keynote presentation best practices

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10 Expert Tips to Create and Deliver a Killer Keynote Presentation

So you’ve got a keynote presentation coming up, and you’re hitting the books to make sure you’re armed with the best plan possible. Besides taking notes from all the greats on TED, you’re reading up about a message structure that works, and looking for the perfect template.

While it seems like you’ve got your bases covered, like all things in life, there’s always a way to streamline the planning process.

According to Aaron Weyenberg , the UX Lead for TED and a self-professed “master of slide decks,” and the wizards behind Apple’s presentation slides , there are a number of tricks of the trade that you can rely on to create a rocking keynote presentation .

Below are some of our favorites. And to easily create a professional-looking presentation , sign up for Piktochart . It’s free and it allows you to make beautiful visuals without being a graphic designer.

1. Do your slides last

While most keynote speakers will typically build their presentation around the structure of a template, Weyenberg says that “building your slides should be the tail end of developing your presentation.” Before working on your slides, you should put together your main message, structure, supporting points – then practice and time your presentation. The reason for this, he says, is that the presentation needs to be strong enough to stand on its own. Approaching a keynote like this requires a shift in thinking.

While a beautiful set of slides is imperative to your presentation, it should not be central to it.

Weyenberg said it best: “The slides are just something you layer over [the presentation] to enhance the listener experience.”

Observe these 2017 Google I/O keynotes, especially CEO Sundar Pichai’s – the role of the slides are to support what the speaker is saying – not the other way around.

2. Get creative with photos

Often times, presenters will be far too literal or cheesy with their image choice. Weyenberg suggests to use images that are simple, yet punchy – and pairs nicely with your spoken words. He says to look for photos that are:

• Related to your keynote’s concept
• Are not complex in terms of composition

3. Simplify charts and graphs

While most presenters will simply drop an image of their charts and graphs into their deck, Weyenberg points out that it might be a bit “unsightly.” If you need to use data to back a point that you’re making, you should make the extra effort to make it more attractive – and this can be done by recreating it in your presentation maker .

There are a couple benefits to doing this:

• It will make your presentation seem consistent and well-thought out
• You’ll have control over colors, typography, and more.

4. One theme per slide

According to the designers of Apple presentation slides, less is certainly more. Trying to cram too many ideas on one slide can only work to your detriment. Beyond ideas, the same goes for statistics.

Let’s play a little game: For the following idea, how many slides would you use? “The developer program is incredibly vibrant. We have over six million registered developers. Demand for this show has never been greater. We sold out in just over a minute [71 seconds].”

While the average person might think that 6 million and 71 seconds would belong on the same slide and be short and sweet enough, let’s compare it with what Apple’s CEO Tim Cook did.

He only leveraged two slides: The first said “6 million,” and the second: “71 seconds. Sold out.”

5. Create a visual experience with data

Taking a leaf again from Apple’s presentation book, once you’ve gotten the hang of having just one stat per slide – you should also make it as visual as possible.

One data point per slide, combined with it being visually interesting – is sure to be memorable.

6. Practice Really Makes Perfect

Imagine the late Steve Jobs, a legendary keynote presenter, still rehearsed for months before a presentation. According to Brent Schlender , one of the co-authors behind the Steve Jobs biography “Becoming Steve Jobs,” Jobs would rehearse and prepare “exhaustively” for all of his public appearances.

Despite being a natural on the stage, Jobs never would wing it, he came to the show well prepared.

“I once spent an entire day watching him run through multiple rehearsals of a single presentation, tweaking everything from the color and angle of certain spotlights, to editing and rearranging the order of the keynote presentation slides to improve his pacing,” remembers Schlender.

While you may not be a perfectionist like Jobs, you are likely also not nearly as good of a presenter as he is – so practice really makes perfect in this case.

7. Tell A Consistent Story

Circling back to Weyenberg’s tips – he suggests that in a good slide deck, every slide should feel “like part of the same story.” Think of your deck like a story – every slide should feel cohesive to the big picture message you’re trying to communicate – as opposed to random ideas juxtaposed together.

You can do this by:

• Using the same or similar typography, colors, and imagery across all slides
• Using presentation templates can help with maintaining the same look and feel

8. Less is more

We explored the less is more concept earlier in the article by suggesting you keep to one idea per slide. The same can be applied to text.

When it comes to creating slides for your next keynote, the cardinal sin is a slide with ample text that is verbatim of your spoken presentation.

What this does is encourage people to keep their eyes on your slides instead of listening to you.

Weyenberg also points out that a text-heavy slide forces the brain to multitask between focusing on what it’s reading and hearing – which is quite difficult and will compromise your presentation.

9. Consider topic transitions

While you want to make your slides look like a cohesive unit, you want to also keep in mind that making every slide look the same may be boring. Weyenberg suggests to:

• Create one style for the slides that are the “meat” of the message
• Then create another style for the slides that are transitioning between topics

For example, if your overall slides have a dark background with light text, you can use transitional slides that have a light background with dark text. This way, they’ll still feel like they’re from the same presentation family without being completely uniform.

10. Tell a captivating story

It is fitting that our final tip comes from likely the greatest keynote presenter of all time. The late and great Steve Jobs had the ability to captivate and inspire his audience with his talks, and that’s because he was a very good storyteller. And that’s the golden leaf that you can take from Jobs’ book today.

Always aim to tell a captivating story.

One example is perhaps when he introduced the iPod: “In 2001, we introduced the first iPod. It didn’t just change the way we all listen to music. It changed the entire music industry.” Listen to Steve Jobs weave a story about the digital music revolution when unveiling the iPod.

Bonus Round: Tips From Piktochart Designers  

• Always remember that your audience is sitting far away . So ensure that your title font size is large enough to be seen from a distance, and that your body text is no smaller than 20px.
• Use only two colors for your entire presentation – a primary and secondary color. If you must use a large color palette, your maximum choice should be up to five colors.
• Make sure that there is enough white space throughout your presentation . This will give your content room to breathe. Less is definitely more in this case.
• Emphasize only one object per slide – whether it’s an image, statistic, quote. This will make sure your audience stays focused.

Time to Make Your Own!

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Pro Speakers on How to Give a Perfect Keynote Presentation

Updated: January 13, 2021

Published: November 03, 2020

Two years ago, I was asked to give a presentation about my HubSpot article on emotional marketing . It was by far the most exhilarating and nerve-wracking experience of my professional life.

I don’t necessarily hate public speaking. However, leading up to the event, I felt the full responsibility of not only delivering a good presentation but also teaching the audience valuable , actionable information — and that was very intimidating.

I wanted to do a good job, and I wanted to be a good teacher.

Therein lies the importance of keynote presentations : to be effective, they should be educational and entertaining. Do you have a keynote presentation in your future? Read on for some advice from professional speakers.

First, what is a keynote presentation? Glad you asked.

You may also be tasked with a keynote presentation in order to secure funding, make a sale, or update stakeholders or executives. Whatever stage you find yourself on, delivering a keynote presentation is an important responsibility as a public speaker.

How to Give a Perfect Keynote Presentation, According to the Experts

I spoke with four professional speakers on how to deliver a near-perfect presentation. Here are five pieces of advice they shared.

1. Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse.

When it comes to public speaking, practice quite literally makes perfect. Every expert I spoke with mentioned how frequently they rehearse their presentations.

“However much you think you need to rehearse, rehearse 10 times more than that. When you show up to a concert, you expect that the musicians know their songs, and you certainly don't want the first time they try to play it to be right there on stage. You owe your audience and the folks hiring you to speak the same respect,” said Melanie Deziel , international keynote speaker and founder of StoryFuel . (She received this advice herself from Michael and Amy Port at Heroic Public Speaking .)

Provided by Melanie Deziel

As more presentations and events become fully virtual, the likelihood of technical difficulties also grows. Rehearsing your content can help you weather any interruptions or last-minute changes.

Rehearsal not only leads to content mastery; it allows freedom in your presentations. “The more you rehearse and become comfortable with the content, the freer you'll be to take chances, experiment, and truly focus on your delivery, rather than trying to remember what comes next,” shared Deziel.

How do these experts recommend practicing your presentations? “[Use] a mirror,” said Olivia Scott , keynote speaker and founder of Omerge Alliances . “I take the time to see how I'm being received, I look at my body posture, and I look at everything to make sure that I feel good about what I'm delivering. This isn’t exactly a tool or technology, but it's a way to practice and rehearse.”

Additionally, consider asking friends, family, and trusted colleagues to listen to your practice runs and provide feedback on your presentation.

2. Ask for feedback.

Speaking of feedback, expert orators know to ask for it on a regular basis — from friends, peer groups, mentors, audience members, and clients. “Find a support crew and connect with other speakers in the industry,” mentioned Karen Hopper , keynote speaker and data strategist at M+R. Hopper personally recommends Shine Bootcamp , which provided her with lifelong friendships, helpful feedback, and a priceless education about public speaking.

Provided by Karen Hopper

“We help each other with feedback on our pitches, topics, outlines, and presentations, and we celebrate each others' wins,'' said Hopper. “ ... It’s well worth surrounding yourself with people who will cheer for you and who will give you honest feedback — the fastest way to get better is to ruthlessly seek out that feedback.”

Clients can also be an incredibly helpful source of feedback. If you’re asked to speak at an event or conference, consider asking the people who hired you. “I ask my client for their reaction immediately after every presentation. It’s important to know how they felt, and whether the presentation achieved their goals. Every time my client is happy, that’s my most successful presentation,” said Jeff Toister , keynote speaker, author, and customer service expert.

Lastly, the best feedback often comes from the source — in this case, your audience. Whether you ask questions during your presentation (which we’ll discuss next) or ask for feedback following your presentation, it’s never a bad idea to know what your audience thought about your keynote.

Feedback may look different if giving a remote keynote presentation, but it's still possible.

“It’s been a creative challenge to adapt a talk I'd hoped to give in person to work in a virtual environment. It's much harder to tell how your talks are received online, without being able to see nodding and note-taking and hear laughter and clapping. But all the feedback I have received [over email] indicated that my talk successfully changed the way many people are thinking about their content idea generation process, and that was the ultimate goal of the talk: to change how people think ,” shared Deziel, referring to her recent keynote at Content Marketing World 2020.

3. Engage your audience.

Nobody likes being talked at . Sure, delivering a keynote presentation involves you doing most of the talking, but it doesn’t have to be a one-way conversation. Many of the experts I interviewed encouraged some sort of audience engagement or interaction to enhance your presentation.

“People love to be involved in a presentation. Rather than explain a concept to my audience, I find a way to have them experience it,” said Toister. “For example, when I share how multitasking hurts productivity and causes us to make more errors, I have the audience try a brief multitasking exercise so they can experience the problem themselves.”

Did you know that audience engagement levels drop considerably (14%) if a presenter does most of the talking, versus if the audience talks just as much? Moreover, 64% of people believe that a presentation with two-way interaction is much more engaging than a one-way presentation.

Presentation engagement also takes practice — just like your presentation content itself. “ ... Entertainment comes from the performance itself: the way in which you deliver that content and the energy you bring to that delivery. This is a separate skill you need to practice. Work with a coach, watch back recordings of yourself to identify opportunities to improve your craft, and watch videos of top-notch comedians, poets and other speakers to see what you can learn from them,” encouraged Deziel.

Lastly, as important as engagement is, don’t let technology stand in the way. While smartphones and polling software can make audience interaction easier, they can also get in the way of you connecting with your audience. “I prefer to just have people stand up, raise their hand, or clap to participate in the poll. It gets the audience moving, and I don’t have to worry about WiFi connections or whether the polling software is working,” said Toister.

4. Prioritize your content as much as the delivery.

While entertaining and interacting with your audience is helpful and exciting, it shouldn’t take precedence over your presentation content itself. “Nearly all of what the audience can learn from you comes from the content: the stories you tell, the examples you share, the facts you cite and the other information you explain. Carefully crafting those materials and testing it out ensures that the audience will get the information they were promised from your session,” said Deziel.

Tools like PowerPoint, Keynote, Google Slides, and Canva can help you hone your content and develop a story within your presentation. A 2018 Prezi study (another presentation tool option) showed that 90% of people believe a strong narrative makes for a more engaging, interesting presentation. Data can help form arguments and explain facts, but stories stay with your audience long after your time on stage.

Storytelling is yet another way to engage with your audience, especially by evoking emotions like humor. “It’s entertaining to ask questions, saying, ‘Can anyone relate to this? Has anyone ever had this type of experience before?’ and then getting them involved with some laughter around those experiences. Laughter always helps,” said Scott, who presented at INBOUND 2020 .

Hopper, who was also a Breakout Speaker at INBOUND 2020, agreed: “Don't be afraid to be funny or drop in jokes — there are studies that show that laughing actually helps your brain retain information better, so not only will your audience have a good time laughing with you, but they'll also get more out of your presentation. It’s a win-win!”

5. Focus on the audience.

Finally, everyone can agree that public speaking is either revered or feared. If you relate to the latter and find yourself nervous when giving presentations, turn your focus on the audience.

“Speakers easily get nervous when they focus on themselves and worry too much about their own performance. Focusing on your audience first takes the nerves away and redirects your attention to making sure your audience gets something of value from your keynote,” shared Toister.

That’s the goal of a keynote presentation — to provide value to your audience. Regardless of what story you’re telling, what tools you’re using, or how you’re engaging the crowd, as long as you deliver a presentation that inspires your audience to think differently — even for 30 minutes — you’ve given a perfect keynote presentation.

Note: HubSpot Marketing teams reserve the right to use guest blog author’s likeness across our content as we see fit, including but not limited to HubSpot’s social media channels.

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10 tips on how to make slides that communicate your idea, from TED’s in-house expert

When your slides rock, your whole presentation pops to life. At TED2014, David Epstein created a clean, informative slide deck to support his talk on the changing bodies of athletes . Photo: James Duncan Davidson/TED

Aaron Weyenberg is the master of slide decks. Our UX Lead creates Keynote presentations that are both slick and charming—the kind that pull you in and keep you captivated, but in an understated way that helps you focus on what’s actually being said. He does this for his own presentations and for lots of other folks in the office. Yes, his coworkers ask him to design their slides, because he’s just that good.

We asked Aaron to bottle his Keynote mojo so that others could benefit from it. Here, 10 tips for making an effective slide deck, split into two parts: the big, overarching goals, and the little tips and tricks that make your presentation sing.

Aaron used this image of a New Zealand disaster to kick off a slide deck from TED’s tech team — all about how they prepares for worst-case scenarios. He asked for permission to use the image, and credited the photographer, Blair Harkness. View the whole slidedeck from this presentation.

The big picture…

• Think about your slides last . Building your slides should be the tail end of developing your presentation. Think about your main message, structure its supporting points, practice it and time it—and then start thinking about your slides. The presentation needs to stand on its own; the slides are just something you layer over it to enhance the listener experience. Too often, I see slide decks that feel more like presenter notes, but I think it’s far more effective when the slides are for the audience to give them a visual experience that adds to the words. .
• Create a consistent look and feel . In a good slide deck, each slide feels like part of the same story. That means using the same or related typography, colors and imagery across all your slides. Using pre-built master slides can be a good way to do that, but it can feel restrictive and lead to me-too decks. I like to create a few slides to hold sample graphic elements and type, then copy what I need from those slides as I go. .
• Think about topic transitions . It can be easy to go too far in the direction of consistency, though. You don’t want each slide to look exactly the same. I like to create one style for the slides that are the meat of what I’m saying, and then another style for the transitions between topics. For example, if my general slides have a dark background with light text, I’ll try transition slides that have a light background with dark text. That way they feel like part of the same family, but the presentation has texture—and the audience gets a visual cue that we’re moving onto a new topic. .
• With text, less is almost always more . One thing to avoid—slides with a lot of text, especially if it’s a repeat of what you’re saying out loud. It’s like if you give a paper handout in a meeting—everyone’s head goes down and they read, rather than staying heads-up and listening. If there are a lot of words on your slide, you’re asking your audience to split their attention between what they’re reading and what they’re hearing. That’s really hard for a brain to do, and it compromises the effectiveness of both your slide text and your spoken words. If you can’t avoid having text-y slides, try to progressively reveal text (like unveiling bullet points one by one) as you need it. .
• Use photos that enhance meaning . I love using simple, punchy photos in presentations, because they help what you’re saying resonate in your audience’s mind without pulling their attention from your spoken words. Look for photos that (1) speak strongly to the concept you’re talking about and (2) aren’t compositionally complex. Your photo could be a metaphor or something more literal, but it should be clear why the audience is looking at it, and why it’s paired with what you’re saying. For example, I recently used the image above—a photo of a container ship about to tip over (it eventually sank)—to lead off a co-worker’s deck about failure preparation. And below is another example of a photo I used in a deck to talk about the launch of the new TED.com . The point I was making was that a launch isn’t the end of a project—it’s the beginning of something new. We’ll learn, adapt, change and grow.

Here, a lovely image from a slidedeck Aaron created about the redesign of TED.com . View the whole deck from this presentation .

And now some tactical tips…

• Go easy on the effects and transitions . Keynote and Powerpoint come with a lot of effects and transitions. In my opinion, most of these don’t do much to enhance the audience experience. At worst, they subtly suggest that the content of your slides is so uninteresting that a page flip or droplet transition will snap the audience out of their lethargy. If you must use them, use the most subtle ones, and keep it consistent. .

• Try panning large images . Often, I want to show screen shot of an entire web page in my presentations. There’s a great Chrome extension to capture these—but these images are oftentimes much longer than the canvas size of the presentation. Rather than scaling the image to an illegible size, or cropping it, you can pan it vertically as you talk about it. In Keynote, this is done with a Move effect, which you can apply from an object’s action panel. .
• For video, don’t use autoplay . It’s super easy to insert video in Keynote and Powerpoint—you just drag a Quicktime file onto the slide. And when you advance the deck to the slide with the video that autoplays, sometimes it can take a moment for the machine to actually start playing it. So often I’ve seen presenters click again in an attempt to start the video during this delay, causing the deck to go to the next slide. Instead, set the video to click to play. That way you have more predictable control over the video start time, and even select a poster frame to show before starting. .

Lastly, I’d love to leave you with a couple book recommendations. The first is Resonate , by Nancy Duarte. It’s not so much about slides, but about public speaking in general – which is the foundation for any presentation, regardless of how great your slides are. In it, she breaks down the anatomy of what makes a great presentation, how to establish a central message and structure your talk, and more. (One of her case studies comes from Benjamin Zander’s charming TED Talk about classical music, a talk that captivated the audience from start to finish.) Think of this as prerequisite reading for my second recommendation, also by Duarte: Slide:ology . This is more focused on presentation visuals and slides.

Happy slide-making.

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15 pro tips to ace your keynote presentation.

Written by Shavinyaa Vijay

Keynote presentations can be terrifying for some of us. We fear messing up, looking bad on camera, forgetting our notes… The list of nightmares just doesn’t end.

While it’s not possible to have an entirely foolproof plan, we can minimize the number of ways where things can go wrong. So if you have an important keynote presentation coming up, here are some of our tips to help you out.

How to Ace Your Keynote Presentation

We’ll give you a concise guide on what you should be doing, from the time you start planning to the time you conclude your speech. Take these 15 quick tips and master them so you can deliver a stunning keynote presentation in no time!

1. Know Your Purpose

Before you start creating the layout of your slides or typing out the content of your speech, take some time to ask yourself — what is the purpose of your keynote presentation? What is the takeaway that you want the audience to have after your presentation? Essentially, you need to ask yourself, “What is my message?”. While it feels like time is ticking away, rushing into your slides will backfire in the long run. You need to ensure that the intention behind this presentation is clear and focused, as that would help you in creating a keynote presentation with clarity and confidence.

2. Be Confident

Ever heard of the phrase, ‘fake it till you make it’? Now’s a great time to take that advice! A significant factor in determining the success of your keynote presentation is your audience’s trust in you, and to gain their trust, you need to be confident in yourself first. Confidence in presentations comes from two sources: your posture, and your mastery of the content you are presenting. For posture, remember not to fidget and stand in a relaxed position. Stretch for a couple of minutes before presenting to loosen yourself up. As for your content, be sure to know the subject of your presentation like the back of your hand; read up as much as possible and do not start on it last minute.

3. Give Your Credentials

When introducing yourself, simply sharing your organization and position is not enough; if your audience wants to know where you’re from, all they need is a quick search online. What they do want to know however, is why you are the best person to deliver this presentation, and what you have to offer them. By sharing this, your audience will know that you’re knowledgeable in the field you’re presenting on, and that you have the solution to their needs or problems. Doing this will not only make your audience lean a little closer, but will also give you a great segue to move them into the next part of your presentation.

4. Deliver Your Hook

Research shows that the audience will stop listening to a presentation within 10 minutes if they are not persuaded that there is something in it for them. It is therefore important that you “hook” your audience by convincing them that they can benefit from your keynote presentation. You can do this by showing your audience that the key idea behind your presentation has the ability to make them feel happy or successful.

5. Introduce Your Agenda

At the start of your speech, be sure to let your audience know what the takeaway of your message is. Dedicate a slide to show your audience the agenda, and when presenting, remember not to read from the slides! Instead, offer a brief and general summary of your presentation. Give your audience the direction of your presentation, as this will allow them to follow your content better.

6. Ensure Smooth Transitions

Transitions are like sign posts that guide your audience throughout your speech, so they must be easy to follow, the last thing you need is a confused audience! Unclear transitions can be a nightmare as it may potentially distort the content of your presentation. In the end, the audience grasps only bits and pieces of your message, or worse, gives up on following your presentation. This applies not just to the visual effects that PowerPoint has, but also to the words you use. When transitioning from point to point, use words such as ‘next’, ‘then’, and ‘after’, and number your points using words like ‘firstly’, ‘secondly’, and ‘thirdly’. This will help the audience understand when you’re moving on to another idea or part of your presentation.

7. Give a Credible Statement

If you wish to gain your audience’s trust and establish a professional relationship with them, you need to get them to buy into your presentation. One way would be through giving credible statements that support your message. This can come in the form of data, or in the form of professional advice from experts in the field of your presentation. For example, make use of graphs and statistics to show the importance of a certain situation, and share quotes from someone with authority in a similar (if not the same) industry to backup your statements.

8. Use Images for Maximum Impact

The beauty of well-selected images lies in their ability to communicate a message without throwing dozens of words at an audience, so use them to your advantage! Select photos that encapsulate the message of your keynote presentation, or to highlight a specific idea that you’re sharing. Images that look simple can deliver the most powerful messages, and do what words sometimes cannot achieve — stir emotions in an audience. However, while images are a great tool, moderation is key. Stay away from photos that have been used too often (icebergs, anyone?), and use them sparingly throughout the presentation, as too many may reduce their impact.

9. Present data simply

Data is important in any credible presentation, and like we mentioned earlier, can help to establish your audience’s trust. However, it is crucial that the data be presented in a simple and uncomplicated manner. Too many numbers or graphs can be distracting for the audience, and may obscure the real intention of presenting the data. If you have large chunks of statistics, ask yourself: What is the key idea of the message you’re sharing? Which figures will back your statements up? From there, choose the appropriate data and highlight them accordingly.

10. One slide – one theme

Like transitions, each slide can be used as markers of the various points you aim to cover. Not only does this make your presentation easy for the audience to follow, it also makes it easy for you to remember your points as they are neatly categorised in each slide. It may seem tempting to squeeze all your information into few slides, but remember, moderation is key!

11. Be minimalistic

For a keynote presentation, simplicity is important when designing and organising your deck. You do not want the pattern or design to distract your audience from the real content and message. Again, it is also important that you do not overload the slides with words, so keep the sentences and points in your slides short. Let your speech expand on the ideas that you want the audience to take with them. Your communication and connection with them is more impactful in sending your message across than words on the slides.

12. Be consistent

Consistency is essential, especially when it comes to your presentation. Avoid using different backgrounds in every slide, and ensure that the design is reasonably similar throughout, unless you wish to use differences to distinguish individual points in your message. This makes the transitions in your presentation smooth, and thus it makes the story that you are telling easy for the audience to follow.

13. Practice, Practice, Practice

Rome was not build in a day, and similarly, a perfect presentation will not happen instantaneously! Rehearse your presentation a couple of times before the actual one, as this will help you in two ways. Firstly, you will gain familiarity with the content, which will definitely increase your confidence in delivering the presentation. Secondly, going through the deck aloud will allow you to listen to your speech from the audience’s perspective. This will aid you in tweaking and adjusting the content and structure of your presentation, to best fit the needs of the audience.

14. Analyse your audience

On the day of your presentation, analyse the audience. Get a general feel of the crowd. Are they excited? Are they bored? Are they tired? By doing this, you will be able to tweak the content of your presentation to fit the needs of your audience. If they are bored, you may wish to start with an interesting story related to your message. If they are tired, you could give them some time to get refreshed, either through a 5 minutes break or a quick activity to keep them alert. This way, you can ensure that you have a receptive audience ready to listen to what you have to say.

15. Q&A session

It is absolutely important that you leave some time at the end of your keynote presentation for a short “question and answer” session. Since the presentation was done from your perspective, the audience may have missed some important links and connections in your ideas. Therefore, a Q&A session is great in resolving any potential confusion that the audience may have.

There you have it, 15 simple tips to ace your keynote presentation! Just remember:

• Know Your Purpose
• Be Confident
• Give Your Credentials
• Deliver Your Hook
• Introduce Your Agenda
• Ensure Smooth Transitions
• Give a Credible Statement
• Use Images for Maximum Impact
• Present data simply
• One slide – one theme
• Be minimalistic
• Be consistent
• Practice, Practice, Practice
• Analyse your audience
• Q&A session

Now you’re good to go, all the best for your keynote presentation!

Article Written By: Shavinyaa Vijay

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How to nail your keynote presentation: best tips and principles

July 20, 2023

Below text was written by our founder Damon Nofar after he gave his first keynote talk.

Public speaking can be frightening

When I got invited to give a live talk in front of 500+ people and 3000+ joining online, I did not hesitate a second to accept it.

That's a lie. I hesitated a lot. "Who am I to give a talk in front of so many? Do I even know how to give a keynote? I've never done this before. What if I mess up? That's gonna be recorded and on YouTube for the rest of my life." Those are just a fraction of the thoughts that passed my mind at the time.

But I also thought that it would be a great first time experience. I have been working in the presentation industry for close to ten years now, and I work with people every day who have to give some type of talk in front of an audience, so it would surely be useful to put myself in the same situation? So I accepted the invite. Fast forward a couple of months and there I was minutes away for stepping up on the stage. Here are my learnings.

Learning #1: Assume you will have tech issues and prepare for it

My presentation clicker was not working well from the very start. Nothing happened when clicked. There was some type of interference between the clicker and receiver which was at the back of the room (with a big audience in between). It worked well during rehearsals, but that was in an empty room.

These things happen and you just have to work with it. The worst thing for an audience is to see the speaker suffer and really struggle on stage. Because they can feel your pain. And they will focus more on that, than what you have to say.

I was not prepared for this issue at all. It took me completely off guard. But I went with it. I told some jokes, hid my discomfort, and did my best to keep the show going. Although it ruined my flow, the audience seemed OK with it and told me afterwards that it made the whole thing more human and authentic. You can judge by yourself from the video snippet below.

What I wish I would have done instead: Take a one minute break right at the start when I noticed that the clicker was acting up, and call up the tech guy to have it sorted, before I go on. During that break I could have talked about the power of silence or similar. That would be fun.

Another tip is to use your own laptop instead, that you bring up on stage. That way you and the clicker are right next to it, and the risks of issues are minimized.

One colleague of mine who gives lots of keynotes said that she always become BFFs (best friends forever) with the tech guys before her talks. That way she knows they will have her back and jump in if anything goes wrong. That's a good tip!

Learning #2: Calm your nerves by interacting with the audience

One of the biggest fears most rookie speakers have is the risk of blackout. You probably imagine looking at the audience, and someone's facial expression or whatever catches your attention, and just like that your whole speech is gone from your mind. Right? I think everyone has had that thought. And there are many techniques to use to avoid blackout in a presentation. One of them is to get comfortable with some of the audience members, and keep more eye contact with them.

Right before I got up on stage, I talked to some of the audience members at the front. Since these are the faces I will see the most, I wanted to feel more comfortable with them. For example, I spoke to guy from Berlin, felt a good vibe and kept more eye contact with him during my talk. I also went up to two other women in the audience, and awkwardly said "are you nervous?" before my talk, they laughed at my ridiculous question and I knew I had two more faces I could rely on once I got up on stage.

You've heard tips like "stare above your audience, at the wall in the back" or "imagine your audience naked". Forget all of that. These types advice are awkward and weird, and will probably just make you even more nervous. Get comfortable with the fact that you are speaking to all these people in front of you. But don't make it more important that it is. It's just a talk in front of a group of people that came to listen to you. That's it.

Even if you don't get to interact with anyone, simply pick a friendly face or two, and keep more eye contact with them during your talk. Nobody will notice when the audience size is big. Believe it or not, I still remember a woman in a yellow shirt that was smiling throughout my whole presentation. Thank you mysterious friendly woman!

Learning #3: Grab your audience's attention with a story

You already know how important stories are in presentations. Stories are a great way to help people understand complex ideas by giving it context, and making it relatable to the audience. In business, presentation storytelling is probably the most common word that is being thrown around in offices around the world. Because companies are starting to understand the value of a good story, which is to create a connection between the speaker and the audience.

And you can use this to your advantage in keynote talks as well. One of the very first things I did when I got up on stage was to tell a personal story. A story that I knew people would relate to. But also that would reinforce my main message, which in this talk was the importance of a good presentation.

Sidenote: if your story makes the audience laugh as well, then you will hit jackpot! See learning 5 below.

Learning #4: Entertain as much as you educate

Many first-time speakers forget the purpose of a conference or industry event. It is not a seminar. It is not purely for information purposes, or transactions of knowledge. It should be a fun experience where you interact and network with people. And the talks should also entertain.

Keeping the attention of an audience for 30-40 minutes is not an easy task. And even if you are there to give insights and share your view on something, you need to infuse your presentation with an equal amount of entertainment in order to make it a fun and memorable experience.

Throw in some jokes here and there that the audience can relate to. Industry-specific jokes are great, because most people can relate to that. E.g. I made several comments on how bullet points can kill your presentation, how powerpoint corporate templates are hard to work with, etc. By bringing up relatable topics, you make the audience nod their heads and put their confidence in you and your subject matter. Plus it makes them relax and enjoy the experience more.

Making your audience laugh is probably the single best way to connect with them. So make them laugh in the first 30 seconds of your talk. That way you will get their attention and they will be more eager to listen to you. I started my talk with a 40 second video showing bloopers of virtual presentations. Everybody cracked up laughing. I got their attention before I even opened my mouth.

If you are not funny, you can use a video. Or a fun quote. Or an image. A story. Whatever works. But make them laugh early.

Learning #5: Your presentation slides are your best friend

Do not underestimate the power of having good slides projected behind you during your talk. It gives an incredible confidence boost every time you click forward a slide. I had prepared some fun slides, with fun visuals, great quotes, and I could not wait to pull those up to see the audience eyes light up. To the contrary, having bad slides will work against you as it will pull the attention away from you. And it will have the audience hesitating before you even start talking. "Does this person deserve my attention, when he did not even put the slightest effort into his slides?"

This topic alone on how to design better slides can be covered in many articles, but here are my top tips:

Keep it visual: keynote talks are not internal business reviews. Text-heavy slides do not work on the big stage.

Slide background color: a huge white canvas projected on a big screen can be very heavy on the eyes of the audience. Dark backgrounds work much better here. Best approach though? Mix it up. See snapshot of my slides below.

Transitions / Animations: two things to keep in mind here: (1) if there are people joining in online, be aware that some motion graphics can be laggy when streamed. General rule: keep animations to a minimum. And (2) consider converting PowerPoint animations into videos and embedding the videos into your slides. Videos play much smoother than native PPT animations.

Number of slides: "how many PowerPoint slides do I need for a 30 minute talk?" is a very typical question in this industry. My advice is always that number of slides do not matter, worry more about having a good flow and not getting stuck too long on one slide. With this said, for keynote talks a good rule of thumb is to not stay longer than 30 seconds to 1 minute per slide. Keep the flow going.

Design help: if the keynote presentation is important for you, or you will do it on a regular basis, consider hiring PowerPoint design help . An agency that specializes in presentations knows what works best for you and your topic, and can help you bring your ideas to life.

Learning #6: Make fun of yourself

It's very easy to come off as a "full of yourself" douche, when you tell stories about your life, or speak about your experience. "I've worked with top brands like bla bla bla", "I am successful bla bla". That's a formula to disconnect yourself from your audience. To avoid this, throw in some lines where you make fun of yourself. That makes people relax and like you even more.

E.g. I told a story about when I got a top job straight out of university, and being selected out of thousands of applicants. True story. But can be received as non-humble depending on how you tell it. So I threw in the fact that I got fired a couple of months later. It made me more human. And had some good laughs.

Another speaker gave a talk about body language. And the first thing he did was to make fun of himself and his height (he is not the tallest man around). He said something in the lines of "You expected a much taller guy speaking about body language right?" His talk was a success. People loved it!

Assume you will have tech issues and prepare for it

Calm your nerves by interacting with the audience

Grab your audience's attention with a story

Entertain as much as you educate

Your presentation slides are your best friend

Make fun of yourself

And if you walk away with only one learning from all of this, it is to enjoy your experience. Most of us don't get this opportunity to speak in front of hundreds or thousands often. So have fun with it!

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What It Takes to Give a Great Presentation

• Carmine Gallo

Five tips to set yourself apart.

Never underestimate the power of great communication. It can help you land the job of your dreams, attract investors to back your idea, or elevate your stature within your organization. But while there are plenty of good speakers in the world, you can set yourself apart out by being the person who can deliver something great over and over. Here are a few tips for business professionals who want to move from being good speakers to great ones: be concise (the fewer words, the better); never use bullet points (photos and images paired together are more memorable); don’t underestimate the power of your voice (raise and lower it for emphasis); give your audience something extra (unexpected moments will grab their attention); rehearse (the best speakers are the best because they practice — a lot).

I was sitting across the table from a Silicon Valley CEO who had pioneered a technology that touches many of our lives — the flash memory that stores data on smartphones, digital cameras, and computers. He was a frequent guest on CNBC and had been delivering business presentations for at least 20 years before we met. And yet, the CEO wanted to sharpen his public speaking skills.

• Carmine Gallo is a Harvard University instructor, keynote speaker, and author of 10 books translated into 40 languages. Gallo is the author of The Bezos Blueprint: Communication Secrets of the World’s Greatest Salesman  (St. Martin’s Press).

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9 Keynote Tips and Tricks for Stunning Apple Slides (+ BONUS Expert Hacks to Make Keynote Better)

Looking to create captivating and professional Apple slides? Look no further! With these Keynote tips, you can unlock the full potential of Keynote and deliver impressive presentations that will leave your audience in awe.

From mastering slide transitions to customizing your toolbar, we’ll explore essential techniques that will take your slides to the next level.

Let’s take your slides to new heights with these invaluable Keynote tips.

• Animate Individual Objects on the Slides
• Master Magic Move
• Edit Your Slide Layouts
• Use Action Buttons for Shapes in Keynote
• Use a Pre-Built Template Design
• Customize Your Keynote Toolbar
• Edit Videos without Using Any Other Tool
• Record Slideshow for Playback
• Control the Slideshow Remotely

BONUS Keynote Tips For Engaging Presentations

Keynote tips faq, #1 – animate individual objects on the slides.

Elevate the impact of your Keynote slides by animating individual objects to control their appearance and engage your audience. 

Here are three best practices for animating individual objects on your slides:

• Control the timing: Animate objects to appear on your slide exactly when you want them to. Whether it’s a text box, an image, or a shape, you can choose when it enters the screen to create a seamless and engaging presentation.
• Preview your animation: Before finalizing your slides, take advantage of the Preview button to see how your animation will look in action. This way, you can make any necessary adjustments and ensure a smooth transition between objects.
• Customize your animation: Keynote offers a range of animation options to fit your needs. From simple fades to complex movements, you can customize the animation of each individual object to create a visually stunning and memorable experience for your audience.

#2 – Master Magic Move

Little known Keynote tip: You can use a cool feature called Magic Move to seamlessly animate and transition objects between slides.

Magic Move allows for smooth animation and transition between slides, creating a visually engaging and dynamic presentation.

To utilize this feature, duplicate the slide and adjust the position of objects to create a seamless animation effect. Then, select Magic Move from the Add an Effect section to apply the animation between the slides.

Customize the duration, match with text, and define the transition start time for the Magic Move effect to ensure it aligns with your presentation needs. Then, preview the smooth animation to ensure it meets your expectations.

#3 – Edit Your Slide Layouts

To achieve consistent styling in your Keynote presentation, utilize the Edit Slide Layouts feature. This powerful tool allows you to customize your slide layouts and designs, ensuring a cohesive and professional look throughout your entire presentation. Simple but effective, this is a Keynote tip most people overlook. 

Here are three ways you can make the most of this feature:

• Easily add a title and photo: By editing your slide layouts, you can include a title and photo section in every slide, saving you time and effort. Simply adjust the layout to include these elements, and they’ll automatically appear whenever you create a new slide.
• Define your frequently used layouts: If you have specific layouts or designs that you frequently use in your presentations, you can define them using the Edit Slide Layouts feature. This way, you can easily access and apply these layouts whenever needed, streamlining your workflow and ensuring consistency.
• Explore alternatives if needed: While Keynote offers a wide range of slide layouts to choose from, you may find that none of them fit your specific needs. In that case, it’s worth exploring Keynote alternatives that provide more customizable options for slide layouts.

#4 – Use Action Buttons for Shapes in Keynote

To enhance your Keynote presentations, incorporate action buttons into your shapes. Action buttons can add interactivity and engagement to your slides.

Here are three reasons why you should consider using action buttons in Keynote:

• Easy navigation: Action buttons allow you to create clickable links within your shapes. By linking a shape to another slide or a specific location, you can create a seamless navigation experience for your audience. They can simply click on the shape to jump to the desired section or information.
• Interactive elements: Action buttons can be used to add interactive elements to your slides. For example, you can create buttons that play videos, open websites, or trigger animations. 
• Enhanced user experience: By incorporating action buttons, you can provide your audience with a more interactive and hands-on experience. They can actively participate in the presentation by clicking on buttons and exploring the content at their own pace. 

#5 – Use a Pre-Built Template Design

This Keynote tip is another important one to not overlook! Even if you’re creative and love to design from scratch, using pre-built templates as a starting point can save you a ton of time. 

Keynote users can enjoy minimal and modern pre-built templates that are both popular and easy to manage. These templates can serve as a great starting point, offering a foundation for customization and personalization . By utilizing pre-built templates, you can maintain a consistent styling throughout your presentation, especially for large decks. This ensures that your slides look polished and you look like a professional speaker .

Additionally, if you prefer a more personalized touch, Keynote allows you to create your own custom templates or slides . This flexibility enables you to tailor your presentation to your specific needs while still benefiting from the convenience and efficiency of using pre-built designs.

#6 – Customize Your Keynote Toolbar

When it comes to enhancing your Keynote presentations, one important step is to customize your toolbar for easy access to frequently used tools. By customizing your toolbar, you can streamline your workflow and save time during your presentation preparations.

To customize your toolbar in Keynote , go to the View menu and choose Customize Toolbar . From there, you can drag and drop the features you use most frequently into your toolbar. Once you’re done, simply click the Done button to finish customizing your toolbar.

Take advantage of this feature to make your Keynote experience more personalized and efficient.

#7 – Edit Videos without Using Any Other Tool

There are some pretty cool Keynote tips for anyone who integrates videos and other media into their presentations. 

Take your video editing to the next level with Keynote’s built-in tools, allowing you to seamlessly trim, enhance, and add dynamic effects to your videos directly within the presentation software. 

Here are three ways you can edit videos without using any other tool in Keynote:

• Trim and crop: Use Keynote’s video editing options to easily trim unwanted sections and crop your videos to focus on specific areas, ensuring that your videos are concise and visually appealing.
• Enhance and adjust : Keynote enables you to enhance the quality of your videos by adjusting brightness, contrast, and saturation. You can also apply filters and effects to give your videos a professional touch.
• Add text and annotations: With Keynote’s built-in text and shape tools, you can add text overlays, annotations, and captions directly onto your videos. 

#8 – Record Slideshow for Playback

Enhance your presentation experience by easily recording your slideshow for playback. With Keynote, you have the option to record your presentation, allowing you to share it with others or review it at a later time.

To start recording , simply go to the Play menu and select Record Slideshow . Before you begin, customize the recording settings to your preference. You can choose to include narration and even enable pointer options to highlight important elements on your slides.

During the recording, navigate through your presentation as you would during a live presentation. Use the pause and stop buttons to control the recording and make adjustments as needed.

Once you’ve finished recording, take the time to review and edit the recording if necessary. This way, you can ensure that the playback is smooth and professional.

Recording your slideshow is a convenient way to capture your presentation and share it with others, whether it’s for training purposes, remote meetings, or simply to have a record of your work. No matter what your role is, this Keynote tip can be especially useful if you share your presentations with others!

#9 – Control the Slideshow Remotely

This is a cool Keynote tip for anyone who hosts presentations! Control your Keynote slideshow remotely using the Keynote app on your iPhone or iPad. With this feature, you can easily navigate through your presentation without being tethered to your computer.

Here are three ways you can take advantage of the remote control functionality:

• Connect your Mac and your iPhone or iPad to the same Wi-Fi network. This ensures a seamless connection between the devices.
• Open the presentation you want to control on your Mac , then tap the ‘Play’ button in the top-right corner of the Keynote toolbar. This starts the slideshow on your Mac.
• Once the slideshow is running, you can control it by tapping the ‘Next’ or ‘Previous’ buttons on your iPhone or iPad . This allows you to move through your slides effortlessly, even if you’re standing across the room.

But that’s not all! You can also use your iPhone or iPad as a laser pointer during the presentation. Simply press and hold on the screen, and a laser pointer will appear, helping you emphasize important points and engage your audience even more. Cool, right? 

Choose A Set Of Icons & Stick To It

For a visually cohesive and professional presentation, choose a set of icons that aligns with your theme and consistently use them throughout.

Not only does this create a visually engaging presentation, but it also reinforces your personal branding and message. The use of a specific set of icons helps in maintaining a streamlined and polished design aesthetic , ensuring that your slides look cohesive and well-designed.

A consistent set of icons also aids in guiding the audience’s understanding and navigation. It provides a visual cue that helps them follow along and comprehend the information presented.

Make Fast Edits with Master Slides

Say goodbye to manually editing each slide individually. Instead, make fast edits to the design and formatting of all slides by modifying the Master Slide templates.

With the Master Slides feature, you can efficiently update fonts, colors, and layout elements across all slides in your presentation.  

Imagine the efficiency of making a single edit and seeing it instantly reflected throughout your entire presentation. With Master Slides, you can ensure consistency and cohesiveness in your slides without the hassle of repetitive editing.

Play with Themes

Enhance the visual appeal of your slides by exploring the Play with Themes feature and experimenting with different visual styles and aesthetics.

With Keynote, you can easily change the entire look and feel of your slides by applying different themes from the Themes chooser. This allows you to customize the themes by adjusting colors, fonts, and slide layouts to match your content and branding.

Include Stunning Charts and Graphs

Consider incorporating visually stunning charts and graphs into your Keynote presentation to enhance data representation. By utilizing these powerful visual aids, you can simplify complex information and make it more accessible to your audience.

Incorporating visually appealing charts and graphs into your Keynote presentation is a simple yet effective way to engage your audience, enhance data representation, and leave a lasting impact.

Export Keynote to Different Formats

This is another keynote tip that most people don’t realize the usefulness of at first glance. To ensure compatibility and easy sharing, Keynote allows you to export your presentation to various formats, including PowerPoint, PDF, HTML, and images . 

To export your presentation, simply go to the File menu and select ‘Export To’ . From there, you can choose the desired format and adjust settings to customize the export process. 

Consider the needs and preferences of your recipients when selecting the format for exporting your Keynote presentation. For example, if they primarily use PowerPoint, exporting to that format would make it easier for them to view and edit your presentation. On the other hand, exporting to PDF can ensure that your presentation retains its formatting and can be easily viewed on any device.

How Do I Make My Keynote Slides Look Good?

To make your Keynote slides look good, utilize slide transitions and animations, customize your toolbar for efficient editing, use pre-built templates, and incorporate interactive elements strategically. Take advantage of support options for additional assistance. And of course, don’t forget to apply best design practices!

What Are the Cool Things You Can Do in Keynote?

You can do many cool things in Keynote! Create smooth transitions, customize object animations, use Magic Move for seamless slides, and edit slide layouts. Customize your toolbar for quick access to frequently used tools.

How Do You Make a Keynote Presentation Effective?

To make your Keynote presentation effective, utilize the features on Mac, iPad, and iPhone. Collaborate in real-time and sync across devices. Access support options like searching for answers, connecting with experts, and using user guides and forums.

Is Apple Keynote as Good as Powerpoint?

Yes! Apple Keynote is a powerful presentation software that offers unique features, seamless integration across devices, and a user-friendly interface. It provides a wide range of tools and templates to create visually stunning and engaging slides.

By utilizing these powerful Keynote tips and features, you can create beautiful and professional Apple slides that will impress your audience. Simply put, if you’re trying to become a keynote speaker , you should know these Keynote tips.

From mastering slide transitions and animations to customizing your toolbar and controlling the slideshow remotely, Keynote offers a range of tools to enhance your presentations.

With the ability to collaborate in real-time and seamlessly sync across devices, Keynote is the ultimate presentation software for unleashing your creativity and delivering impactful presentations.

Do you have other Keynote tips to share? Comment below and share your favorite Keynote features!

Check out more great articles from the Thought-Leader Blog covering TEDx Talks, success mindsets, and everything else in between

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How to prepare a ted talk, how to market yourself effectively, how to become a keynote speaker, how to speak professionally.

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7 Tips to Create Powerful Keynote Slide Decks

Pow­er­ful Keynote slide decks that get your mes­sage across effec­tive­ly are more impor­tant than ever, with the rise of online pre­sen­ta­tions and remote events.

Our sto­ries are wired to teach, empow­er, and leave a lega­cy through our knowl­edge. When done right,  Keynote  pre­sen­ta­tions and brand sto­ries will leave a last­ing impression. 

How­ev­er, too much sto­ry can also over­whelm, bore, or con­fuse —so any­time we make pre­sen­ta­tions for our brand, we want to focus on expe­ri­ence rather than infor­ma­tion over­load. We often become so excit­ed about a par­tic­u­lar sub­ject, that we end up shar­ing too much infor­ma­tion in one slide. So how can we cre­ate a pow­er­ful Keynote?

7 Tips to create powerful keynote Slide Decks

1. start with a plan.

Before you pur­chase a tem­plate online, hire a design­er, or design your own Keynote tem­plate,  define what you want to accom­plish with each pre­sen­ta­tion. The three things you want to define are:

• Your top­ic and main key points
• How to explain it in sim­ple terms
• A list of con­tent you will need to sup­port your nar­ra­tive (ie. videos, pho­tos, graph­ics, illus­tra­tions, info­graph­ics etc.) 

2. Write Your Copy

Your copy and the design of your Keynote pre­sen­ta­tions or tem­plates need to work hand in hand. Write your con­tent before you pur­chase a tem­plate online — you want to know what your copy will entail before you do, so you don’t end up wast­ing time fig­ur­ing out how to fit copy into the design. 

Keep in mind that the copy on your pre­sen­ta­tion is there to  guide  the ideas, not  be the pre­sen­ta­tion. Oth­er­wise, peo­ple will spend their time writ­ing notes from your copy, instead of lis­ten­ing to your presentation. 

Too much copy makes a dif­fer­ence — you can see that in the dif­fer­ence between the slide above. The first one is crowd­ed with too much info, where­as the sec­ond is clean, and denotes key prompts for your talk­ing points. Chances are, your eyes pre­fer the sec­ond, and that is all you need to know about how it will affect your viewer!

3. Set a Template Structure 

Set­ting a tem­plate struc­ture will allow you to focus more on the con­tent deliv­ery than hav­ing to refor­mat your Keynote every time you cre­ate a new pre­sen­ta­tion. Plus, this helps you estab­lish  brand con­ti­nu­ity . 

Start with mak­ing a sim­ple list of the slides you know you will need for any type of pre­sen­ta­tion you do. Think of this as your Keynote tem­plate blueprint!

4. Avoid Using Bullet Points

f you are using bul­let points today, you can say good­bye to them. They are dis­tract­ing — and that takes away from the val­ue in your infor­ma­tion. Instead, try some­thing like this:

Cog­ni­tive sci­en­tists  say we can only focus on 3 key points at a time. Try to keep each slide to 3 points — max­i­mum 5.

5. Use Visuals to Support Your Narrative 

When it comes to visu­al com­mu­ni­ca­tion, the expe­ri­ence your view­ers have with your con­tent  is cru­cial  for them to  remem­ber  what you said. 

Our brains are wired to con­nect with visu­als first —  espe­cial­ly though col­or . When you deter­mine what visu­al con­tent you need, not only will you save time (and headaches), but your Keynote design process will have far more clar­i­ty than when you start with a tem­plate first and make your con­tent work with that.

6. Establish Content Hierarchy 

Deliv­er­ing val­ue doesn’t mean show­ing an entire sto­ry in one slide. When you cre­ate con­tent hier­ar­chy, you improve a viewer’s expe­ri­ence.  If you aren’t sure about how you can estab­lish this, think of what we call the High­rise Effect for Hierarchy.

This means struc­tur­ing your con­tent through text and its font size to fit the lev­el of impor­tance: the high­er the “peo­ple” are in the high rise, the greater their impor­tance, reflect­ed by their larg­er font size. 

7. Design a Template to Fit Your Needs

Design­ing an Apple Keynote pre­sen­ta­tion that fits your needs allows you to con­vey your mes­sage effec­tive­ly while rais­ing brand aware­ness. Done right, it will save mon­ey and time. If you aren’t a design­er, it can feel over­whelm­ing — but it doesn’t have to be so! We’ve got you cov­ered with Nicte’s LinkedIn Learn­ing Course that gives you the tools you need to achieve your pre­sen­ta­tion goals . It’s called Cre­ate Pow­er­ful Pre­sen­ta­tions in Adobe Keynote.

Con­nect with us below and we’ll send you addi­tion­al resources to give you peace of mind as you cre­ate stand­out Keynote presentations!

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Nicte Creative Design

About the Author

Nicte Cuevas, Principal of Nicte Creative Design, empowers mission-driven businesses through strategic design & branding. Nicte has applied this when working with Adobe Spark and Twitter Business, LinkedIn Learning, Dogs on Deployment and Purina, Girl Scouts, The Houston Zoo and The Contemporary Arts Museum. Her excellence in communication design & marketing has been recognized by multiple national / international awards, including a coveted feature in Graphic Design USA's People to Watch.

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7 tips for designing impactful keynotes

A keynote presentation is the crux of any conference or event. It’s your chance to share your company vision, inform your teams, and inspire your audience—and when done right, make an unforgettable impression. 

Whether you’re presenting in-person, online, or at a hybrid event, investing time into your keynote presentation design will help you create an immersive experience for guests. The following tips can help you create an engaging presentation that puts your brand and message front and center.

1. Organize information clearly

A keynote presentation is your chance to convey important messages to your audience. Organizing information clearly is the best way to ensure your points get across to your audience in the way you’ve intended—and without them losing interest. 

• Use bullet points to pull out key messages
• Pay attention to information hierarchy (headlines, text size/treatment)
• Pull out important numbers, facts, and quotes to provide emphasis and break up text

2. Keep the focus on the speaker

It may be tempting to add flashy animations and decorative elements, but when it comes to your keynote, simple is best . Let the speaker shine by balancing high-impact visuals with opportunities for the viewers’ eyes to rest and focus on the presenter. 

• Only add effects, animations, etc. if they truly enhance your messaging
• When in doubt, leave it out

3. But don’t be afraid to add some personality

Chances are, your presenter is an executive, celebrity, or influencer with plenty of charisma, so make your presentation reflect their personality. Are they silly? Inspirational? Sophisticated? Nerdy? By matching the tone of the presentation with the presenter, you’ll help tell a more cohesive story. 

• Have the presenter talk through the deck with the design team
• Add subtle personality elements, without coming across as over-the-top

4. Communicate with strategic visuals (and less text)

In a keynote presentation, visuals are so much more than just design elements. Think critically about how you can use visuals to help cut down on text and convey key points. This will make your content easier to follow and help keep your audience engaged. 

• Keep visuals unique and relevant for information retention
• Choose visuals that are quick and easy to understand
• Limit text as much as possible by using strategic visuals like infographics and charts

5. Stick with a theme

Erratic visuals can distract from your messaging and leave your audience feeling frazzled. To keep the focus on your content and increase brand identity, stick with a visual theme. This will streamline your presentation and help you audience know what to expect on every slide. 

• Select 1-2 fonts with consistent treatments for headlines, subheads, body copy 
• Choose a limited color palette (2-3 colors)
• Thoughtfully introduce variety within the theme to keep things interesting

6. Add energy with animation

These days, anything that is moving vs. static will help keep your audience engaged. Use animations to make your presentation more dynamic by adding drama, providing emphasis, and creating fluidity from slide to slide

• Consider using background animations, slide transitions, and entrance/exit effects
• Don’t go overboard or visually overwhelm your audience; it’s an art

7. Invest in custom designs

A custom design will make your keynote presentation feel more high-end, polished, and unique, and ultimately help you make a stronger impression on your audience. Creative visuals can help reinforce your message and support your speaker, plus sneak in brand identity. 

• Skip the Powerpoint-based graphics and opt for custom imagery
• Find images that fit within your visual identity, or make them work with your palette by adding overlays

Creating a keynote presentation that’s memorable, engaging, and polished is important to making a lasting impression—especially for remote events (like this one we did for Imagine Digital ). But remember that decks are the means to an end; it is your idea, product, or service that drives the presentation. A good deck is simply a way to let your message shine.

An agency can help create a memorable keynote presentation. They act as a sounding board for the creator, bringing unique ideas to the table that will help your content shine. At Design in Mind, we always start by having the speakers walk the design team through their presentations so they truly understand the takeaway of the speech and have the creative freedom to set the speaker up for success. Reach out to learn more about our keynote presentation services. 

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13 pro tips to ace your keynote presentations.

If you are one of those 588 million Apple users worldwide , own a Mac and use iPhone and iCloud; then you’re no stranger to the Apple ecosystem and its own exciting presentation software called Keynote. However, you still might not know how to use several tools that can make your presentation appealing. For students and teachers, Keynote should be a go-to presentation  tool because the iOS version gives you a desktop experience that rivals can’t compete.

Before coming to the questions you need to ask when editing presentation content , we are sharing some fantastic features of this popular PowerPoint alternative you might now know. For the next time you’re on stage for any presentation, make sure that you incorporate these sixteen keynote tips and create a killer slide deck to impress the people you are presenting to and stand out among all the presenters.

1) Use a Pre-Built Template Design

Image courtesy of https://www.dummies.com

If you are worried about your upcoming presentation assignment and you are out of ideas, then don’t hesitate to choose keynote presentation templates. Using the pre-built Keynote templates will save your time as you don’t need to download PowerPoint or third party templates. Apple has designed its own range of templates with a powerful and aesthetic feel. Since Keynote software application is designed by Apple, you’re not going to find similar template designs on Windows or any other operating system.

Also, they give you a quick start to create an eye-catching presentation as you get your hands on numerous layouts, tools, and elements to use quickly. It’s a plus point because most of the themes and templates in third party apps have been used in countless projects. You can always check out this article for some alternative powerful presentation formats .

The appealing themes and tools can help you to develop a consistent story. It is important to choose a template that fits with your story.

Bear in mind that minimalism is the new trend. If you don’t know how to create your first Keynote presentation professionally, go for minimal and modern templates that you can easily manage. You’ll find numerous Apple Keynote templates with a clean outlook and elegant aesthetic. A simple skewed photo in the middle of the screen with plenty of white space on the right and left gives you enough room to combine decorative elements with elegant typography.

You can design your own template design or customized supportive slides. If you simply want to add new slides in a template, make sure that they match with the original keynote presentation that you selected on your own.

2) Customize Your Toolbar

Image courtesy of https://24slides.com/presentbetter

If you go for a head-to-head comparison of PowerPoint vs Keynote , you will know that navigating the workspace in Keynote isn’t hard. But a lot of times, the default toolbar does not have the feature we frequently use in our presentation, and you have to go to the menu bar to pick the desired tool, which makes things hectic for you.

Now you don’t have to open your menu bar again and again. Simply go to view and select the customize toolbar option and a box will appear where you can drag and drop your frequently used option. For example, if you find yourself repeatedly using charts, add a slide, and adjust image options, then you may want to add them. The best thing about a customized toolbar is that you can always undo it and return to the default settings.

3) Choose A Set Of Icons & Stick To It

A common mistake that most students do is using multiple different icons and symbols in their presentation. It is advisable to use a single set of icons matching with your theme and stick to them throughout. Apple has terrific icons that you can play with. According to presentation experts, when we use the same set fonts and illustrative elements, our entire presentations look cohesive even though you use different designs in each slide.

While this point makes sense, you have to be careful about the selection of icons. Make sure that the combination of a collection of icons wide enough to cover the essential needs of your topic. If you have limited content and the topic is more self-explanatory, then you don’t even need icons. Enlarged bold fonts are enough.

4) Pick Your Font Pair

Image courtesy of https://24slides.com/presentbetter/first-keynote-presentation/

It looks like the easiest and fun task, but it is not. Why? Because the font you choose can impact the readability factor. And what is the whole point of presenting to an entire bunch of people if they can’t read what you are showing to them? Not only this, but the fonts you use also leave different impressions on your audience. Some fonts are professional while some are funny and even scary-looking.

Therefore, select clear and comprehensible font sizes. It is recommended to use easy-to-read standard fonts like Helvetica or Cambria. But if you really want to add some decorative element in your presentation, then pair your standard font with Freestyle Script or Lobstor font, which best matches with its look.

5) Use Text To A Minimum

Image courtesy of https://elements-preview-images.imgix.net

Now you’ve selected the appropriate fonts; it is essential to make sure that you put less text in your slides regardless of the presentation software you use. If your presentation is about a research paper and you don’t know how long an abstract should be,  then don’t worry. You don’t need to add paragraphs. Nobody wants their audience to read out the screen.

If they start reading, then there will be no reward for them to listen to you. Therefore, you should avoid adding extra information and additional features because it will only make your slide look wordy and messy. You are up on the stage to speak, and the people sitting in front of you want to listen.

6) Make Visuals Your Friend

Image courtesy of https://elements-cover-images-0.imgix.net/

You must have heard that a picture speaks louder than words. Imagine your presentation slides as pure audiovisual material. Adding imagery in your presentation is top tip for creating an engaging virtual presentation . It makes it more appealing and increases the recall rate of the audience. Always use images and illustrations that can reinforce the message and help the listeners understand the main points. The right pictures can tell their own story and, this way, you don’t need to put much effort into explaining your position.

With Keynote, you can customize your slide by playing with images. Simply drag the image from your Mac and drop it on your presentation screen. Another way is to go to your toolbar, click photos, and select the image from your photo gallery and drag it on your slide.

7) WOW The Crowd With Animated Effects

Image courtesy of https://tr3.cbsistatic.com

Who doesn’t like animations? In fact, they bring liveliness in your content, and they are powerful enough to add consistency to your story and make it more captivating. If you want to add animation as you move from the current slide to the next slide, click on the ‘Animate’ button, and you’ll see some options on your screens. The four options are;

• appear and move,
• object effects,
• flip, spin, & scale,
• text effects.

If you need these effects on any object or picture, then click on it and choose the animate option from your toolbar. You have the option to adjust the color, delay, duration, and more of your chosen effect.  

8) Use Text Boxes

Image courtesy of https://static.makeuseof.com

If you own a Mac, then you probably know that Keynote presentation software is preinstalled in Mac and is free to use. To use features available on Keynote and make your presentation beautiful, you don’t need to be a graphic designer. For example, you can use the textbook option from the toolbar, and this way, you can give particular space to essential points on your slide. You can also use textbox when you have less space, or you don’t want to increase the size of your text from the rest of the body text.

Textbox allows you to make important points, and statistics pop out from the slide without the need to increase the text size or make it bold. As long as the text is placed in a textbox or highlighted with a different color, it will be viewed as crucial information.

9) Add Catchy Illustrations

If you want to add the magic of creativity in your presentation, add unconventional illustrations and infographics. They are powerful and add an intuitive sense of informality to your presentation. You can even add comments and illustrations drawn by your hand on your iPad with Apple Pencil.

10) Don’t Be Afraid To Try Colors

Image courtesy of https://discussions.apple.com

The biggest myth is to stick with a single color, or your presentation will look like a clown. With Apple Keynote, you will get versatile presentation templates that are not based on one or two colors. The premium themes have unique modern texture designed with larger color palettes. The best thing about the color palettes is that the colors are vibrant, with huge color mixing options. You can create your customized color palette, just like the toolbar.

All you have to do is open the ‘Color Picker’ and create your own color scheme for your project. In case you are out of ideas, choose a default color palette from the list and try it.

11) Edit The Slide Or Change The Look

You can change the whole outlook of your presentation if you feel that the design and the content are a mismatch. You can discard your old theme at any time and pick a new one. Just click on the document button and go on the change theme option. The good thing is that while changing your theme, you have the opportunity to keep the customizations you’ve made previously. For example, if you don’t want to change the theme but keep the text color, then click on ‘keep your style changes.’ Moreover, if you feel like going back to your old theme, then you can always undo it. You have both options.

12) iCloud Keynote

Image courtesy of https://cms-assets.tutsplus.com

Now you can work on your presentations on any Apple device. With Apple Keynote presentations, you get the ability to store and edit your slides on other Apple devices. To do this, you need to open your Mac and sign in to iCloud. As soon as you enter your Apple ID and password, your Mac will be connected to iCloud, where you can save every data, including documents, photos, contacts, and Keynote presentations. This means that you can create your original Keynote presentation on Mac continue editing on your iPhone while lying on your bed.

13) A Lot Of Practice

Image courtesy of Ben Stanfield/Flickr

Last but not least, good things take time. If you consider yourself as an experienced speaker, then let us tell you that even the renowned keynote presenters prepare for a speech months before . So, if you rehearse exhaustively, your chances of success would increase immensely. Practicing allows you to deliver the content in an interesting and helps you to pick the right clothing, gestures, hand movement, and even the time of appropriate intervals.

Don’t just read your presentation. You are big enough to understand that your audience is capable of reading, and that’s why you shouldn’t be reading the slide for them. Your presentation should provide you with a context filled with visual aid and illustrative elements. Take your presentation as an outline and build your arguments around it, just like you do in casual daily conversations.

It doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t read the content at all. But identify the right speed. It shouldn’t be very high or shallow. If you are reading out fast, it doesn’t mean that you are confident, but it means that you are nervous or lack presentation skills. Experienced speakers take regular pauses to emphasize the main points. And if you’re struggling, remember there are some amazing online apps to help you deliver killer speeches and presentation.

The Bottom Line

Apple users now have the opportunity to take their presentations to a new level with this fantastic Keynote presentation software. You don’t need to waste your money on buying online templates. Now, you’ve finally learned that Keynote is easy to use, start working on your upcoming presentations and amaze your audience.

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Melissa Calvert

Latest posts by melissa calvert ( see all ).

• 13 Pro Tips To Ace Your Keynote Presentations - 3rd August 2020

free ppt templates

9th August 2020 at 2:52 am

thx for your share, these are all good advice, for starters, try using templates to quickly create a beautiful presentation, we have made a lot of professional and customizable presentation templates, ready to download and use.

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22 essential tips every successful keynote speaker should know

Every keynote speaker knows the importance of delivering an engaging and inspiring presentation . However, there is more to being a successful keynote speaker than just giving a great speech. If you want to grow your business and brand, there are some essential keynote speaker tips you will want to follow both for planning and preparing your speech, and for growing your business.

Know your audience

It's important to tailor your speech to your specific audience. What are their needs and wants? What problems are they facing? By understanding your audience, you'll be able to deliver a speech that resonates with them.

Create value for your specific audience. Offer practical takeaways they can apply in their own lives or businesses.

Be prepared

It may seem unnecessary to say this, but you'd be surprised how many speakers think they can improvise in whole or even in part. You should always have a well-written speech that you've practiced over and over again.

Start by identifying your audience outcomes: what you would like them to know, understand, and/or be able to do when you are done. Don’t start writing until you are crystal clear on these goals for the audience. Then draft your outline, including stories, and write your piece. Best practice is to take your audience on an emotional journey with a series of highs and lows, leading to the climax of what you want to get across.

Once you have an impactful speech written, practice it on your own until it’s memorized, then try it out in front of a live audience. Bribe your family and friends to listen if you need to, or test it out in a speakers’ group. All the preparation will be worth it when you are completely comfortable with your presentation, and knock your audience off their seats.

Make a great first impression

When people walk into the room, you want them to feel like they're in for a treat. Be energetic and enthusiastic, and make sure your visuals are stunning.

Be aware that regardless of the type of public speaking you do - whether you are giving a keynote speech for a particular industry, or you were hired to be an inspirational speaker for a conference, or as a thought leader sharing a core message for business leaders - the way you present yourself in the first two to three minutes sets the tone for the rest of the speech.

Tell stories

Stories are a great way to connect with your audience and deliver an engaging message. People are more likely to remember a story than a list of facts. Stories are a great way to get and keep your audience's attention; they can picture themselves within the experience of whatever you're talking about, so it's "me" not "some other person." That always makes for a more powerful impression.

Use visuals

Visuals are another great way to engage your audience and ensure that your message is remembered. Use slides, infographics, videos, or any other type of visual aid to supplement your speech. Hire a visual designer to help you create a visual presentation second to none. It's well worth the time and money when it adds so much to your audience’s experience of your presentation.

Keep it fresh

Strive to create new and original content that keeps your audience coming back year after year. That means having a repertoire of standard speeches that can be adapted to different situations, as well as being available to customize a totally new speech on occasion (for an additional price).

Hook them from the beginning

Your audience will quickly lose interest if you don't capture their attention right away. You only have a few minutes to make a good first impression. So start your speech with a bang! Whether it's an inspiring story, shocking statistic, or humorous anecdote, make sure the beginning of your speech grabs attention and doesn't let go.

Have a clear purpose

Your purpose in speaking should be clear from the beginning so it's easier for your listeners to follow. It's good to include some surprises in the middle, but they usually occur within the overarching structure of the speech. Where are you headed? Why should your listeners care? What difference does this topic make for them, personally?

Make it easy to follow

We are not an oral-tradition society so it can be hard for people to stay focused when they aren't used to sitting and listening. Depending on the circumstances of your speech, you may need to do the old tried-and-true:

• Tell them what you're going to tell them
• Tell them your main ideas
• Tell them what you just told them

Nobody wants to listen to a long-winded speech, so be sure to keep your points concise and engaging.

End on a high note

Just as the beginning of your speech should be strong, so should the end. Your audience should know what you want them to do next. Whether it's buying your product, signing up for your newsletter, or simply learning more about your brand, make sure there is a call to action that is easy for them to follow. Leave your audience wanting more.

Be passionate

Share your excitement and energy with your audience, and they'll be sure to remember your speech long after it's over.

The business of speaking

Build a strong personal brand.

Building a strong personal brand means creating a recognizable and trusted name for yourself in the speaking industry. You can do this by joining speakers' groups, and by creating a strong online presence.

Make sure your marketing materials (e.g. videos, photos, bios, etc.) are high quality and showcase your unique strengths as a speaker.

Differentiate yourself from other speakers in your field

What makes you unique? What can you offer that no one else can? Once you have answered these questions, make sure that your marketing materials reflect your unique selling points. Otherwise, you'll blend in with all the other speakers your clients could hire instead of you.

Develop a strong online presence

Your website should be the center of your online presence. It should be well-designed, easy to navigate, and full of engaging content. But your online presence doesn't stop there. You should also be active on social media, and you should make sure that your SEO is on point so that people can easily find you when they're searching for a speaker like you.

Optimize your website

Make sure potential clients can find you easily when they do an online search. This means your website must be designed with SEO in mind. That means using the right keywords, optimizing your photos, and creating fresh content on a regular basis.

Be professional

Some people get a reputation for being difficult to work with. No matter how brilliant you are, if you don't make it a pleasure for clients to work with you, you will struggle to get clients. Being "professional" includes such things as: not bad-mouthing anyone behind their backs; being prompt and responsive to emails; showing up on time (or early) for appointments and events; speaking to people with thoughtfulness and grace; and dressing appropriately.

Create informative and engaging content

Your website should be full of blog posts, articles, infographics, and other resources that will help your audience learn more about you and the topics you speak on. This content will not only attract new clients, but it will also help you stand out as an expert in your field.

Keep your website and social media presence up-to-date

This is essential for building trust with your audience. If someone visits your website and sees that the last blog post was from two years ago, they're going to question your authority. Similarly, if you never update your social media accounts, potential clients will wonder if you're still an active speaker.

Be active on social media

Social media is a great way to connect with potential clients and build your personal brand. Post interesting articles, share photos of you speaking at events, and engage in conversations with others in your field. But be sure to avoid self-promotion, as this will turn people off.

Network with speakers and industries

Relationship building is the name of the game when it comes to growing a business. Connect with other speakers through speakers associations and groups. Share ideas and best practices and give each other referrals. You're not competing because most businesses who hire one guest speaker usually hire others.

Also connect with people across industries by attending events and conferences. Many author keynote speakers benefit by meeting people just outside the industry where they would normally speak.

Stay true to yourself

Be sure to remain true to your values, as this will help you build a strong and loyal following of clients and audiences who love to connect with you. If you think you need some additional professional or personal development in any particular areas, make the investment.

Have a strong message

A strong message gets to your "why", your purpose. Who are the people you are trying to help? What is their big problem? How can you help them solve that problem? Think about your message as your USP: Unique Solution to a specific Problem.

A great speech is about more than just delivering information; it's about inspiring people to take action. So what do you want your audience to do after hearing your speech? Make sure your message is clear and that it resonates with your audience.

Don't be afraid to be different

The best speeches are those that challenge the status quo and get people thinking. It may mean being a bit controversial. It certainly means being thought-provoking.

Don't be afraid to take risks and push the envelope. This is what will help you stand out from the crowd and make you a successful keynote and motivational speaker.

Follow up with your audience afterward

In some cases following up means connecting with all your audience members individually, and in some cases it means connecting with the leader who hired you. Send additional resources or find out what they may be working on next.

As you follow these tips and strategies remember that it takes time, practice and dedication to become the very best and then to stay at the top over 20 years or more. Always remember that it's "not about you"; it's about the people in your audience who get to hear your amazing speech, with a message that could make a huge difference in their lives.

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6 Tips and Tricks for Amazing Keynote Presentations on Your Mac

If you use Keynote on your Mac, take note of these essential tips and tricks to make your Keynote presentations stand out.

Keynote is the simplest way to make a beautiful presentation on your Mac. If you pick a template you like and let the defaults do the trick, you'll most likely end up with something you're proud of. However, you've got a lot more options than just the basics.

When using Keynote, you can easily transition between different slides. On top of that, you can jump around however you feel necessary—along with much more. Here, you'll learn the best Keynote tips for making amazing presentations in macOS.

1. Master Keynote's Slide Transitions

Transitions and animations are the two biggest reasons to use Keynote for making a presentation. To add a transition effect, select the slide from the slide navigator on the left. From the top-right corner of the window, click on the Animate tab.

Then, select the Action option, and you'll see a big blue Add an Effect button.

When you click on it, you'll be able to select from more than a dozen effects. In the example below, we've used the Confetti effect.

Once you select a transition, you'll be able to define the duration, the direction, and the start time.

2. Animate Individual Objects on the Slides

Keynote lets you control exactly when and where your objects show up. You can animate these by going to Animate > Build In > Add an Effect .

Click the Preview button to see how it looks. If you want to animate multiple objects together or one after the other, select all of them when defining the Build In effect.

When multiple objects are involved, click the Build Order button from the bottom of the sidebar. Here, you can define the order in which the objects appear on the screen.

3. Master Magic Move

Magic Move lets you directly move an object from one slide to another, with complete control over the animation.

First, place the objects on the slides the way you want. From the Slide Navigator , duplicate the slide by using the Command + D shortcut.

Now, change the position of the objects on both slides. The first slide will have objects in the default state. In the second slide, position the elements where you want them to end up.

Select the first of the two slides (not both), and from the sidebar, click on the Animate tab. From the Add an Effect section, choose Magic Move .

Preview it, and you'll instantly see a smooth animation going from one slide to another. Keynote takes care of the transition and animation automatically. But if you want, you can change the duration, match it with text instead of objects, and define when to start the transition.

4. Edit Your Slide Layouts

If you're working on a big presentation, you'll probably want your styling to be consistent. To achieve this, you can use the feature that lets you edit your slide layouts—which will allow you to define layouts and designs you use frequently.

Finding this feature in Keynote is simple. On your Mac keyboard, hold the Control button and click on a slide with your trackpad. Then, choose Edit Slide Layouts from the context menu.

After selecting Edit Slide Layouts , you can adjust numerous areas of your Keynote slides. For example, you can include a title and photo—along with several other things.

When you're finished, hit the blue Done button at the bottom, and you'll have something that better fits your needs.

If you aren't a big fan of the presentation layouts in Keynote, you can always consider picking from various Keynote alternatives .

5. Customize Your Toolbar

The more you use Keynote on your Mac, the more you'll figure out what does and doesn't work for you. You'll also probably notice that you use some tools more frequently than others. Having easy access to these is a good idea if you'd like to work more efficiently when creating your presentations.

Customizing your toolbar in Keynote is quite straightforward. When using the app on your Mac, you'll first need to go to the View menu from the macOS menu bar and choose Customize Toolbar located at the bottom of the dropdown.

A pop-up window will appear; here, you'll see a huge range of icons and other things you can move around. Moving these is the same as if you wanted to change icons on your iPhone or iPad; you can drag and drop the features you most frequently use.

When you're done customizing your toolbar, you can click the Done button in the bottom right-hand corner.

Keynote isn't the only way you can customize on your Mac . You can change several areas on your computer—color schemes, icons, and sounds, to name a few.

6. Use Action Buttons for Shapes in Keynote

As you create your presentations in Keynote, you might want to use shapes for several reasons. You can use them to create graphics , and they're also handy for breaking up your text—among numerous other things. One of the app's best hidden features lets you turn any shape into more of an interactive button.

You can use the action options for shapes in Keynotes to jump to a different slide. But that's not all; they're also handy for opening web pages and even ending the presentation.

First, you'll need to add a shape to your Keynote presentation. You can do this by selecting Shape from Keynote's toolbar at the top.

Choose the shape you want to add to your presentation and select it. After that, use the Command + K keyboard shortcut.

Expand the dropdown menu, and you can choose whether you want your shape to link to a slide, a website, or something else.

After choosing the purpose of your shape in Keynote, complete the remaining steps that your Mac prompts you to do. You can then use your shape to supercharge how your presentation functions.

Get More Advanced With Keynote Presentations on Your Mac

If you use a Mac to create your presentations, you might want to use Keynote for several reasons. Its interface is user-friendly, and you have plenty of customization options. On top of that, the app makes it easy for you to move around to different slides and various other things—giving you more control over what you're trying to do.

Now that you've read these tips, you should have a better understanding of how you can improve your presentations and wow your audience. You've learned all about adding effects, skipping to different slides, and more.

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7 Steps To Preparing A Great Keynote Speech

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• Public speaking

We’ve talked a lot about how you can become a keynote speaker and we’ve also covered some key tips on how best to deliver a speech. One aspect that has been slightly overlooked is speech preparation. Today we’re going to list 7 key steps to prepare a great keynote speech.

Before we begin, this post is meant for speakers who are at the beginning stage of their speaking career, speakers ready to take their speaking business to the next level or just anyone interested in presenting a speech in front of an audience, however big. 

Also read: 17 Presentation Techniques For A Great Keynote

1. Choose a theme for your speech

If you’re a beginner, you’re probably given an indication of what the theme of your keynote speech should be. For experience speakers, the scenario might be more along the lines of “It doesn’t matter what you talk about, everyone will love it anyway!”. In both cases, you still have some serious planning to do regarding the theme of your speech.

There are three basic types of speeches: educational, motivational and entertaining. Begin by deciding which of these you want to accomplish as your general purpose. Whatever you choose, remember that you’re going there to offer value to your audience, not to brag about who you are, what you’ve done or how much you like yourself. If you’re not educating, motivating or entertaining your audience, in other words if you aren’t delivering any real value, don’t do it.

Select a core message that you want to convey, based on your theme. Make sure that it contains:

Clarity: Aim to express your core message in a single sentence. If you cannot do this, you need more clarity.Passion: Your core message must be something you believe in.Knowledge: What do you know about this core message? Can you draw stories from personal experience? Have you researched the topic?

2. Create a presentation outline

This is the first step we ask all of our clients to do before jumping into designing the entire presentation. Structuring your ideas is essential to both the delivery and the design of your keynote speech.

Many speakers, experienced or not, sadly skip this step more often than not. Like Andrew Dlugan points out, an outline is a blueprint for your presentation. That means:

It highlights the key logical elements. i.e. what points are being made to logically support the core message?It highlights the key structural elements. e.g. introduction, body, conclusion, stories, high-level conceptsIt links these elements together in a sequence, perhaps allocating very rough timings.It can also map out the transitions between elements, although this may be deferred to a later stage of preparation.

Also read: 18 PowerPoint Dos and Don’ts

3. Start filling in each section

Use keywords. This will help you convey a clear message and keep your audience’s attention. It’s also of great help to you when creating the flow of the presentation. Start with the topic of your presentation, your principal keyword will derive from that and will most likely be comprised in the presentation title. The structure of your presentation will give you another set of keywords.

Be brief and clear. Don’t crowd your slides. Instead, opt for no more than 2-3 sentences per slide and keep in mind your keywords. Think of them more like statements than sentences.

4. Make it visually attractive

Use visual elements to illustrate your ideas. Graphs and charts can help show relationships, comparisons, and change. Make sure to use these visual graphics to enhance your message and increase understanding. Too much of anything can lead to over stimulating your audience and losing their attention.

The relationships between the colors you’re using are also important. Limit the use of color to 2 to 4 colors/shades. Use colors that will stand out and will be easy on the eyes (dark backgrounds and light text is a good case practice.)

Featured Download:  10 Steps to Becoming a Keynote Speaker

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5. Tell stories

Tell stories and anecdotes to help you illustrate your ideas and your research. This will definitely make your presentation more effective and memorable. In a UCLA study , students were asked to recall a series of speeches they had heard. Only 5 percent remembered any individual statistic, while 63 percent remembered the stories presented in those speeches.

“Things are not what they seem. It’s that to get people to sit on the edge of their chair or to get them involved in your story, the audience has to constantly discover something new.”

Howard Suber, UCLA

6. Connect with the audience

Invite your audience to engage with you. This will get them emotionally invested and it will differentiate you from inexperienced, nervous speakers.

Plan an inclusion of the audience in your presentation somewhere. It can be a slide with a question, a game or just an empty slide to help you connect with people and re-gain their full attention. You can try different things, from a simple show of hands, to requests for brief personal input, to role playing and games, to small group exercises- and their merits.

7. Rehearse, Rehearse, rehearse

By rehearsing your presentation several times you’ll be able to put yourself in the shoes of your audience and see what improvements you can make.

You can even record yourself giving the presentation. This will enable you to also work on your speaking rate and body language. It’s also a useful exercise for people who get nervous when they speak in public.

You should also try these mobile presentation apps.

Are you ready to take your presentations to the next level?

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PowerPoint Presentation Best Practices: Tips & Resources

• Slide Content
• The Presentation: Public Speaking
• Tips & Resources

Watch your timing, both while speaking and going through your slides. You don't want to go too fast, but make sure you don't go over your allotted time, either. (This is where practice comes in!) You might want to leave a few minutes at the end for questions.

Sort Your Slides

Try breaking your slides into smaller chunks or segments, and make sure they flow. But don’t use too many slides, either; find a nice middle ground. If you look at all of them in the slide sorter, do they seem to flow logically without your speech backing them up?

The "B" Key

During your presentation (on either PowerPoint or Keynote) you can press the "B" key on the keyboard, and the screen will go blank. This is useful if you need to go off topic for a minute, or you want people to focus on you while you say something extremely important. Press "B" again and your presentation will reappear.

• Keep it simple, but not simplistic
• Have a theme and be consistent
• Be smart with colors
• Choose fonts wisely
• Use high-quality graphics, not clip art
• Try using video or audio
• Minimize distractions in your slides
• Pace yourself
• Break up your slides into small chunks
• Check your spelling and grammar
• Don’t use stale built-in templates
• Don’t throw off your audience with fancy fonts
• Don’t use distracting animations and transitions
• Don’t use clip art
• Don’t put an entire paragraph in your slide
• Don’t go too fast
• Don't read from cue cards word-for-word
• Don’t stress—act relaxed and natural, and your audience will be more receptive
• "Design Tips" - Garr Reynolds Tips and slide examples from a communication expert.
• "10 PowerPoint Tips to Make Your Slides More Effective" - iSpring Top 10 tips, written by Ferry Pereboom, the co-founder of a design agency.
• Presentation Zen: "What is good presentation design?" - Garr Reynolds Tips and slide examples from a communication expert.
• "Top 10 Tips to Make Your PowerPoint Suck Way Less" - Your PowerPoint Sucks Top 10 tips, other articles, examples, and resources.
• "Speak up: Preparing an Engaging Presentation" - Amherst College Tips on presenting a public speech from Amherst College's Writing Center.
• “Basic tasks for creating a PowerPoint presentation” - Microsoft A guide for getting started with PowerPoint, with tips for creating an effective presentation at the bottom.
• "Delivery Tips" - Garr Reynolds Public speaking tips from a communication expert.
• "Preparation Tips" - Garr Reynolds Preparation tips for presenting from a communication expert.
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Choosing a Keynote Speaker: 5-Step Guide and Best Practices

When choosing a keynote speaker for your event, it's crucial to avoid relying solely on popularity. It's important to thoughtfully evaluate and consider their suitability for your audience rather than simply chasing the latest hype. The speaker you choose should be able to connect with your attendees and leave an impression that lasts long after the event. 

If you are looking for a guide to choosing a keynote speaker for your event, you are in the right place. In this post, we concentrate on how you can choose the right keynote speaker and discuss best practices to help you establish a successful collaboration with them. Let’s jump right into it. 

What is a Keynote Speaker?

A keynote speaker is an individual who delivers the keynote or main speech at events, particularly conferences. Typically, they are experts or celebrities recognized for their outstanding achievements in their industry. Their purpose is to inspire and educate attendees through a speech and presentation as well as emphasize the central message or goal of the event. They may also communicate their unique philosophy and insights, providing audiences with fresh perspectives.  

How to Choose the Right Keynote Speaker for Your Event

With so many qualified keynote speakers out there, it can be overwhelming to make the right choice. If you are experiencing this dilemma right now, we got you. We developed a 5-step guide on how to choose the right keynote speaker for your event to ensure that you make the best decision possible. Keep reading below for the discussion. 

Step 1: Analyze and Understand Your Event’s Theme, Goal, and Target Audiences

When you have a clear understanding of your event's goal, theme, and target audiences, you can have an idea of the specific qualities you should look for in a keynote speaker. This will enable you to choose the speaker who can most effectively convey your event message, connect with your audience, and ultimately benefit your event. To help you in this task, here are two vital questions to ask: 

What Are Your Event’s Theme and Goal?

You can’t plan a successful event without fully grasping its theme and goal. The same thing goes with choosing the right keynote speaker. You have to analyze your event specifics and understand your goal and theme before making any decision. List down your goal and theme and use that information as the foundation of your selection process. 

Let us provide you with an example. Suppose you are planning a conference event with the aim to inspire and motivate your audience to incorporate technology in their work processes and the theme of your event is innovation and technology. In such a scenario, it is crucial to select a keynote speaker who has experience in technology integration and works in the tech industry.

Who Are Your Target Audiences? 

Besides analyzing your event goal and theme, taking the time to identify your target audiences and understand their characteristics on a deeper level can also pay off. Keep in mind that even if your speaker is highly knowledgeable if they fail to connect with your audience, their efforts may go unappreciated. Therefore, it's crucial to ensure that your speaker can effectively engage your target audiences to achieve a successful event. 

To provide you with a better understanding, let's elaborate on the event example we mentioned earlier. Let’s say your conference event’s target audiences are young business owners. The ideal speaker for this audience is someone who is dynamic, tech-savvy, and successful in the business world. They should deliver the presentation in an engaging manner by utilizing modern technology and providing real-life examples. It's also important that they can relate to the audience, perhaps by having started a business at a young age.

Step 2: Set a Budget

When you're searching for a keynote speaker, it's important to keep in mind that their services come at a price. Speaker fees can vary greatly depending on their experience, recognition, and the popularity of their topic. Generally speaking, professional keynote speakers charge between $5,000 and $50,000 for their services. 

Establishing a clear budget that you are willing to spend on a keynote speaker allows you to identify speakers within a realistic financial scope. It also provides a foundation for negotiations, enabling you to communicate your financial limitations. Moreover, setting a budget for the speaker enables you to manage the overall financial aspect of your event. This ensures a reasonable allocation of resources to prevent unexpected financial stress.

Step 3: Research and Make a List of Potential Speakers

At this point, you should have a concrete idea of the qualities of the speaker you need and the budget you’re willing to spend. The next step is to start looking for your keynote speaker through research.

To begin your research, you do a quick search on the internet by entering relevant information about the speaker you’re looking for. Additionally, you can explore other diverse resources, such as local and industry publications. Seeking referrals from industry professionals can also provide you with a wider range of perspectives and valuable insights on your event. Another way to find potential speakers is by collaborating with agencies that specialize in recommending them. If you want a more straightforward approach, conducting surveys among your audience can be an excellent option as well.

As you conduct your research for potential speakers, it's crucial to keep track of their names and create a list. Make sure to gather basic information about their experiences and expertise in their field. If you can, we also suggest finding out information about their fees in advance. 

Step 4: Select the Right Speaker

It's time to narrow down the list of potential speakers for your event. To help you in this task, here are the processes you need to keep in mind when selecting the right speaker.

Ensure That the Speaker Is a True Expert 

Your audiences expect to learn something new or gain valuable insights from a keynote speaker. Hence, conducting thorough research on the professional background of your potential speaker is crucial. Apart from conducting research, you can also reach out to their past clients or request a list of references. Having people who can testify to the quality of the speaker can give you more confidence in your choice. 

Observe the Speaker in Action

Observing your potential speaker in action can provide valuable insights into their communication skills and presentation style. This can help you make an informed decision about whether they are the right fit for your event or organization. You can monitor their performance by attending an event where they are speaking or watching their recorded speeches. 

When assessing the presentation style of your speaker, your first focus should be on how they start their presentation and make an impression. As many of us already know, first impressions are crucial as they can greatly influence the engagement and attentiveness of the audience. 

Princeton researchers have conducted experiments that suggest people can form impressions of others in just a tenth of a second , which is within the range of the time it takes to blink an eye. A speaker who can make a good impression within this short time can indicate their potential to effectively convey your event message and engage the audience more successfully. 

In addition to how your potential speaker makes first impressions, you should also pay careful attention to the flow of their presentations, the clarity of their message, and their time management. Another important factor to check is how they interact with their audiences. Last but never least, notice their authenticity and enthusiasm, as these may also affect audience engagement. 

Have a Conversation With Your Potential Keynote Speaker's

If possible, it's always a good idea to have a conversation with your potential keynote speaker before making a decision. By having a one-on-one conversation, you can get a sense of the speaker's personality and how they will perform at your event. You'll also have the opportunity to ask important questions that may not be readily available online. 

Step 5: Contact Your Selected Speaker and Negotiate the Terms and Agreement

After conducting a thorough evaluation, you should be able to select your desired speaker already. The only remaining step now is to reach out to your chosen speaker and make everything official. Create an invitation letter that outlines all the details of your event. Clearly state your expectations, discuss logistical information, and confirm the speaker's availability for the event date. 

When negotiating with a speaker, it's important to be prepared to address any of their additional requirements or preferences to ensure a positive collaboration. Once all event aspects have been agreed upon, it's important to formalize the arrangement with a signed contract. This provides both of you with a clear plan for the upcoming collaboration and protects everyone involved by clearly outlining the rights and responsibilities of each party. After the paperwork is complete, you can move forward with the project.

Best Practices When Inviting a Keynote Speaker

To establish a good relationship with your keynote speaker and ensure that you have seamless collaboration, here are five best practices to note. 

Plan Early 

When inviting a keynote speaker, it's crucial to plan well in advance, preferably 4 to 6 months before the event. This is because the most popular and sought-after speakers are often booked ahead of time, and starting the planning process early increases your chances of securing the speaker you want. Additionally, planning early gives the speaker ample time to prepare for the event.

Inviting a keynote speaker requires a certain level of formality to maintain professionalism. By showing professionalism, you demonstrate that you take the speaker's time and expertise seriously. This, in turn, can make them feel more valued and respected. 

Even if you know your keynote speaker personally, it’s always best to send a formal invitation letter or email. It's also important to avoid casual language and informal words and to dress appropriately when meeting with them.

Maintain Open Communication Before, During, and After the Event

Maintaining open communication before, during, and after the event helps to establish a good working relationship with the speaker and ensures that both of you are always on the same page. Prior to the event, it's crucial to set clear expectations with your speaker. This involves having a discussion about the presentation topic, the time they're allocated, and any specific requests they might have. Once the event is in full swing, maintaining open communication remains crucial to ensure that the speaker feels comfortable and that everything is running smoothly. After the event, gathering feedback from your speaker can help make improvements for future events.

Check Your Presentation Equipment in Advance

Did you know that incorporating visual aids into your presentations can significantly improve retention rates? As a matter of fact, 60% of listeners are able to remember information that is presented in a visually enhanced format. Ensuring that your presentation equipment is conditioned to display visual aids that are clear can further enhance the effectiveness of the message. In addition to giving your attendees an enhanced event experience, preparing presentation equipment in advance is crucial to make your speaker feel at ease.

Ensure the Introduction of Your Keynote Speaker Is Accurate

Never forget to confirm with your speaker how they would like to be introduced and the correct pronunciation of their name to avoid any awkward moments. Additionally, gather relevant information about their professional background and achievements to provide enough context for the audience. Remember to keep the introduction brief, concise, and engaging, and emphasize notable awards or recognitions that the speaker has received. 

Be Sure to Extend Your Thanks to the Speaker

Showing gratitude to your speaker is an essential part of being a polite and respectful event host or organizer. In addition to thanking your keynote speaker during the event, there are more ways to express your appreciation. One way is to include them in your post-event communications, like newsletters or social media posts. Another way is to send them a personalized thank you email or a small gift after the event. Additionally, you may write a testimonial that they can use on their website or in their promotional materials. This will not only express your appreciation but also help them secure future speaking opportunities.

Stay in Touch With Your Keynote Speaker With StaffConnect 

Staying in touch with your keynote speaker can be a challenge, especially when you are organizing a large-scale event. Errors due to miscommunication can also arise inevitably. To avoid this, you need a tool that can offer seamless communication and coordination between your team and your keynote speaker. A tool that fits this description is StaffConnect. 

StaffConnect is an event management software designed with a dedicated communication platform to streamline and enhance the interaction between event organizers and speakers. Our app’s practical communication features include automatic reminders, a communications hub, SMS notifications, live chat, and more. With StaffConnect, you can ensure that your speakers are well-informed about every aspect of the event, creating a collaborative and efficient communication environment. 

If you want to learn more about StaffConnect, you may take advantage of our demo and explore our app’s other powerful features for staff and event management for free.

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Western massachusetts writing project hosts best practices in teaching writing conference.

Dr. Jennifer DiGrazia and Joe Courchesne from the 2023 WMWP AI Workshop. Courchesne was also one of the presenters for this year's Best Practices in the Teaching of Writing conference.

The Western Massachusetts Writing Project (WMWP), a branch of the National Writing Project (NWP), is one of 184 sites nationwide committed to empowering K-16 educators through reflective scholarship and teachers teaching teachers. The NWP operates under three main tenets, which maintain that teachers are the best teachers for other teachers, teachers should be leaders, and teachers should engage with reflective scholarship in their own classes. Currently, the WMWP is housed within the Office for Teacher Licensure, Accreditation, and Outreach at Westfield State University, supervised by Dr. Megan Kennedy and co-located at UMass Amherst.

On April 27, WMWP held its Best Practices in the Teaching of Writing conference, providing a platform for teachers to present research initiated during the 2023 Summer Leadership Institute. Throughout the past year, educators gathered data on projects ranging from fostering classroom discussions to implementing mindfulness strategies and more. The conference also featured a keynote address by Dr. Anne Elrod Whitney from Penn State College of Education. One participant wrote, “Anne Elrod Whitney was tremendous. She offered perspectives I've never thought about, particularly the way she transformed annoyance with those who tell her what and how to teach into a beautiful learning experience for her students. Thanks for a great conference!”

“We think about how we create meaningful transfer from kindergarten and up through graduation from college around writing instruction,” Dr. Jennifer DiGrazia, Professor of English and site director for the WMWP said. “How do we facilitate that? It’s amazing what happens when you get teachers talking to one another.”

The event also highlighted presentations from University alumni, reflecting Westfield State’s commitment to excellence and ongoing success. Presenters included Joe Courchesne, Spencer Van Tassel, Simone LaPlant, and alum Kevin Hodgson, a sixth-grade teacher at Norris Elementary School. Kevin, along with Leslie Skantz-Hodgson, are recent recipients of a MacArthur Grant through the NWP, which will take place this upcoming year.

As part of Dr. DiGrazia’s upper level writing pedagogy class, she required her students to attend this WMWP conference so they are exposed to the realities of teaching as well as the joy which comes from being part of a supportive community of teachers.

“It was the first time we’ve come together since COVID-19 in person,” she said. “The last three conferences have been online, and we had over 50 people, which is a pretty good turnout for a local conference. I think it went great. The energy was good.” Attendees earn professional development points toward recertification.

Dr. DiGrazia also emphasized the networking opportunities WMWP conferences provide. “The students in my class appreciated it too, because it’s an opportunity for them to network with teachers in the area and find out more about what it’s really like to teach,” she added. “I think they get a particular view of it while they’re still kind of separate from the school systems, so it’s a chance to talk to real people doing what they’re eventually going to do.”

English Professor Wyatt Hermansen noted, “We're so lucky to host WMWP on our campus. I look forward to more events like today's conference.” Looking ahead, the WMWP will host the second Summer Institute Leadership conference 2024 in July, a staple event leading to next year's presentations. For more information on the conference, readers can visit and register here .

For more information about the WMWP, visit their website for additional details.

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For the Record, Friday, May 31, 2024

Article by UDaily Staff May 31, 2024

University of Delaware community reports new presentations and awards

For the Record provides information about recent professional activities and honors of University of Delaware faculty, staff, students and alumni.

Recent presentations, awards and publications include the following:

Presentations

On May 22, Sheng Lu , professor and director of graduate studies of fashion and apparel studies, served as a keynote speaker and presented his study on sustainability and U.S. apparel sourcing from Central America at the 31st Apparel Sourcing Show in Guatemala. The event was hosted by the Apparel and Textile Association of Guatemala (VESTEX). The audience included senior policymakers, scholars and industry executives from Central American and U.S. textile and apparel companies.

Awards 

Jennifer Graber , associate professor and associate dean of academic affairs and practice initiatives, was recipient of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association (APNA) Award for Excellence in Education. This 2024 APNA Award recognizes a member demonstrating excellence in psychiatric-mental health nursing education, leadership, practice and more. Graber inspires students to follow in careers as psychiatric-mental health care nurses through innovative teaching strategies. Additionally, she has a variety of published research with presentations across the world to advance healthcare education. Graber will be recognized for her award at the 38th APNA Annual Conference, held Oct. 9-12 at the Kentucky International Convention Center in Louisville, Kentucky. 

Phil Jones , associate professor in the Department of Political Science and International Relations and research director for the Center for Political Communication, has been named editor in chief of the international journal Public Opinion Quarterly (POQ), beginning in July 2024. Published since 1937, POQ is sponsored by the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) and is one of the most frequently cited journals of its kind, with a five-year impact factor of 4.7 in 2022. POQ covers opinion and communication research, analyses of current public attitudes opinion, and investigations into survey research and methodology. The selection committee noted the editorial team’s proposal was “packed with thoughtful ideas centered around the core values of attracting the best scholarly work, work that is transparent, ethical and accountable; promoting diversity, equity and inclusion both in the pages of POQ and in the composition of the editorial team; collaborating with AAPOR and the editors of AAPOR’s other journals; and thinking about where the journal will need to be in the future.”

To submit information for inclusion in For the Record, write to [email protected] and include “For the Record” in the subject line.

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