what is a box presentation

Takeaway boxes: when to use them and when to avoid them

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Takeaway boxes can be useful for helping draw attention to ‘second order’ insights on your slides , but they are commonly misused..

Consulting firms love to use takeaway boxes. That small rectangular box of text at the bottom of a slide sometimes also called a kicker. You see them all the time from nearly every major consulting firm. But what are they for? And when should you use them? Or maybe more importantly, when should you not use them? And what’s the difference between a title, subtitle, and a takeaway box? 

In this post I’m going to answer all these questions and walk through some examples. I’ll explain how to avoid the most common takeaway box mistakes, and how to properly use them to improve the quality and professionalism of your own presentations.

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Takeaway box examples:

Reshaping NYCHA support functions (BCG) Loose dogs in Dallas: Strategic Recommendations to Improve Public Safety and Animal Welfare (BCG) Melbourne as a Global Cultural Destination (BCG) The Open Education Resources ecosystem (BCG) Projecting US Mail volumes to 2020 (BCG) Corporate Ventures in Sweden (2016) (BCG) I nvestment and Industrial Policy: A Perspective on the Future (McKinsey) Challenges in Mining: Scarcity or Opportunity? (McKinsey) Addressing the Global Affordable Housing Challenge (2016) (McKinsey) USPS Future Business Model (2010) (McKinsey) Consumer privacy in retail (Deloitte) Bain & UC Berkley Operational Excellence (2010) (Bain) Rail industry cost and revenue sharing (2011) (LEK) How fit is your allocation strategy? (EY) The Future of Commercial Vehicle Powertrains (2012) (Kearney) Covid-19 Special Edition Primer (Oliver Wyman) Project Management: Improving performance, reducing risk (PwC)

When to use a takeaway box

A takeaway box attracts a lot of attention on a slide. For one, our eyes are naturally drawn to the top and bottom parts of a slide. But another reason is that the formatting of the box tends to make it stand out from the rest of the content. Look at this McKinsey slide for example. It’s hard not to notice the takeaway box, and you can’t help but read what it says:

“Investment and Industrial Policy: A Perspective on the Future” McKinsey, October 2018

So what that means is anytime you add a takeaway box to the slide, you’re taking attention away from other parts of the slide . So if you’re going to add one, you want to do it when the benefit outweighs the cost. 

Generally speaking, there are two situations where you might need a takeaway box: 

• When you need to call out something that isn’t immediately obvious.
• When you need something to help you transition into the next slide.

Let’s take each of these one at a time. Starting with the easier one.

Transition to a future slide

Here is a really simple example of a slide about healthcare wearables. The title says, “The healthcare wearables market is expected to reach $850M in 2023 driven by new technology and institutional adoption”. Then in the body of the slide, there’s a chart that indicates the market size by year, and additional text on the right that talks about the drivers of that growth. 

Then the takeaway box says, “Is this an attractive market for Wiz Technologies?” So then the next slide could be a slide that addresses that question directly: 

By setting up the slide like this, you sort of prime the audience for what’s coming. In some cases, you’re probably asking a question the audience is already asking themselves. But in this way you can better control the narrative of the presentation. 

Calling attention to non-obvious insights

The second reason you might want to use a takeaway box: to call out something that isn’t immediately obvious. And, this one’s a little more tricky. With content-heavy presentations, like what you see in consulting, strategy, and finance, it can be difficult to pick up on all the nuances of a slide. Even if you put the main takeaway in the title, which you should be doing, you can’t always expect the audience to pick up on every little detail of the slide – especially if that slide has lots of text or numbers. So this is where the takeaway box comes into play. It helps show the audience insights they might not have picked up right away, but that you want them to know. 

Here is a slide from BCG showing what happens to stray dogs that enter Dallas Animal Services (or DAS). For example, in 2016 37% were euthanized, 34% were adopted, 17% were transferred, and 9% were returned to their owners. 

“Loose dogs in Dallas” BCG, August 2016

The main message of the slide is that 60% of dogs in Dallas Animal Services achieve positive outcomes. So everything on the slide, including the takeaway box, should support that message. The chart shows the number of dogs coming into DAS by year, further broken down by outcome type (notice by the way how all the positive outcomes are green or blue, while the negative outcome is red).

Then the takeaway box down at the bottom says “Each year DAS has increased live outcomes”. In other words, it’s calling attention to the fact that the green section has increased as a percentage of total outcomes every year. In 2011 it’s about 30%, but in 2016 it’s closer to 60%. You can see it visually in the chart itself, but you also get a sense for the change with the section on the right that shows growth rates since 2011. Euthanized is going down, while all the others are going up. 

The takeaway box is calling attention to something that’s already there but not immediately obvious. You could argue that it is obvious, but not everyone is going to think of that right away. Especially because the title is telling you to focus on the 60% positive outcomes. So the takeaway box is just there to make sure the audience gets all the insights you want them to. 

An easy way to think about the takeaway box is to imagine you’re giving the presentation live. What sort of information would you want to express orally? If I was showing this slide to a client I might add something like, “So as you can see live outcomes have actually been increasing over the last 5 years.” But by instead adding that in a takeaway box, you make sure the audience sees it, and, it’s there for people who don’t hear the presentation live. 

Important takeaway box considerations

There are a few other really important things to call out. The first is that the takeaway box isn’t adding any new information. That’s a common mistake. You don’t want to call out insights that aren’t supported by the slide content because it’s confusing for the audience. 

The second thing is you don’t want to just repeat what’s in the title. Despite its name, the takeaway box shouldn’t actually be the main takeaway of the slide – that should be in the title. Instead, the takeaway box should provide what’s sometimes referred to as a second order inference. You could think of it as a second, less important takeaway, but one that still supports the overall message of the slide. This can be tricky of course because you don’t want to confuse your audience by having multiple messages on your slide. 

Notice how the title and takeaway box provide separate pieces of information, yet they both support the overall message of the slide about the growth in positive outcomes. Is it perfect? definitely not, but BCG does a pretty good job here of stating a message, supporting that message, then calling attention to other important information the audience might not have noticed. 

When to use a subtitle

You might be wondering what the subtitle is all about. You don’t see them all the time but BCG likes to use them a lot. In short, they’re just to help direct the audience a little bit more, especially for data-heavy slides. They’re usually more specific than the title and they tell us where to look to better understand the main message of the slide.

In this example, it’s drawing attention to the two growth rates, which are pretty important parts of the slide. 

So to summarize, the title provides the main message, the subtitle supports that message with more specifics to help direct the audience, and the takeaway box calls attention to a less important but still related insight that might not be as obvious. 

If you couldn’t tell, takeaway boxes are really easy to use incorrectly. My advice would be to only use them if you’re sure it’ll improve your slide. A general rule of thumb is to use them less than 20% of the time, if you even use them at all. And when you do use them, make sure it’s to transition into the next slide, or to call out a non-obvious insight that still supports the message of the slide. 

You can watch a video version of this article on YouTube .

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How to write key takeaway slides (with examples and free template).

Table of contents

What are key takeaways, what is a key takeaway slide, when to use a key takeaway slide, how to write a key takeaway slide, examples of key takeaway slides, free key takeaway slide template.

BCG, Bain, and McKinsey consultants love the term “key takeaways”. When it comes to consulting presentations, the term usually refers to one of two things:

• Key takeaway slides: A slide that summarizes the most important conclusions, insights, or action points covered in the presentation or section.
• Key takeaway boxes: A small rectangular box of text at the bottom of a slide, sometimes also called a ‘kicker box’.

In this short post, we will teach you about the key takeaway slide, how it is different from the key takeaway box, how to write a key takeaway slide, and give you examples from McKinsey and BCG presentations and a free template for you to create your own.

Let’s dive in.

Key takeaways are the main points of a given project or presentation that you want the audience to walk away remembering. Key takeaways are not a play-by-play summary of every conclusion in the project or presentation, but rather the most important conclusions. Key takeaways of a project can therefore differ depending on who the audience is and what their objectives are.

Using key takeaways helps elevate your presentation from okay to truly impactful . It helps your audience to focus on what the presentation is about and allows them to read the detailed findings with the main conclusion in mind. This means they are less likely to get lost in insignificant facts and are more able to ask questions that have an impact on outcomes.

Key takeaways are the top of the pyramid when following the Pyramid Principle .

A key takeaway slide is very simply a slide summarizing the key takeaways of a full presentation or chapter/section within a presentation.

The key takeaway slide can be simple bullet points on a text slide like the example here:

Example of simple text-based key takeaway slides

Or the key takeaway slide can include more elaborate graphical elements like colored boxes, numbers, icons or similar like the example here:

Examples of more graphical key takeaway slides from our free template

How is a key takeaway slide different from a takeaway box?

The key takeaway slide is a summation of most important points from the entire presentation or section. It basically presents the answers to the questions that particular presentation or project was meant to uncover.

A key takeaway box in contrast is a graphical element used on single slides to highlight a point on that slide. The takeaways here are often more granular and relate only to the slide in question.

Not surprisingly, you should use a key takeaway slide whenever you feel it makes sense to summarize key points for your readers. This is often at the beginning and/or end of a presentation, or at the beginning of a longer section of a slide deck.

Generally, you can never repeat key takeaways too often, which means you more often than not should include a key takeaways slide. As a rule of thumb you can always add a key takeaways slide before every major section of your presentation and then delete it at the end of your slide writing if it feels redundant. This will help you a) make sure you have thought through what your key points for that section are and b) that the slides in that section actually support your key points without excess or unnecessary material.

See more on best practices for creating presentations here and accelerating your process here , or visit our full library of resources .

The key takeaways slide is in the family of summary slides with the executive summary  and recommendation slides . This trio of slides can be used in combination, often with an executive summary in the beginning (summarizing the most important key takeaways and recommendations from the entire presentation), key takeaway slides before or after every major section, and recommendation slides at the end.

Example of a key takeaways slide from McKinsey where main questions are summarized to put the key takeaways in even better context

Writing a key takeaway slide is somewhat similar to writing your executive summary slide.

Step 1: Start with the questions

Before you even begin writing your key takeaway slide then take a moment to remind yourself which questions your presentation or that section are meant to answer. 

For example, BCG once had a project for the Victoria State Government on Melbourne as a global cultural destination (see the project here ). The main question that the project and report was supposed to answer was how to improve Melbourne’s attractiveness as a cultural and creative destination.

The objective for a section of the report was to “Make recommendations on actions to achieve these goals and to provide the strongest value for money outcomes for the State”.

In the next steps, we’ll continue with that section and example.

Step 2: Outline the answers

Once you have the questions/objectives in mind, then write down answers to these questions. Don’t worry about conciseness or smart formulations right now, just get all answers down in text format on your slide. Also add sentences on any unexpected findings that could have major implications going forward.

Step 3: Group the answers

Now group your findings/takeaways into main bullet points. If there are takeaways that overlap somewhat, see if you can combine them or eliminate one (if it makes sense). The reason to group into bullet points is to make it clear to your reader what the main areas for objective x are.

Ideally, you should have between three and nine overall bullet points with sub-points in each if needed.

Step 4: Cut and trim the wording

Once you’ve grouped the takeaways, you want to start trimming words and restructuring sentences. Delete any additional words that you possibly can and structure the sentences in the shortest way that still gets the meaning across. Err on the side of more active sentences that tell the reader what to conclude or convey an actionable item.

You want your readers to be able to quickly grasp the key points and not get lost in a wall of text.

Step 5: Format the slide

Once you have the content of your key takeaways slide in place, you can start formatting it to make it even more digestible for your reader. You can either keep the simple bullet format or add graphical elements to make it more visually appealing and easy to interpret

Golden rule here: Simple is better. Only use different colors or add icons or numbers if these are used in the rest of the presentation to distinguish solution areas.

Step 6: Add an action title

Now you’re almost done with your key takeaways slide. The last missing piece is adding an action title . Although this is not an absolute must, an action title will help your readers understand what objective/questions these key takeaways relate to. Best practice is therefore to use that objective/question directly in the action title, like the example below.

Step 7: Sanity check with others

The final step of creating your key takeaways slide is to sanity check your key takeaways with your team and/or trusted advisors to see if they find them clear and give answers to the questions/objective.

Ideally, your reader can see only your key takeaway slide and from that still relay to others what the outcome of your project or section is.

To make it more useful and real, we’ve also found some examples of key takeaway slides from real McKinsey and BCG presentations.

First, we see a great example of how to use a key takeaway slide from BCG (find the full presentation here ):

Example of a graphical key takeaway slide and supporting section from BCG

Here we see how the BCG team opens the section with a key takeaways slide in a graphical format that allows the reader to both understand the different levers and how the client is doing on each of these levers. The slide itself uses colors instead of sentences to convey a status.

The following slides in the section then reference back to this key takeaways slide using the letter-balls and lever headlines as guides.

Finally, the section ends with a key takeaways slide that says the same as the opening takeaway slide but in words instead of colors.

Second, we have an example of a simple text-based key takeaways slide from McKinsey (full presentation here ), which summarizes the key takeaways for a section of a presentation:

Example of a simple text-based key takeaways slide from McKinsey

Third, we have a more graphical example of a key takeaways slide from McKinsey using radically larger font sizes to appealingly display several key numbers (find the full presentation here ). Note also how the McKinsey team has drawn attention to the main messages by using bold text. This is a classic trick and very effective.

Example of a graphical key takeaways slide from McKinsey

Key takeaway slides are not only used in management consulting presentations. Below is a great example from an Uber investor presentation showing how use of simple icons and bold text help the reader focus on the messages.

Example of a key takeaways slide from Uber

Finally, we have a simple but effective example of a key takeaways slide from BCG using simple graphical elements like number balls and bold text to make the main messages stand out (see the full deck here ).

Example of a key takeaways slide from BCG

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How to Write a Key Takeaways Slide (with Examples)

Table of contents, what is a key takeaways slide.

The purpose of a consulting-style presentation or slide deck is to inform your audience or lead them to take action.

To do this, you define an objective for your slide deck, craft an argument, write a storyline, and then build slides. By the end of the process, you’ll have a thorough and well-researched presentation.

However, some readers may not have the time or interest in diving into the detail. For those people, you need to give them “key takeaways”.

A key takeaway slide summarizes the important points covered in the presentation. They are usually the key insights, implications, recommendations, or next steps.

How do I know what to include as key takeaways?

To figure out what you should include in your key takeaways, you should ask yourself the following questions:

• What will my audience care about?
• What are the implications or “so whats” of the work that I have done?
• What points have the biggest “bang for your buck”?

How many key points should you have?

There’s a long running rumor that McKinsey, the world’s most prestigious strategy consulting firm, tells their staff to always follow “The Rule of 3”.

The Rule of 3 states that you should always present key points, reasons, recommendations, or next steps in threes.

McKinsey argues that three is the most natural and common way to explain things. For example, storylines follow “situation-complication-resolution”, photography follows “the rule of thirds”, and so on.

Of course, this isn’t a strict rule. The point is to force yourself to distill complex analysis down into simple key takeaways and to structure them in an easy-to-understand way.

Based on my experience as a management consultant who has spent thousand of hours writing slide decks, my recommendation would be to limit yourself to between 3-6 key points.

Download a free key takeaways slide and 29 other slide templates for free

Roadmap slides, recommendations slides, journey slides, key takeaways slides, next steps slides, panel slides, and more!

Example key takeaways slides

Check out some examples of key takeaways slides from top consulting firms.

What Is a Box Plot and When to Use It

Let’s wrap up this trilogy in the smoothest way possible. By now, you’ve had ample opportunity to read about creating a Bell (Gaussian) Curve , and you’ve read why Pareto Curves are better , more accurate depictions of a statistical view on a subset of data. Let’s finally discuss the built-in visualization that we already have in our Chart Library in Chartio, that you can create.

In this tutorial, I will go through step by step instructions on how to create a box plot visualization, explain the arithmetic of each data point outlined in a box plot, and we will mention a few perfect use cases for a box plot.

What is a Box Plot?

A Box Plot is the visual representation of the statistical five number summary of a given data set.

A Five Number Summary includes:

• First Quartile
• Median (Second Quartile)
• Third Quartile

Mathematician John Tukey first introduced the “Box and Whisker Plot” in 1969 as a visual diagram of the “Five Number Summary” of any given data set. As Hadley Wickham describes, “Box plots use robust summary statistics that are always located at actual data points, are quickly computable (originally by hand), and have no tuning parameters. They are particularly useful for comparing distributions across groups.” Source .

Box and whisker plots have been used steadily since their introduction in 1969 and are varied in both their potential visualizations as well as use cases across many disciplines in statistics and data analysis.

The Chartio version of the Box Plot is close to the original definition and presentation, and is used to take a subset of data and quickly and visually show the five number summary of that data set. Also, in Chartio’s version, a tool tip is provided that shows all of the data points summarized in the visualization.

How to create a box plot

We will demonstrate the creation of a Box Plot so we can compare it to the Bell Curve you created while following the first tutorial .

The goal here is to show how the distribution will be distributed using our visualization built for you as it compares to the more complex to create and less indicative of an actual population Bell Curve.

1.) We need to create the same query we did in that tutorial, which in SQL syntax is seen here:

As seen previously we need to drag the Cost to the dimensions box to show each customer payment amount to our company in one chart, and that is it. As opposed to how we needed to show the Customer as well to determine the distribution in the Bell Curve we only need each amount in the dimensions box.

2.) Then we need to click on the box plot icon in the Chart Library below the Chart Preview Screen.

As promised, this is far less complicated. Even if you want to add some more dimensionality to it, and see how these amounts are brought in by month, all you would need to do is to add the created date, bucketed by month, to the dimensions box and re-run your query.

What’s in the Box?

Now, that we know how to create a Box Plot we will cover the five number summary, to explain the numbers that are in the tool tip and make up the box plot itself.

First, the Five Number Summary is the Sample Minimum, the lower quartile or first quartile, the median, the upper quartile or third quartile and the sample maximum. Traditionally the box plot should be the Five Number Summary and in a very basic number set Chartio will assign the values in the box plot to the Five Number Summary. This is not the literal number for each of those five numbers, instead it is the closest number in the data set to those numbers.

For example in the number set where x = 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13

The literal Five Number Summary would be this:

However, the true Five Number Summary would be the closest values within our dataset to the numbers calculated in the Five Number Summary so our result set will actually be this:

You can see this presented in Chartio here, with the tooltip visible:

That is pretty straight forward, but it can get complicated when the dataset it a much larger set of numbers, or if the data set range is much larger. What happens then is there is an adjustment to the Five Number Range, and that is to find the upper and lower end of the whiskers. This new limit is calculated using the Interquartile Range or IQR. This number is the distance between the Upper and Lower Quartile, or in our example it would be 8. That being said the new upper whisker is the first number that is less than the Upper Quartile (3Q) + 1.5 IQR, in our case it is still 13. With this new facet in our equation the highest value of 26 which is outside 3Q + 1.5 IQR is now considered the outlier which Chartio will show as an individual plot point.

The Box Plot is a very useful tool when showing a statistical distribution and is much easier to build in Chartio because we have already included this as an item in our Chart Library.

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Box Plot Explained: Interpretation, Examples, & Comparison

Saul McLeod, PhD

Editor-in-Chief for Simply Psychology

BSc (Hons) Psychology, MRes, PhD, University of Manchester

Saul McLeod, PhD., is a qualified psychology teacher with over 18 years of experience in further and higher education. He has been published in peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Clinical Psychology.

Learn about our Editorial Process

Olivia Guy-Evans, MSc

Associate Editor for Simply Psychology

BSc (Hons) Psychology, MSc Psychology of Education

Olivia Guy-Evans is a writer and associate editor for Simply Psychology. She has previously worked in healthcare and educational sectors.

In descriptive statistics, a box plot or boxplot (also known as a box and whisker plot) is a type of chart often used in explanatory data analysis. Box plots visually show the distribution of numerical data and skewness by displaying the data quartiles (or percentiles) and averages.

Box plots show the five-number summary of a set of data: including the minimum score, first (lower) quartile, median, third (upper) quartile, and maximum score.

Definitions

Minimum score.

The lowest score, excluding outliers (shown at the end of the left whisker).

Lower Quartile

Twenty-five percent of scores fall below the lower quartile value (also known as the first quartile).

The median marks the mid-point of the data and is shown by the line that divides the box into two parts (sometimes known as the second quartile). Half the scores are greater than or equal to this value, and half are less.

Upper Quartile

Seventy-five percent of the scores fall below the upper quartile value (also known as the third quartile). Thus, 25% of data are above this value.

Maximum Score

The highest score, excluding outliers (shown at the end of the right whisker).

The upper and lower whiskers represent scores outside the middle 50% (i.e., the lower 25% of scores and the upper 25% of scores).

The Interquartile Range (or IQR)

The box plot shows the middle 50% of scores (i.e., the range between the 25th and 75th percentile).

Why are box plots useful?

Box plots divide the data into sections containing approximately 25% of the data in that set.

Box plots are useful as they provide a visual summary of the data enabling researchers to quickly identify mean values, the dispersion of the data set, and signs of skewness.

Note that the image above represents data that has a perfect normal distribution , and most box plots will not conform to this symmetry (where each quartile is the same length).

Box plots are useful as they show the average score of a data set

The median is the average value from a set of data and is shown by the line that divides the box into two parts. Half the scores are greater than or equal to this value, and half are less.

Box plots are useful as they show the skewness of a data set

The box plot shape will show if a statistical data set is normally distributed or skewed.

When the median is in the middle of the box, and the whiskers are about the same on both sides of the box, then the distribution is symmetric.

When the median is closer to the bottom of the box, and if the whisker is shorter on the lower end of the box, then the distribution is positively skewed (skewed right).

When the median is closer to the top of the box, and if the whisker is shorter on the upper end of the box, then the distribution is negatively skewed (skewed left).

Box plots are useful as they show the dispersion of a data set

In statistics, dispersion (also called variability, scatter, or spread) is the extent to which a distribution is stretched or squeezed.

The smallest and largest values are found at the end of the ‘whiskers’ and are useful for providing a visual indicator regarding the spread of scores (e.g., the range).

The interquartile range (IQR) is the box plot showing the middle 50% of scores and can be calculated by subtracting the lower quartile from the upper quartile (e.g., Q3−Q1).

Box plots are useful as they show outliers within a data set

An outlier is an observation that is numerically distant from the rest of the data.

When reviewing a box plot, an outlier is defined as a data point that is located outside the whiskers of the box plot.

Source: https://towardsdatascience.com/understanding-boxplots-5e2df7bcbd51

For example, outside 1.5 times the interquartile range above the upper quartile and below the lower quartile (Q1 – 1.5 * IQR or Q3 + 1.5 * IQR).

How to compare box plots

Box plots are a useful way to visualize differences among different samples or groups. They manage to provide a lot of statistical information, including — medians, ranges, and outliers.

Step 1: Compare the medians of box plots

Compare the respective medians of each box plot. If the median line of a box plot lies outside of the box of a comparison box plot, then there is likely to be a difference between the two groups.

Source: https://blog.bioturing.com/2018/05/22/how-to-compare-box-plots/

Step 2: Compare the interquartile ranges and whiskers of box plots

Compare the interquartile ranges (that is, the box lengths) to examine how the data is dispersed between each sample. The longer the box, the more dispersed the data. The smaller, the less dispersed the data.

Next, look at the overall spread as shown by the extreme values at the end of two whiskers. This shows the range of scores (another type of dispersion). Larger ranges indicate wider distribution, that is, more scattered data.

Step 3: Look for potential outliers (see the above image)

Step 4: look for signs of skewness.

If the data do not appear to be symmetric, does each sample show the same kind of asymmetry?

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Blog Beginner Guides 8 Types of Presentations You Should Know [+Examples & Tips]

8 Types of Presentations You Should Know [+Examples & Tips]

Written by: Krystle Wong Aug 11, 2023

From persuasive pitches that influence opinions to instructional demonstrations that teach skills, the different types of presentations serve a unique purpose, tailored to specific objectives and audiences.

Presentations that are tailored to its objectives and audiences are more engaging and memorable. They capture attention, maintain interest and leave a lasting impression. 

Don’t worry if you’re no designer —  Whether you need data-driven visuals, persuasive graphics or engaging design elements, Venngage can empower you to craft presentations that stand out and effectively convey your message.

Venngage’s intuitive drag-and-drop interface, extensive presentation template library and customizable design options make it a valuable tool for creating slides that align with your specific goals and target audience. 

Click to jump ahead:

8 Different types of presentations every presenter must know

How do i choose the right type of presentation for my topic or audience, types of presentation faq, 5 steps to create a presentation with venngage .

When it comes to presentations, versatility is the name of the game. Having a variety of presentation styles up your sleeve can make a world of difference in keeping your audience engaged. Here are 8 essential presentation types that every presenter should be well-acquainted with:

1. Informative presentation

Ever sat through a presentation that left you feeling enlightened? That’s the power of an informative presentation. 

This presentation style is all about sharing knowledge and shedding light on a particular topic. Whether you’re diving into the depths of quantum physics or explaining the intricacies of the latest social media trends, informative presentations aim to increase the audience’s understanding.

When delivering an informative presentation, simplify complex topics with clear visuals and relatable examples. Organize your content logically, starting with the basics and gradually delving deeper and always remember to keep jargon to a minimum and encourage questions for clarity.

Academic presentations and research presentations are great examples of informative presentations. An effective academic presentation involves having clear structure, credible evidence, engaging delivery and supporting visuals. Provide context to emphasize the topic’s significance, practice to perfect timing, and be ready to address anticipated questions. 

2. Persuasive presentation

If you’ve ever been swayed by a passionate speaker armed with compelling arguments, you’ve experienced a persuasive presentation . 

This type of presentation is like a verbal tug-of-war, aiming to convince the audience to see things from a specific perspective. Expect to encounter solid evidence, logical reasoning and a dash of emotional appeal.

With persuasive presentations, it’s important to know your audience inside out and tailor your message to their interests and concerns. Craft a compelling narrative with a strong opening, a solid argument and a memorable closing. Additionally, use visuals strategically to enhance your points.

Examples of persuasive presentations include presentations for environmental conservations, policy change, social issues and more. Here are some engaging presentation templates you can use to get started with: 

3. Demonstration or how-to presentation

A Demonstration or How-To Presentation is a type of presentation where the speaker showcases a process, technique, or procedure step by step, providing the audience with clear instructions on how to replicate the demonstrated action. 

A demonstrative presentation is particularly useful when teaching practical skills or showing how something is done in a hands-on manner.

These presentations are commonly used in various settings, including educational workshops, training sessions, cooking classes, DIY tutorials, technology demonstrations and more. Designing creative slides for your how-to presentations can heighten engagement and foster better information retention. 

Speakers can also consider breaking down the process into manageable steps, using visual aids, props and sometimes even live demonstrations to illustrate each step. The key is to provide clear and concise instructions, engage the audience with interactive elements and address any questions that may arise during the presentation.

4. Training or instructional presentation

Training presentations are geared towards imparting practical skills, procedures or concepts — think of this as the more focused cousin of the demonstration presentation. 

Whether you’re teaching a group of new employees the ins and outs of a software or enlightening budding chefs on the art of soufflé-making, training presentations are all about turning novices into experts.

To maximize the impact of your training or instructional presentation, break down complex concepts into digestible segments. Consider using real-life examples to illustrate each point and create a connection. 

You can also create an interactive presentation by incorporating elements like quizzes or group activities to reinforce understanding.

5. Sales presentation

Sales presentations are one of the many types of business presentations and the bread and butter of businesses looking to woo potential clients or customers. With a sprinkle of charm and a dash of persuasion, these presentations showcase products, services or ideas with one end goal in mind: sealing the deal.

A successful sales presentation often has key characteristics such as a clear value proposition, strong storytelling, confidence and a compelling call to action. Hence, when presenting to your clients or stakeholders, focus on benefits rather than just features. 

Anticipate and address potential objections before they arise and use storytelling to showcase how your offering solves a specific problem for your audience. Utilizing visual aids is also a great way to make your points stand out and stay memorable.

A sales presentation can be used to promote service offerings, product launches or even consultancy proposals that outline the expertise and industry experience of a business. Here are some template examples you can use for your next sales presentation:

6. Pitch presentation

Pitch presentations are your ticket to garnering the interest and support of potential investors, partners or stakeholders. Think of your pitch deck as your chance to paint a vivid picture of your business idea or proposal and secure the resources you need to bring it to life. 

Business presentations aside, individuals can also create a portfolio presentation to showcase their skills, experience and achievements to potential clients, employers or investors. 

Craft a concise and compelling narrative. Clearly define the problem your idea solves and how it stands out in the market. Anticipate questions and practice your answers. Project confidence and passion for your idea.

7. Motivational or inspirational presentation

Feeling the need for a morale boost? That’s where motivational presentations step in. These talks are designed to uplift and inspire, often featuring personal anecdotes, heartwarming stories and a generous serving of encouragement.

Form a connection with your audience by sharing personal stories that resonate with your message. Use a storytelling style with relatable anecdotes and powerful metaphors to create an emotional connection. Keep the energy high and wrap up your inspirational presentations with a clear call to action.

Inspirational talks and leadership presentations aside, a motivational or inspirational presentation can also be a simple presentation aimed at boosting confidence, a motivational speech focused on embracing change and more.

8. Status or progress report presentation

Projects and businesses are like living organisms, constantly evolving and changing. Status or progress report presentations keep everyone in the loop by providing updates on achievements, challenges and future plans. It’s like a GPS for your team, ensuring everyone stays on track.

Be transparent about achievements, challenges and future plans. Utilize infographics, charts and diagrams to present your data visually and simplify information. By visually representing data, it becomes easier to identify trends, make predictions and strategize based on evidence.

Now that you’ve learned about the different types of presentation methods and how to use them, you’re on the right track to creating a good presentation that can boost your confidence and enhance your presentation skills . 

Selecting the most suitable presentation style is akin to choosing the right outfit for an occasion – it greatly influences how your message is perceived. Here’s a more detailed guide to help you make that crucial decision:

1. Define your objectives

Begin by clarifying your presentation’s goals. Are you aiming to educate, persuade, motivate, train or perhaps sell a concept? Your objectives will guide you to the most suitable presentation type. 

For instance, if you’re aiming to inform, an informative presentation would be a natural fit. On the other hand, a persuasive presentation suits the goal of swaying opinions.

2. Know your audience

Regardless if you’re giving an in-person or a virtual presentation — delve into the characteristics of your audience. Consider factors like their expertise level, familiarity with the topic, interests and expectations. 

If your audience consists of professionals in your field, a more technical presentation might be suitable. However, if your audience is diverse and includes newcomers, an approachable and engaging style might work better.

3. Analyze your content

Reflect on the content you intend to present. Is it data-heavy, rich in personal stories or focused on practical skills? Different presentation styles serve different content types. 

For data-driven content, an informative or instructional presentation might work best. For emotional stories, a motivational presentation could be a compelling choice.

4. Consider time constraints

Evaluate the time you have at your disposal. If your presentation needs to be concise due to time limitations, opt for a presentation style that allows you to convey your key points effectively within the available timeframe. A pitch presentation, for example, often requires delivering impactful information within a short span.

5. Leverage visuals

Visual aids are powerful tools in presentations. Consider whether your content would benefit from visual representation. If your PowerPoint presentations involve step-by-step instructions or demonstrations, a how-to presentation with clear visuals would be advantageous. Conversely, if your content is more conceptual, a motivational presentation could rely more on spoken words.

6. Align with the setting

Take the presentation environment into account. Are you presenting in a formal business setting, a casual workshop or a conference? Your setting can influence the level of formality and interactivity in your presentation. For instance, a demonstration presentation might be ideal for a hands-on workshop, while a persuasive presentation is great for conferences.

7. Gauge audience interaction

Determine the level of audience engagement you want. Interactive presentations work well for training sessions, workshops and small group settings, while informative or persuasive presentations might be more one-sided.

8. Flexibility

Stay open to adjusting your presentation style on the fly. Sometimes, unexpected factors might require a change of presentation style. Be prepared to adjust on the spot if audience engagement or reactions indicate that a different approach would be more effective.

Remember that there is no one-size-fits-all approach, and the best type of presentation may vary depending on the specific situation and your unique communication goals. By carefully considering these factors, you can choose the most effective presentation type to successfully engage and communicate with your audience.

To save time, use a presentation software or check out these presentation design and presentation background guides to create a presentation that stands out.    

What are some effective ways to begin and end a presentation?

Capture your audience’s attention from the start of your presentation by using a surprising statistic, a compelling story or a thought-provoking question related to your topic. 

To conclude your presentation , summarize your main points, reinforce your key message and leave a lasting impression with a powerful call to action or a memorable quote that resonates with your presentation’s theme.

How can I make my presentation more engaging and interactive?

To create an engaging and interactive presentation for your audience, incorporate visual elements such as images, graphs and videos to illustrate your points visually. Share relatable anecdotes or real-life examples to create a connection with your audience. 

You can also integrate interactive elements like live polls, open-ended questions or small group discussions to encourage participation and keep your audience actively engaged throughout your presentation.

Which types of presentations require special markings

Some presentation types require special markings such as how sales presentations require persuasive techniques like emphasizing benefits, addressing objections and using compelling visuals to showcase products or services. 

Demonstrations and how-to presentations on the other hand require clear markings for each step, ensuring the audience can follow along seamlessly. 

That aside, pitch presentations require highlighting unique selling points, market potential and the competitive edge of your idea, making it stand out to potential investors or partners.

Need some inspiration on how to make a presentation that will captivate an audience? Here are 120+ presentation ideas to help you get started. 

Creating a stunning and impactful presentation with Venngage is a breeze. Whether you’re crafting a business pitch, a training presentation or any other type of presentation, follow these five steps to create a professional presentation that stands out:

• Sign up and log in to Venngage to access the editor.
• Choose a presentation template that matches your topic or style.
• Customize content, colors, fonts, and background to personalize your presentation.
• Add images, icons, and charts to enhancevisual style and clarity.
• Save, export, and share your presentation as PDF or PNG files, or use Venngage’s Presentation Mode for online showcasing.

In the realm of presentations, understanding the different types of presentation formats is like having a versatile set of tools that empower you to craft compelling narratives for every occasion.

Remember, the key to a successful presentation lies not only in the content you deliver but also in the way you connect with your audience. Whether you’re informing, persuading or entertaining, tailoring your approach to the specific type of presentation you’re delivering can make all the difference.

Presentations are a powerful tool, and with practice and dedication (and a little help from Venngage), you’ll find yourself becoming a presentation pro in no time. Now, let’s get started and customize your next presentation!

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How to Structure your Presentation, with Examples

August 3, 2018 - Dom Barnard

For many people the thought of delivering a presentation is a daunting task and brings about a  great deal of nerves . However, if you take some time to understand how effective presentations are structured and then apply this structure to your own presentation, you’ll appear much more confident and relaxed.

Here is our complete guide for structuring your presentation, with examples at the end of the article to demonstrate these points.

Why is structuring a presentation so important?

If you’ve ever sat through a great presentation, you’ll have left feeling either inspired or informed on a given topic. This isn’t because the speaker was the most knowledgeable or motivating person in the world. Instead, it’s because they know how to structure presentations – they have crafted their message in a logical and simple way that has allowed the audience can keep up with them and take away key messages.

Research has supported this, with studies showing that audiences retain structured information  40% more accurately  than unstructured information.

In fact, not only is structuring a presentation important for the benefit of the audience’s understanding, it’s also important for you as the speaker. A good structure helps you remain calm, stay on topic, and avoid any awkward silences.

What will affect your presentation structure?

Generally speaking, there is a natural flow that any decent presentation will follow which we will go into shortly. However, you should be aware that all presentation structures will be different in their own unique way and this will be due to a number of factors, including:

• Whether you need to deliver any demonstrations
• How  knowledgeable the audience  already is on the given subject
• How much interaction you want from the audience
• Any time constraints there are for your talk
• What setting you are in
• Your ability to use any kinds of visual assistance

Before choosing the presentation’s structure answer these questions first:

• What is your presentation’s aim?
• Who are the audience?
• What are the main points your audience should remember afterwards?

When reading the points below, think critically about what things may cause your presentation structure to be slightly different. You can add in certain elements and add more focus to certain moments if that works better for your speech.

What is the typical presentation structure?

This is the usual flow of a presentation, which covers all the vital sections and is a good starting point for yours. It allows your audience to easily follow along and sets out a solid structure you can add your content to.

1. Greet the audience and introduce yourself

Before you start delivering your talk, introduce yourself to the audience and clarify who you are and your relevant expertise. This does not need to be long or incredibly detailed, but will help build an immediate relationship between you and the audience. It gives you the chance to briefly clarify your expertise and why you are worth listening to. This will help establish your ethos so the audience will trust you more and think you’re credible.

Read our tips on  How to Start a Presentation Effectively

2. Introduction

In the introduction you need to explain the subject and purpose of your presentation whilst gaining the audience’s interest and confidence. It’s sometimes helpful to think of your introduction as funnel-shaped to help filter down your topic:

• Introduce your general topic
• Explain your topic area
• State the issues/challenges in this area you will be exploring
• State your presentation’s purpose – this is the basis of your presentation so ensure that you provide a statement explaining how the topic will be treated, for example, “I will argue that…” or maybe you will “compare”, “analyse”, “evaluate”, “describe” etc.
• Provide a statement of what you’re hoping the outcome of the presentation will be, for example, “I’m hoping this will be provide you with…”
• Show a preview of the organisation of your presentation

In this section also explain:

• The length of the talk.
• Signal whether you want audience interaction – some presenters prefer the audience to ask questions throughout whereas others allocate a specific section for this.
• If it applies, inform the audience whether to take notes or whether you will be providing handouts.

The way you structure your introduction can depend on the amount of time you have been given to present: a  sales pitch  may consist of a quick presentation so you may begin with your conclusion and then provide the evidence. Conversely, a speaker presenting their idea for change in the world would be better suited to start with the evidence and then conclude what this means for the audience.

Keep in mind that the main aim of the introduction is to grab the audience’s attention and connect with them.

3. The main body of your talk

The main body of your talk needs to meet the promises you made in the introduction. Depending on the nature of your presentation, clearly segment the different topics you will be discussing, and then work your way through them one at a time – it’s important for everything to be organised logically for the audience to fully understand. There are many different ways to organise your main points, such as, by priority, theme, chronologically etc.

• Main points should be addressed one by one with supporting evidence and examples.
• Before moving on to the next point you should provide a mini-summary.
• Links should be clearly stated between ideas and you must make it clear when you’re moving onto the next point.
• Allow time for people to take relevant notes and stick to the topics you have prepared beforehand rather than straying too far off topic.

When planning your presentation write a list of main points you want to make and ask yourself “What I am telling the audience? What should they understand from this?” refining your answers this way will help you produce clear messages.

4. Conclusion

In presentations the conclusion is frequently underdeveloped and lacks purpose which is a shame as it’s the best place to reinforce your messages. Typically, your presentation has a specific goal – that could be to convert a number of the audience members into customers, lead to a certain number of enquiries to make people knowledgeable on specific key points, or to motivate them towards a shared goal.

Regardless of what that goal is, be sure to summarise your main points and their implications. This clarifies the overall purpose of your talk and reinforces your reason for being there.

Follow these steps:

• Signal that it’s nearly the end of your presentation, for example, “As we wrap up/as we wind down the talk…”
• Restate the topic and purpose of your presentation – “In this speech I wanted to compare…”
• Summarise the main points, including their implications and conclusions
• Indicate what is next/a call to action/a thought-provoking takeaway
• Move on to the last section

5. Thank the audience and invite questions

Conclude your talk by thanking the audience for their time and invite them to  ask any questions  they may have. As mentioned earlier, personal circumstances will affect the structure of your presentation.

Many presenters prefer to make the Q&A session the key part of their talk and try to speed through the main body of the presentation. This is totally fine, but it is still best to focus on delivering some sort of initial presentation to set the tone and topics for discussion in the Q&A.

Other common presentation structures

The above was a description of a basic presentation, here are some more specific presentation layouts:

Demonstration

Use the demonstration structure when you have something useful to show. This is usually used when you want to show how a product works. Steve Jobs frequently used this technique in his presentations.

• Explain why the product is valuable.
• Describe why the product is necessary.
• Explain what problems it can solve for the audience.
• Demonstrate the product  to support what you’ve been saying.
• Make suggestions of other things it can do to make the audience curious.

Problem-solution

This structure is particularly useful in persuading the audience.

• Briefly frame the issue.
• Go into the issue in detail showing why it ‘s such a problem. Use logos and pathos for this – the logical and emotional appeals.
• Provide the solution and explain why this would also help the audience.
• Call to action – something you want the audience to do which is straightforward and pertinent to the solution.

Storytelling

As well as incorporating  stories in your presentation , you can organise your whole presentation as a story. There are lots of different type of story structures you can use – a popular choice is the monomyth – the hero’s journey. In a monomyth, a hero goes on a difficult journey or takes on a challenge – they move from the familiar into the unknown. After facing obstacles and ultimately succeeding the hero returns home, transformed and with newfound wisdom.

Storytelling for Business Success  webinar , where well-know storyteller Javier Bernad shares strategies for crafting compelling narratives.

Another popular choice for using a story to structure your presentation is in media ras (in the middle of thing). In this type of story you launch right into the action by providing a snippet/teaser of what’s happening and then you start explaining the events that led to that event. This is engaging because you’re starting your story at the most exciting part which will make the audience curious – they’ll want to know how you got there.

• Great storytelling: Examples from Alibaba Founder, Jack Ma

Remaining method

The remaining method structure is good for situations where you’re presenting your perspective on a controversial topic which has split people’s opinions.

• Go into the issue in detail showing why it’s such a problem – use logos and pathos.
• Rebut your opponents’ solutions  – explain why their solutions could be useful because the audience will see this as fair and will therefore think you’re trustworthy, and then explain why you think these solutions are not valid.
• After you’ve presented all the alternatives provide your solution, the remaining solution. This is very persuasive because it looks like the winning idea, especially with the audience believing that you’re fair and trustworthy.

Transitions

When delivering presentations it’s important for your words and ideas to flow so your audience can understand how everything links together and why it’s all relevant. This can be done  using speech transitions  which are words and phrases that allow you to smoothly move from one point to another so that your speech flows and your presentation is unified.

Transitions can be one word, a phrase or a full sentence – there are many different forms, here are some examples:

Moving from the introduction to the first point

Signify to the audience that you will now begin discussing the first main point:

• Now that you’re aware of the overview, let’s begin with…
• First, let’s begin with…
• I will first cover…
• My first point covers…
• To get started, let’s look at…

Shifting between similar points

Move from one point to a similar one:

• In the same way…
• Likewise…
• Equally…
• This is similar to…
• Similarly…

Internal summaries

Internal summarising consists of summarising before moving on to the next point. You must inform the audience:

• What part of the presentation you covered – “In the first part of this speech we’ve covered…”
• What the key points were – “Precisely how…”
• How this links in with the overall presentation – “So that’s the context…”
• What you’re moving on to – “Now I’d like to move on to the second part of presentation which looks at…”

Physical movement

You can move your body and your standing location when you transition to another point. The audience find it easier to follow your presentation and movement will increase their interest.

A common technique for incorporating movement into your presentation is to:

• Start your introduction by standing in the centre of the stage.
• For your first point you stand on the left side of the stage.
• You discuss your second point from the centre again.
• You stand on the right side of the stage for your third point.
• The conclusion occurs in the centre.

Key slides for your presentation

Slides are a useful tool for most presentations: they can greatly assist in the delivery of your message and help the audience follow along with what you are saying. Key slides include:

• An intro slide outlining your ideas
• A  summary slide  with core points to remember
• High quality image slides to supplement what you are saying

There are some presenters who choose not to use slides at all, though this is more of a rarity. Slides can be a powerful tool if used properly, but the problem is that many fail to do just that. Here are some golden rules to follow when using slides in a presentation:

• Don’t over fill them  – your slides are there to assist your speech, rather than be the focal point. They should have as little information as possible, to avoid distracting people from your talk.
• A picture says a thousand words  – instead of filling a slide with text, instead, focus on one or two images or diagrams to help support and explain the point you are discussing at that time.
• Make them readable  – depending on the size of your audience, some may not be able to see small text or images, so make everything large enough to fill the space.
• Don’t rush through slides  – give the audience enough time to digest each slide.

Guy Kawasaki, an entrepreneur and author, suggests that slideshows should follow a  10-20-30 rule :

• There should be a maximum of 10 slides – people rarely remember more than one concept afterwards so there’s no point overwhelming them with unnecessary information.
• The presentation should last no longer than 20 minutes as this will leave time for questions and discussion.
• The font size should be a minimum of 30pt because the audience reads faster than you talk so less information on the slides means that there is less chance of the audience being distracted.

Here are some additional resources for slide design:

• 7 design tips for effective, beautiful PowerPoint presentations
• 11 design tips for beautiful presentations
• 10 tips on how to make slides that communicate your idea

Group Presentations

Group presentations are structured in the same way as presentations with one speaker but usually require more rehearsal and practices.  Clean transitioning between speakers  is very important in producing a presentation that flows well. One way of doing this consists of:

• Briefly recap on what you covered in your section: “So that was a brief introduction on what health anxiety is and how it can affect somebody”
• Introduce the next speaker in the team and explain what they will discuss: “Now Elnaz will talk about the prevalence of health anxiety.”
• Then end by looking at the next speaker, gesturing towards them and saying their name: “Elnaz”.
• The next speaker should acknowledge this with a quick: “Thank you Joe.”

From this example you can see how the different sections of the presentations link which makes it easier for the audience to follow and remain engaged.

Example of great presentation structure and delivery

Having examples of great presentations will help inspire your own structures, here are a few such examples, each unique and inspiring in their own way.

How Google Works – by Eric Schmidt

This presentation by ex-Google CEO  Eric Schmidt  demonstrates some of the most important lessons he and his team have learnt with regards to working with some of the most talented individuals they hired. The simplistic yet cohesive style of all of the slides is something to be appreciated. They are relatively straightforward, yet add power and clarity to the narrative of the presentation.

Start with why – by Simon Sinek

Since being released in 2009, this presentation has been viewed almost four million times all around the world. The message itself is very powerful, however, it’s not an idea that hasn’t been heard before. What makes this presentation so powerful is the simple message he is getting across, and the straightforward and understandable manner in which he delivers it. Also note that he doesn’t use any slides, just a whiteboard where he creates a simple diagram of his opinion.

The Wisdom of a Third Grade Dropout – by Rick Rigsby

Here’s an example of a presentation given by a relatively unknown individual looking to inspire the next generation of graduates. Rick’s presentation is unique in many ways compared to the two above. Notably, he uses no visual prompts and includes a great deal of humour.

However, what is similar is the structure he uses. He first introduces his message that the wisest man he knew was a third-grade dropout. He then proceeds to deliver his main body of argument, and in the end, concludes with his message. This powerful speech keeps the viewer engaged throughout, through a mixture of heart-warming sentiment, powerful life advice and engaging humour.

As you can see from the examples above, and as it has been expressed throughout, a great presentation structure means analysing the core message of your presentation. Decide on a key message you want to impart the audience with, and then craft an engaging way of delivering it.

By preparing a solid structure, and  practising your talk  beforehand, you can walk into the presentation with confidence and deliver a meaningful message to an interested audience.

It’s important for a presentation to be well-structured so it can have the most impact on your audience. An unstructured presentation can be difficult to follow and even frustrating to listen to. The heart of your speech are your main points supported by evidence and your transitions should assist the movement between points and clarify how everything is linked.

Research suggests that the audience remember the first and last things you say so your introduction and conclusion are vital for reinforcing your points. Essentially, ensure you spend the time structuring your presentation and addressing all of the sections.