” he says. When I ask whether he would be comfortable with states prosecuting women for having abortions beyond the point the laws permit, he says, “It’s irrelevant whether I’m comfortable or not. It’s totally irrelevant, because the states are going to make those decisions.” President Biden has said he would fight state anti-abortion measures in court and with regulation.

Trump’s allies don’t plan to be passive on abortion if he returns to power. The Heritage Foundation has called for enforcement of a 19th century statute that would outlaw the mailing of abortion pills. The Republican Study Committee (RSC), which includes more than 80% of the House GOP conference, included in its 2025 budget proposal the Life at Conception Act, which says the right to life extends to “the moment of fertilization.” I ask Trump if he would veto that bill if it came to his desk. “I don’t have to do anything about vetoes,” Trump says, “because we now have it back in the states.”

Presidents typically have a narrow window to pass major legislation. Trump’s team is eyeing two bills to kick off a second term: a border-security and immigration package, and an extension of his 2017 tax cuts. Many of the latter’s provisions expire early in 2025: the tax cuts on individual income brackets, 100% business expensing, the doubling of the estate-tax deduction. Trump is planning to intensify his protectionist agenda, telling me he’s considering a tariff of more than 10% on all imports, and perhaps even a 100% tariff on some Chinese goods. Trump says the tariffs will liberate the U.S. economy from being at the mercy of foreign manufacturing and spur an industrial renaissance in the U.S. When I point out that independent analysts estimate Trump’s first term tariffs on thousands of products, including steel and aluminum, solar panels, and washing machines, may have cost the U.S. $316 billion and more than 300,000 jobs, by one account, he dismisses these experts out of hand. His advisers argue that the average yearly inflation rate in his first term—under 2%—is evidence that his tariffs won’t raise prices.

Since leaving office, Trump has tried to engineer a caucus of the compliant, clearing primary fields in Senate and House races. His hope is that GOP majorities replete with MAGA diehards could rubber-stamp his legislative agenda and nominees. Representative Jim Banks of Indiana, a former RSC chairman and the GOP nominee for the state’s open Senate seat, recalls an August 2022 RSC planning meeting with Trump at his residence in Bedminster, N.J. As the group arrived, Banks recalls, news broke that Mar-a-Lago had been raided by the FBI. Banks was sure the meeting would be canceled. Moments later, Trump walked through the doors, defiant and pledging to run again. “I need allies there when I’m elected,” Banks recalls Trump saying. The difference in a second Trump term, Banks says now, “is he’s going to have the backup in Congress that he didn’t have before.”

Trump’s intention to remake America’s relations abroad may be just as consequential. Since its founding, the U.S. has sought to build and sustain alliances based on the shared values of political and economic freedom. Trump takes a much more transactional approach to international relations than his predecessors, expressing disdain for what he views as free-riding friends and appreciation for authoritarian leaders like President Xi Jinping of China, Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary, or former President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil.

That’s one reason America’s traditional allies were horrified when Trump recently said at a campaign rally that Russia could “do whatever the hell they want” to a NATO country he believes doesn’t spend enough on collective defense. That wasn’t idle bluster, Trump tells me. “If you’re not going to pay, then you’re on your own,” he says. Trump has long said the alliance is ripping the U.S. off. Former NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg credited Trump’s first-term threat to pull out of the alliance with spurring other members to add more than $100 billion to their defense budgets.

But an insecure NATO is as likely to accrue to Russia’s benefit as it is to America’s. President Vladimir Putin’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine looks to many in Europe and the U.S. like a test of his broader vision to reconstruct the Soviet empire. Under Biden and a bipartisan Congress, the U.S. has sent more than $100 billion to Ukraine to defend itself. It’s unlikely Trump would extend the same support to Kyiv. After Orban visited Mar-a-Lago in March, he said Trump “wouldn’t give a penny” to Ukraine. “I wouldn’t give unless Europe starts equalizing,” Trump hedges in our interview. “If Europe is not going to pay, why should we pay? They’re much more greatly affected. We have an ocean in between us. They don’t.” (E.U. nations have given more than $100 billion in aid to Ukraine as well.)

Trump has historically been reluctant to criticize or confront Putin. He sided with the Russian autocrat over his own intelligence community when it asserted that Russia interfered in the 2016 election. Even now, Trump uses Putin as a foil for his own political purposes. When I asked Trump why he has not called for the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been unjustly held on spurious charges in a Moscow prison for a year , Trump says, “I guess because I have so many other things I’m working on.” Gershkovich should be freed, he adds, but he doubts it will happen before the election. “The reporter should be released and he will be released,” Trump tells me. “I don’t know if he’s going to be released under Biden. I would get him released.”

America’s Asian allies, like its European ones, may be on their own under Trump. Taiwan’s Foreign Minister recently said aid to Ukraine was critical in deterring Xi from invading the island. Communist China’s leaders “have to understand that things like that can’t come easy,” Trump says, but he declines to say whether he would come to Taiwan’s defense. 

Trump is less cryptic on current U.S. troop deployments in Asia. If South Korea doesn’t pay more to support U.S. troops there to deter Kim Jong Un’s increasingly belligerent regime to the north, Trump suggests the U.S. could withdraw its forces. “We have 40,000 troops that are in a precarious position,” he tells TIME. (The number is actually 28,500.) “Which doesn’t make any sense. Why would we defend somebody? And we’re talking about a very wealthy country.”

Transactional isolationism may be the main strain of Trump’s foreign policy, but there are limits. Trump says he would join Israel’s side in a confrontation with Iran. “If they attack Israel, yes, we would be there,” he tells me. He says he has come around to the now widespread belief in Israel that a Palestinian state existing side by side in peace is increasingly unlikely. “There was a time when I thought two-state could work,” he says. “Now I think two-state is going to be very, very tough.”

Yet even his support for Israel is not absolute. He’s criticized Israel’s handling of its war against Hamas, which has killed more than 30,000 Palestinians in Gaza, and has called for the nation to “get it over with.” When I ask whether he would consider withholding U.S. military aid to Israel to push it toward winding down the war, he doesn’t say yes, but he doesn’t rule it out, either. He is sharply critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, once a close ally. “I had a bad experience with Bibi,” Trump says. In his telling, a January 2020 U.S. operation to assassinate a top Iranian general was supposed to be a joint attack until Netanyahu backed out at the last moment. “That was something I never forgot,” he says. He blames Netanyahu for failing to prevent the Oct. 7 attack, when Hamas militants infiltrated southern Israel and killed nearly 1,200 people amid acts of brutality including burning entire families alive and raping women and girls. “It happened on his watch,” Trump says.

On the second day of Trump’s New York trial on April 17, I stand behind the packed counter of the Sanaa Convenience Store on 139th Street and Broadway, waiting for Trump to drop in for a postcourt campaign stop. He chose the bodega for its history. In 2022, one of the store’s clerks fatally stabbed a customer who attacked him. Bragg, the Manhattan DA, charged the clerk with second-degree murder. (The charges were later dropped amid public outrage over video footage that appeared to show the clerk acting in self-defense.) A baseball bat behind the counter alludes to lingering security concerns. When Trump arrives, he asks the store’s co-owner, Maad Ahmed, a Yemeni immigrant, about safety. “You should be allowed to have a gun,” Trump tells Ahmed. “If you had a gun, you’d never get robbed.”

On the campaign trail, Trump uses crime as a cudgel, painting urban America as a savage hell-scape even though violent crime has declined in recent years, with homicides sinking 6% in 2022 and 13% in 2023, according to the FBI. When I point this out, Trump tells me he thinks the data, which is collected by state and local police departments, is rigged. “It’s a lie,” he says. He has pledged to send the National Guard into cities struggling with crime in a second term—possibly without the request of governors—and plans to approve Justice Department grants only to cities that adopt his preferred policing methods like stop-and-frisk.

To critics, Trump’s preoccupation with crime is a racial dog whistle. In polls, large numbers of his supporters have expressed the view that antiwhite racism now represents a greater problem in the U.S. than the systemic racism that has long afflicted Black Americans. When I ask if he agrees, Trump does not dispute this position. “There is a definite antiwhite feeling in the country,” he tells TIME, “and that can’t be allowed either.” In a second term, advisers say, a Trump Administration would rescind Biden’s Executive Orders designed to boost diversity and racial equity.

Trump’s ability to campaign for the White House in the midst of an unprecedented criminal trial is the product of a more professional campaign operation that has avoided the infighting that plagued past versions. “He has a very disciplined team around him,” says Representative Elise Stefanik of New York. “That is an indicator of how disciplined and focused a second term will be.” That control now extends to the party writ large. In 2016, the GOP establishment, having failed to derail Trump’s campaign, surrounded him with staff who sought to temper him. Today the party’s permanent class have either devoted themselves to the gospel of MAGA or given up. Trump has cleaned house at the Republican National Committee, installing handpicked leaders—including his daughter-in-law—who have reportedly imposed loyalty tests on prospective job applicants, asking whether they believe the false assertion that the 2020 election was stolen. (The RNC has denied there is a litmus test.) Trump tells me he would have trouble hiring anyone who admits Biden won: “I wouldn’t feel good about it.”

Policy groups are creating a government-in-waiting full of true believers. The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 has drawn up plans for legislation and Executive Orders as it trains prospective personnel for a second Trump term. The Center for Renewing America, led by Russell Vought, Trump’s former director of the Office of Management and Budget, is dedicated to disempowering the so-called administrative state, the collection of bureaucrats with the power to control everything from drug-safety determinations to the contents of school lunches. The America First Policy Institute is a research haven of pro-Trump right-wing populists. America First Legal, led by Trump’s immigration adviser Stephen Miller, is mounting court battles against the Biden Administration. 

The goal of these groups is to put Trump’s vision into action on day one. “The President never had a policy process that was designed to give him what he actually wanted and campaigned on,” says Vought. “[We are] sorting through the legal authorities, the mechanics, and providing the momentum for a future Administration.” That includes a litany of boundary-pushing right-wing policies, including slashing Department of Justice funding and cutting climate and environmental regulations.

Read More: Fact-Checking What Donald Trump Said in His 2024 Interviews With TIME

Trump’s campaign says he would be the final decision-maker on which policies suggested by these organizations would get implemented. But at the least, these advisers could form the front lines of a planned march against what Trump dubs the Deep State, marrying bureaucratic savvy to their leader’s anti-bureaucratic zeal. One weapon in Trump’s second-term “War on Washington” is a wonky one: restoring the power of impoundment, which allowed Presidents to withhold congressionally appropriated funds. Impoundment was a favorite maneuver of Nixon, who used his authority to freeze funding for subsidized housing and the Environmental Protection Agency. Trump and his allies plan to challenge a 1974 law that prohibits use of the measure, according to campaign policy advisers.

Another inside move is the enforcement of Schedule F, which allows the President to fire nonpolitical government officials and which Trump says he would embrace. “You have some people that are protected that shouldn’t be protected,” he says. A senior U.S. judge offers an example of how consequential such a move could be. Suppose there’s another pandemic, and President Trump wants to push the use of an untested drug, much as he did with hydroxychloroquine during COVID-19. Under Schedule F, if the drug’s medical reviewer at the Food and Drug Administration refuses to sign off on its use, Trump could fire them, and anyone else who doesn’t approve it. The Trump team says the President needs the power to hold bureaucrats accountable to voters. “The mere mention of Schedule F,” says Vought, “ensures that the bureaucracy moves in your direction.”

It can be hard at times to discern Trump’s true intentions. In his interviews with TIME, he often sidestepped questions or answered them in contradictory ways. There’s no telling how his ego and self-destructive behavior might hinder his objectives. And for all his norm-breaking, there are lines he says he won’t cross. When asked if he would comply with all orders upheld by the Supreme Court, Trump says he would. 

But his policy preoccupations are clear and consistent. If Trump is able to carry out a fraction of his goals, the impact could prove as transformative as any presidency in more than a century. “He’s in full war mode,” says his former adviser and occasional confidant Stephen Bannon. Trump’s sense of the state of the country is “quite apocalyptic,” Bannon says. “That’s where Trump’s heart is. That’s where his obsession is.”

These obsessions could once again push the nation to the brink of crisis. Trump does not dismiss the possibility of political violence around the election. “If we don’t win, you know, it depends,” he tells TIME. “It always depends on the fairness of the election.” When I ask what he meant when he baselessly claimed on Truth Social that a stolen election “allows for the termination of all rules, regulations and articles, even those found in the Constitution,” Trump responded by denying he had said it. He then complained about the “Biden-inspired” court case he faces in New York and suggested that the “fascists” in America’s government were its greatest threat. “I think the enemy from within, in many cases, is much more dangerous for our country than the outside enemies of China, Russia, and various others,” he tells me.

Toward the end of our conversation at Mar-a-Lago, I ask Trump to explain another troubling comment he made: that he wants to be dictator for a day. It came during a Fox News town hall with Sean Hannity, who gave Trump an opportunity to allay concerns that he would abuse power in office or seek retribution against political opponents. Trump said he would not be a dictator—“except for day one,” he added. “I want to close the border, and I want to drill, drill, drill.”

Trump says that the remark “was said in fun, in jest, sarcastically.” He compares it to an infamous moment from the 2016 campaign, when he encouraged the Russians to hack and leak Hillary Clinton’s emails. In Trump’s mind, the media sensationalized those remarks too. But the Russians weren’t joking: among many other efforts to influence the core exercise of American democracy that year, they hacked the Democratic National Committee’s servers and disseminated its emails through WikiLeaks.

Whether or not he was kidding about bringing a tyrannical end to our 248-year experiment in democracy, I ask him, Don’t you see why many Americans see such talk of dictatorship as contrary to our most cherished principles? Trump says no. Quite the opposite, he insists. “I think a lot of people like it.” — With reporting by Leslie Dickstein, Simmone Shah, and Julia Zorthian

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Ukraine war latest: Ukraine sacks commander amid fierce battles with Russian forces; Putin reshuffle 'may hint he is preparing for future confrontation with NATO'

Fierce fighting is taking place in Ukraine's Kharkiv region, with Moscow claiming to have seized nine border villages in the area. And in Moscow, Vladimir Putin has replaced a long-time ally. Submit your question on the war for our experts below.

Monday 13 May 2024 13:18, UK

• Big picture: Everything you need to know as war enters a new week
• Russia claims control of nine villages after shock advance
• Threat of fighting spreading, says Kharkiv governor | Commander sacked
• Moscow forces walked 'freely' across border, Ukrainian soldier claims
• Putin reshuffle indicates he may be preparing for future confrontation with NATO - analysts
• Eyewitness: Deborah Haynes reports from town 'flattened' in offensive
• Analysis:  Putin's 'baffling' reshuffle explained
• Who is Andrei Belousov, Putin's new pick for defence minister?
• Live reporting by  Brad Young

Ask a question or make a comment

As we covered in some detail here earlier this year, Sweden dropped more than two centuries of historic neutrality by joining NATO.

The Baltic Sea, which includes maritime access to the Russian city of St Petersburg and the Kaliningrad enclave, is now almost surrounded by members of the alliance.

Today, Swedish prime minister Ulf Kristersson said Nordic and Baltic cooperation was "deeper than at any time in modern times", underpinned by increasing security threats from Russia.

He is hosting German chancellor Olaf Scholtz and the prime ministers of Denmark, Norway, Finland and Iceland in Stockholm, with security policy and NATO's July summit in Washington topping the agenda.

"We have long appreciated our neighbours, but at the same time underestimated the importance of concrete, operational cooperation," Mr Kristersson wrote in an op-ed in Swedish business paper Dagens Industri.

Meanwhile, the three Baltic prime ministers have been meeting in Lithuania to reaffirm that Moscow's intimidation is not going to dissuade them from supporting Ukraine.

Estonia's prime minister Kaja Kallas said that "Russia has also intensified the shadow war against all of European countries. It wants to really scare and intimidate the free world to scare us away from helping Ukraine".

"We shouldn't be scared," she added.

With a second front opening in the war and a surprise reshuffle in Vladimir Putin's cabinet, it's been an important week for the war in Ukraine.

Readers have been sending in their questions to our senior correspondents and military experts for their take on the changing battlefield environment.

Today, Jeanie asked:

Is Russia taking advantage and conducting an offensive in the border region due to the fact that several Western countries don't allow their weapons to be used on Russian soil?

Military analyst Sean Bell had this to say...

Thanks, Jeanie, for this very topical question.

Russia claims to have seized nine border settlements as part of a major offensive in the Kharkiv region. Although Ukraine has known for months that Russia was amassing military forces in the region - between 30,000 to 50 000 troops - the scale and ferocity of the attack appears to have caught Ukraine by surprise.

Although only Vladimir Putin and his senior military leadership will know the details of Russia's military strategy, most military analysts believe that Russia does not have the military resources to mount a significant and enduring second front without compromising the offensive in the Donbas - widely believed to be Russia's main effort.

However, Putin is well aware that Russia has a window of opportunity to capitalise on Ukraine's shortage of weapons, and by opening a second front, it forces Ukraine to spread its resources even more thinly, leaving Ukraine more vulnerable on the frontline in the Donbas.

Russia's military objectives for this new offensive appear to be to create a "buffer zone" to protect the Russian border town of Belgorod. This logistics hub for the Russian military effort is just within artillery range of Ukraine, and Putin has long promised to push the Ukrainian forces outside artillery range - around 30km. 

In addition, Russia wants to threaten Kharkiv, so it's pushing forward to enable its own artillery to be within range of this major Ukrainian city.

Moving large quantities of military personnel and equipment from the frontline cannot easily be done discreetly - which under normal circumstances would leave Russian forces vulnerable to Ukrainian attack. 

However, in an effort to limit the potential for escalation, the West has precluded the use of Western-provided weapons to target Russian forces on Russian territory. This significantly limits Ukraine's ability to target Russia's forces as they prepare for a fresh offensive.

However, although we can speculate on Putin's objectives, a battlefield is a dynamic environment, and Russia has considerable forces in reserve to capitalise on any momentum achieved during its current offensive.

Vladimir Putin's surprise choice of new defence minister Andrei Belousov has been speaking to a parliamentary committee as part of his confirmation process.

In his first public comments since being appointed to the post, he called for greater care for soldiers, including better access to housing, hospitals and welfare benefits. 

State media quoted him as saying there was too much bureaucracy surrounding the payment of benefits to military personnel. 

"I think it's a mess when participants in the special military operation who come back on holiday are driven from civilian medical institutions to hospitals which are often simply overcrowded. This issue needs to be resolved," Mr Belousov said.

The comments appeared to be aimed at demonstrating to members of the armed forces that he understands their concerns and will work to improve their conditions. 

In recent days, some German politicians have been calling for a no-fly zone over Ukraine enforced by NATO.

A German government spokesperson has rejected the notion, saying its stance has not changed since the alliance last denied the request.

"We rejected that at the time and I think the same applies to the different requests that are now being made," the spokesperson said.

NATO rejected a Ukrainian request for the no-fly zone in March 2022, days after Russia's invasion began.

At the time, secretary general Jens Stoltenberg justified the decision on the basis that "we are not part of this conflict".

"We have a responsibility as NATO allies to prevent this war from escalating beyond Ukraine," he said.

Vladimir Putin's cabinet reshuffle could indicate he is preparing for any future confrontation with NATO, according to a US thinktank.

The replacement of defence minister Sergei Shoigu strongly suggests he is preparing the economy and military-industrial complex for a protracted war with Ukraine, the Institute for the Study of War says.

The ISW's analysis is based on the appointment of Adrei Belousov to the post - an economist with no military experience.

He has a reputation for being an effective technocrat who has been charged with integrating Russia's defence industrial base into wider domestic policy, the ISW says.

"These high-level reshuffles following the Russian presidential election strongly suggest that Putin is taking significant steps towards mobilising the Russian economy and defence industrial base to support a protracted war in Ukraine and possibly prepare for a future confrontation with NATO."

Mr Belousov has been focused on technological innovation and drone output, which is "likely to be extremely valuable to the Kremlin".

"The Kremlin has recently had to reckon with a gap between Russian drone production and contemporary battlefield realities," the ISW says.

Ukraine has sacked the commander responsible for Kharkiv, military command has said.

Nazar Voloshyn told RBC-Ukraine media a decision was made on Saturday to appoint Brigadier General Mykhailo Drapatyi to the position.

The day before, Russia launched an incursion across Ukraine's northeastern border into the Kharkiv region.

One soldier blamed poor fortifications at the border, telling Sky News the Russian army walked "freely" across it.

Fighting continues in villages nearby, with the region's governor warning earlier this morning that it could spread to new areas.

Away from the frontline and Russia's internal politics, Georgians have been protesting against what they say are Russian-style, autocratic laws.

Non-violent protests were attacked by police snatch squads, seizing demonstrators and beating them.

International affairs editor Dominic Waghorn reports from the crowd... 

The governor of the Kharkiv region has said there is a threat of fighting spreading to other settlements.

Russian forces have been attacking the border in small groups in an attempt to stretch the frontline, Oleh Syniehubov said.

The situation was difficult, he added.

On Friday, Russia launched an incursion across Ukraine's northeastern border into the Kharkiv region.

Mr Syniehubov has described "massive shelling" of the town of Vovchansk, with attacks also on other Kharkiv settlements like Lukyantsi and Bugruvatkata.

Some 5,762 people have been evacuated, he said.

Russia's acting foreign minister has said Russia is prepared if the West wants to fight for Ukraine on the battlefield.

Sergei Lavrov was quoted by the state-run RIA news agency, following a similar warning from the Kremlin last week.

Moscow said that sending NATO troops into Ukraine would potentially be extremely dangerous, and it was closely watching a Ukrainian petition calling for such an intervention. 

You may notice Mr Lavrov, who has been in post since 2018, is operating under the title "acting" foreign minister.

This is because, by law, Russian government ministers resign just before a president is sworn in and remain "acting" until their appointment is approved by parliament - which is all but guaranteed.

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