how long should a good presentation be

Email Newsletter

Newsletter signup, recent posts from zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance series.

• The importance of using the right tools (Nov 26, 2023)
• Bleeding my brakes (ZAMM series) (Nov 26, 2023)
• Main takeaway: How to incorporate intuitive thinking (ZAMM series) (Dec 1, 2023)
• Seeing invisible details and avoiding predictable, conditioned thought (Jun 26, 2024)
• Why I decided to reread Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (ZAMM series) (Nov 26, 2023)

Recent posts from my AI tech comm series

• Use cases for AI: Synthesize insights from granular data (Aug 27, 2023)
• Use cases for AI: Arrange content into information type patterns (Jul 6, 2023)
• Use cases for AI: Develop build and publishing scripts (Jul 19, 2023)
• AI and APIs: What works, what doesn't (Sep 28, 2023)
• Use cases for AI: Summarize long content (Sep 6, 2023)
• Use cases for AI: Understand the meaning of code (Jul 25, 2023)
• Use cases for AI: Seek advice on grammar and style (Aug 4, 2023)
• Use cases for AI: Create glossary definitions (Sep 4, 2023)
• Use cases for AI: Distill needed updates from bug threads (Aug 6, 2023)
• Use cases for AI: Compare API responses to identify discrepancies (Aug 28, 2023)

Recent blog posts

• Strategies for making doc bugs actionable (Oct 20, 2024)
• Escaping the Productivity Trap: Experiments with Burkeman's Four Thousand Weeks — guest post by David Kowalsky (Oct 20, 2024)
• Approaching the college personal essay: Tips as a parent helping your student write a compelling essay (Oct 17, 2024)
• NotebookLM podcasts -- the missing piece in the GenAI puzzle? (Oct 6, 2024)
• [Podcast] GenAI and Document360: Conversation with Saravana Kumar (Oct 6, 2024)
• Using AI to jump-start code samples (Sep 29, 2024)
• Unified Knowledge powered by Zoomin -- Q&A with Paul Maass (Sep 15, 2024)
• Two days in my life as a technical writer, followed by reflection and analysis of fragmenting microtasks (Sep 8, 2024)
• What a day in the life of a Technical Writer in the energy industry looks like -- Guest post by Bonnie Denham (Aug 28, 2024)
• Routines and habit stacking (Aug 26, 2024)

Popular series

• Reflections on Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
• Journey away from smartphones
• Trends to follow or forget
• Simplifying complexity
• Value arguments for docs and tech comm
• See all series

Search results

The ideal number of slides for an hour-long presentation, and other thoughts on preparing slides, comparing two recent presentations, the right number of slides, font size and bulleted lists, avoiding laundry lists, argument overview slide, a good essay makes for a good presentation.

These past two weeks, I gave two presentations — a keynote at an internal writers conference at SAP, and a keynote at an internal writers conference at Amazon. (Sorry that I can’t post the recordings.) Both presentations filled an hour time slot. Because I’ve been in presentation mode this past month, especially preparing slides, I’d like to share some thoughts I have about how to create slides for presentations.

Hands-down, the best advice for creating slides is Guy Kawasaki’s 10-20-30 rule of PowerPoint , which says you should have just 10 slides , your presentation should last no more than 20 minutes , and your font should be no less than 30 points .

I have aspired to follow Kawasaki’s slide rule for a number of years, but one fear always gets in the way: if I have just 10 slides, what if I run out of things to say after 20 minutes? I mean, usually I have to fill an hour presentation slot, right? In order to guard against running out of time, I have a tendency to add more and more slides, helping me remember points I want to make and ensuring I don’t end early.

With my first keynote presentation, I unfortunately had 50 slides (and got through about 40 of them during the presentation). (Granted, many were “sub-slides,” but they were still slides.) For my second presentation, I had only 14 slides (and got through them all). I felt the second presentation went better than the first.

Here’s the problem with having too many slides: the slides lock you into a fixed, rigid presentation order. The more slides you have, the more locked in you are to a fixed set of topics in a predefined order — which may or may not be the right order you want while presenting. With 50+ slides, you won’t have the freedom and flexibility to flow in a more natural way. The more slides you have, the more fixed the order becomes. Instead of a crutch, these slides become a cast that restricts your movement.

The absolute best presentation I’ve ever attended was by David Crystal at UA Europe , and he had no slides at all. He simply had a stool where he occasionally sat, and he spoke for about an hour and a half. It was the most mesmerizing presentation I’ve ever attended, and much of it focused on grammar (and stories about the origins of language). Crystal is the author of some 100+ books on language , and after the presentation, it was clear to me that he was a complete language genius.

I once gave a 20-minute presentation with no slides at all (at a WordPress conference), and I felt a bit naked. It wasn’t a great presentation, but it didn’t tank either. At some point, I’d like to develop the ability to present with just a few slides. I think such a presentation would resemble that of a stand-up comedian or other performer (like the Moth). I don’t have stage performer skills, so I doubt the slide-less presentation will ever be something I pull off. Still, I think as a general rule, the fewer slides one has, the more knowledge and experience the presenter has. Lots of slides is a red flag that the presenter isn’t an expert.

Until I can go slide-less, I have compromised at what I feel is the ideal number of slides for an hour-long presentation: about 15 slides (including the title and conclusion slides). Kawasaki says to limit the number of slides to 10 because no one can retain any more than 10 ideas in an hour, and though I don’t know what data supports this, I generally agree. I bumped my estimate up from 10 to 15 because Kawasaki’s ideal time of 20 minutes seems too short for the hour-long time slot.

Limiting the number of slides to 15 provides the perfect balance between flexibility and structure. You can pursue your ideas in a more freeform, natural way without being locked into a fixed, rigid order that might not fit the idea journey of your presentation.

You might object and say that if you practice your presentation enough, the slides can exactly match the idea journey you want to tell. Hence, you wouldn’t be locked into a structure you don’t want — instead, the slides would help you follow that desired structure.

Well, maybe. But I’ve given about 90 presentations, and it never seems to work out that way for me. Consider the analogy of a conversation. You want to have talking points that allow you to move about in a more freeform way, not necessarily a rigid order in which each topic must be spoken. If you imagine yourself having a conversation with the audience (rather than presenting a presentation), the talking points idea has more merit.

Another Kawasaki principle is to limit the font to no less than 30 points. This is also key. When I see slides with extensive bulleted lists, I cringe. While these bulleted lists might prompt the presenter with details to say, what ends up happening is the presenter more or less reads the slides and presents the presentation rather than telling a story.

Whenever you present a slide with text, the first thing the audience does is tune you out and start reading the text. As an audience member, it’s impossible not to — the screen is huge and directly in front of you.

If you reveal the bulleted list point by point, it has the same effect as flashing multiple, separate slides on the screen: It locks the presenter into a fixed order that potentially interrupts the natural flow of the story.

Ideally, I think good slides should be idea diagrams or visual sketch notes that demonstrate your ideas. Some presenters just put photos from Flickr on their slides to generally depict an idea, but I like more purposeful concept diagrams that might have multiple ideas going on. For example, like this:

Or like this:

Granted, some font on these slides is less than 30 points, but you don’t see extensive bulleted lists here.

For my second presentation slides , I tried to include about 3 stories per slide depicting concept diagrams like this. My thought was that I could glance at the pictures, and each picture would trigger 3 points to cover for the topic. I could cover the 3 stories/points in whatever order I wanted, so I wasn’t locked into a fixed outline. It more or less worked.

I also had slide notes in the presenter view that I could fall back on, but these presenter notes are challenging to read while speaking, and I think most presenters end up ignoring them. Pictures that trigger thought without interfering with one’s language-speaking functions work much better (for me anyway).

I use The Noun Project and Illustrator to create my concept diagrams, as it allows me to more easily manipulate different objects into the slides I want. The images aren’t spectacular, and they’re mostly black and white, but they aren’t embarrassing either, and I have fun making them. I end up exporting these artboards into my presentation. Each artboard is basically a slide in my presentation.

I use RevealJS for my presentations (and have been for the past several years). RevealJS is an HTML/CSS/JS framework that lets you code your slides with simple HTML syntax. For my second presentation, I put the SVGs as slide backgrounds , leaving ample room on the sides to allow for visibility even when the slide show is not in full screen. This worked quite well.

I also put each RevealJS slide presentation into its own GitHub repo. This makes it easy to update the slides. Kawasaki doesn’t say anything about RevealJS, PowerPoint, Google Slides, or Keynote. It really doesn’t matter which tool you use. (I just added some tool-related details here in case you were curious.)

I’ve given many presentations that turn out to be laundry lists of points — a format I regret. This was the problem with my first keynote presentation. After highlighting a trend, I started listing a number of points that could provide solutions to the challenge. These “laundry list” topics tend to be on a lower-level than topics that provide a fuller, richer argument throughout.

Here’s an example of what I mean by a laundry list. In my first presentation, my argument overview was this:

Technology is getting simpler on the front-end for end-users But the code underneath is becoming increasingly specialized/complex Tech writers are generalists, not specialists To provide value in specialist contexts, tech writers must exploit the gaps These gaps are (1) doc tools/processes, (2) understanding user feedback/experiences, and (3) information usability

Then within the “(3) information usability” section, I covered these points:

Give users a map Make information discoverable as needed Ensure harmony across all docs Reduce and distill to its essence Confirm to genre expectations Reduce language complexity Iterative design of docs

Can you see how the presentation just devolved into a laundry list of points rather than focusing on a more focused idea journey? The laundry list comes into focus with the “(1)”, “(2)”, “(3)” points in the last bullet, followed by the 7 bullets later. When I was a composition teacher, I docked student essays for presenting similar laundry lists of ideas rather than going in depth with one point.

For my second presentation, I decided to chop out this laundry list of ideas and instead focus more singularly on my trends argument. So my argument overview was as follows:

Technology is getting more specialized/complex. This complexity drives up the value of technical knowledge, making it more prized than writing skills. To handle the complexity, technical writers must play increasingly collaborative roles with engineers to create documentation

And that’s it. No laundry list at all. I instead spent much more time developing, supporting, and exploring each of these parts of my argument.

Speaking of arguments, I also recommend putting up an “Argument Overview” slide right after your intro hook slide (which usually comes after your title slide). In other words, after you introduce the relevance of your topic, present the audience with your overall argument, so they know where you’re going and what you’re arguing for.

Many presentations will omit this argument overview. When they do, I find myself wondering what the presenter’s overall point is, if they even have one, or if they just have a collage of lots of little ideas. People can often take 10-15 minutes working their way up to some point, which they articulate in fuzzy ways.

I think a good presentation mirrors the elements of an essay:

• relevance hook
• argument/thesis

Many other essay elements might be reflected as well.

Kawasaki says to limit your presentation to 20 minutes. His main scenario isn’t presenters at a conference but rather presentations from startups to venture capitalists (VCs), and he doesn’t really give much reason here for the 20-minute length except to sarcastically say that if you have a Windows machine, it will take 40 minutes to troubleshoot the display. My guess is that VCs are executive types who have a lot of questions and don’t want to be lectured at extensively.

For too many presentations I’ve given, I’ve filled the entire time slot, without leaving any time for questions. This has been a mistake, in part due to having too many slides in the first place. For my second keynote, I spoke for only about 40 minutes and then let Q&A dominate the remaining 20 minutes. Although as an audience member I sometimes dislike listening to other audience members ask questions, I do like to ask my own questions.

Further, very few people can sit patiently listening to a lecture for an hour without engaging with more interactive dialogue. My brain isn’t wired to listen to lectures this long, and neither are many other people’s. You have to be pretty interesting to retain my attention for a full hour in an engaging way.

Probably the biggest reason, though, is that the purpose of a conference is not to present lectures — it’s to confer . You come together to confer with other people, and so you need this space to allow time to discuss your ideas.

What if no one has any questions, and you’re done 20 minutes early? Won’t that feel like you didn’t fill the time, that you short-changed what you promised?

If no one asks questions, it might mean you didn’t make a real argument in your presentation, but instead focused on something everyone already agrees on.

Coming back to the essay comparison, a good presentation focuses on an argument. And an argument must be something that people can take different sides on. If everyone already agrees on the position you’re taking, why bother making it in the first place? Are you already telling people something they already know?

I realize that many presentations at conferences are more information-based rather than argument-based, and people come to “learn” rather than to “debate,” but I’d counter that almost every topic has areas of controversy or uncertainty, and I like to see someone taking a position and defending it with evidence. This shows my bias towards the essay format, as I think good essays reflect this focus as well.

At any rate, if you’ve focused on some argument that people can disagree about, then ending 20 minutes early for Q&A should be ideal, as you will have set the stage for a lively discussion — which is one draw to these gatherings in the first place. You’re setting up the discussion and then allowing for the audience to engage in critical thinking.

Additionally, note that as a presenter, you can also be the one to ask questions. A good teacher doesn’t just lecture to students for 20 minutes and then ask them what questions they have. The teacher asks challenging questions to students and invites them to engage. Why can’t presenters at conferences do the same?

A good essay and a good presentation share many similarities. For many presentations I give, I’ll often write out the content as a blog post or essay before hand. For example, for my second keynote presentation, my Tech comm trends - take two post was the essay form of the post. The essay was about 8,000 words, which is about right for an hour-long presentation. For my first keynote, the essay was an earlier version of the same trends topic .

If the essay doesn’t have a good shape and focus (no idea journey, no story arc, no argument, no evidence, no analysis of opposing views, no interesting questions, etc.), then the presentation will probably lack life as well.

The absolute best advice for any presentation is to structure the idea journey as a story. I don’t mean to pepper in anecdotes everywhere (though that is actually great advice). I mean presentations should follow the general story arc. You have some sort of goal, and you encounter challenges to that goal. The bulk of your work is in getting through these challenges, until you finally come to some realization or conclusion. This flow aligns perfectly with the essay format.

Although I’m not a professional presenter and I lack more training and polish, in the presentations I’ve given over the years, fewer slides work better than more slides. Overall, if I can shape the essay right in the first place, it usually eliminates most of the problems with presentations. That’s why I spend about 90% of the time writing the essay first, and then in the last couple of weeks create the slides.

About Tom Johnson

I'm an API technical writer based in the Seattle area. On this blog, I write about topics related to technical writing and communication — such as software documentation, API documentation, AI, information architecture, content strategy, writing processes, plain language, tech comm careers, and more. Check out my API documentation course if you're looking for more info about documenting APIs. Or see my posts on AI and AI course section for more on the latest in AI and tech comm.

If you're a technical writer and want to keep on top of the latest trends in the tech comm, be sure to subscribe to email updates below. You can also learn more about me or contact me . Finally, note that the opinions I express on my blog are my own points of view, not that of my employer.

© 2024 Tom Johnson

Daring Leadership Institute: a groundbreaking partnership that amplifies Brené Brown's empirically based, courage-building curriculum with BetterUp’s human transformation platform.

What is Coaching?

Types of Coaching

Discover your perfect match : Take our 5-minute assessment and let us pair you with one of our top Coaches tailored just for you.

Find your coach

We're on a mission to help everyone live with clarity, purpose, and passion.

Join us and create impactful change.

Read the buzz about BetterUp.

Meet the leadership that's passionate about empowering your workforce.

For Business

For Individuals

How to give a good presentation that captivates any audience

Jump to section

What are the main difficulties when giving presentations?

How to create an effective presentation, after that, how do i give a memorable presentation, how to connect with the audience when presenting.

If you’ve ever heard someone give a powerful presentation, you probably remember how it made you feel. Much like a composer, a good speaker knows precisely when each note should strike to captivate their audience’s attention and leave them with a lasting impression.

No one becomes a great public speaker or presenter without practice. And almost everyone can recall a time one of their presentations went badly — that’s a painful part of the learning process.

Whether you’re working within a small creative team or a large organization, public speaking and presentation skills are vital to communicating your ideas. Knowing how to present your vision can help you pitch concepts to clients, present ideas to your team, and develop the confidence to participate in team meetings.

If you have an upcoming presentation on the horizon and feel nervous, that’s normal. Around 15-30% of the general population experience a fear of public speaking . And, unfortunately, social anxiety is on the rise, with a 12% increase in adults over the last 20 years . 

Learning how to give a good presentation can dismantle your fears and break down these barriers, ensuring you’re ready to confidently share your point of view. 

It’s the week before your presentation, and you’re already feeling nervous . Maybe there’ll be an important mentor in the room you need to impress, or you’re looking for an opportunity to show your boss your value. Regardless of your countless past presentations, you still feel nervous. 

Sharing your vision and ideas with any sized group is intimidating. You’re likely worrying about how you’ll perform as a presenter and whether the audience will be interested in what you offer. But nerves aren’t inherently negative — you can actually use this feeling to fuel your preparation.

It’s helpful to identify where your worries are coming from and address your fears. Here are some common concerns when preparing for an upcoming presentation:

Fear of public speaking: When you share your ideas in front of a group, you’re placing yourself in a vulnerable position to be critiqued on your knowledge and communication skills . Maybe you feel confident in your content, but when you think about standing in front of an audience, you feel anxious and your mind goes blank.

It’s also not uncommon to have physical symptoms when presenting . Some people experience nausea and dizziness as the brain releases adrenaline to cope with the potentially stressful situation . Remember to take deep breaths to recenter yourself and be patient, even if you make a mistake.

Losing the audience’s attention: As a presenter, your main focus is to keep your audience engaged. They should feel like they’re learning valuable information or following a story that will improve them in life or business.

Highlight the most exciting pieces of knowledge and ensure you emphasize those points in your presentation. If you feel passionate about your content, it’s more likely that your audience will experience this excitement for themselves and become invested in what you have to say.

Not knowing what content to place on presentation slides: Overloading presentation slides is a fast way to lose your audience’s attention. Your slides should contain only the main talking points and limited text to ensure your audience focuses on what you have to say rather than becoming distracted by the content on your slides.

Discomfort incorporating nonverbal communication: It’s natural to feel stiff and frozen when you’re nervous. But maintaining effective body language helps your audience stay focused on you as you speak and encourages you to relax.

If you struggle to incorporate body language into your presentations, try starting small by making hand gestures toward your slides. If you’re working with a large audience, use different parts of the stage to ensure everyone feels included. 

Each presenter has their own personal brand and style. Some may use humor to break the ice, while others might appeal to the audience’s emotional side through inspiring storytelling. 

Watching online presentations, such as TED talks, is an excellent way to expose yourself to various presentation styles and develop your own. While observing others, you can note how they carry themselves on stage and learn new ways to keep your audience engaged.

Once you’ve addressed what’s causing your fears, it’s time to prepare for a great presentation. Use your past experience as inspiration and aim to outshine your former self by learning from your mistakes and employing new techniques. Here are five presentation tips to help you create a strong presentation and wow your audience:

1. Keep it simple

Simple means something different to everyone.

Before creating your presentation, take note of your intended audience and their knowledge level of your subject. You’ll want your content to be easy for your intended audience to follow.

Say you’re giving a presentation on improving your company’s operational structure. Entry-level workers will likely need a more straightforward overview of the content than C-suite leaders, who have significantly more experience. 

Ask yourself what you want your audience to take away from your presentation and emphasize those important points. Doing this ensures they remember the most vital information rather than less important supporting ideas. Try organizing these concepts into bullet points so viewers can quickly identify critical takeaways.

2. Create a compelling structure

Put yourself in your audience member’s shoes and determine the most compelling way to organize your information. Your presentation should be articulate , cohesive, and logical, and you must be sure to include all necessary supporting evidence to strengthen your main points.

If you give away all of your answers too quickly, your audience could lose interest. And if there isn’t enough supporting information, they could hit a roadblock of confusion. Try developing a compelling story that leads your audience through your thought processes so they can experience the ups and downs alongside you. 

By structuring your presentation to lead up to a final conclusion, you’re more likely to keep listeners’ attention. Once you’ve reached that conclusion, you can offer a Q&A period to put any of their questions or concerns to rest. 

3. Use visual aids

Appealing to various learning styles is a great way to keep everyone on the same page and ensure they absorb your content. Visual aids are necessary for visual learners and make it easier for people to picture your ideas.

Aim to incorporate a mixture of photos, videos, and props to engage your audience and convey your key points. For instance, if you’re giving a presentation on anthropology subject matter, you could show your audience an artifact to help them understand how exciting a discovery must have been. 

If your presentation is long, including a video for your audience to watch is an excellent way to give yourself a break and create new jumping-off points for your speech.

4. Be aware of design techniques and trends

Thanks to cutting-edge technology and tools, you have numerous platforms at your disposal to create a good presentation. But keep in mind that although color, images, and graphics liven things up, they can cause distraction when misused.

  Here are a few standard pointers for incorporating visuals on your slides: 

• Don’t place blocks of small text on a single slide
• Use a minimalistic background instead of a busy one
• Ensure text stands out against the background color
• Only use high-resolution photos
• Maintain a consistent font style and size throughout the presentation
• Don’t overuse transitions and effects

5. Try the 10-20-30 rule

Guy Kawasaki, a prominent venture capitalist and one of the original marketing specialists for Apple, said that the best slideshow presentations are less than 10 slides , last at most 20 minutes, and use a font size of 30. Following this strategy can help you condense your information, eliminate unnecessary ideas, and maintain your audience’s focus more efficiently.

Once you’re confident in creating a memorable presentation, it’s time to learn how to give one. Here are some valuable tips for keeping your audience invested during your talk: 

Tip #1: Tell stories

Sharing an anecdote from your life can improve your credibility and increase your relatability. And when an audience relates to you, they’re more likely to feel connected to who you are as a person and encouraged to give you their full attention, as they would want others to do the same.

Gill Hicks utilized this strategy well when she shared her powerful story, “ I survived a terrorist attack. Here’s what I learned .” In her harrowing tale, Hicks highlights the importance of compassion, unconditional love , and helping those in need.

If you feel uncomfortable sharing personal stories, that’s okay. You can use examples from famous individuals or create a fictional account to demonstrate your ideas.

Tip #2: Make eye contact with the audience

Maintaining eye contact is less intimidating than it sounds. In fact, you don’t have to look your audience members directly in their eyes — you can focus on their foreheads or noses if that’s easier.

Try making eye contact with as many people as possible for 3–5 seconds each. This timing ensures you don’t look away too quickly, making the audience member feel unimportant, or linger too long, making them feel uncomfortable.

If you’re presenting to a large group, direct your focus to each part of the room to ensure no section of the audience feels ignored. 

Tip #3: Work on your stage presence

Although your tone and words are the most impactful part of your presentation, recall that body language keeps your audience engaged. Use these tips to master a professional stage presence:

• Speak with open arms and avoid crossing them
• Keep a reasonable pace and try not to stand still
• Use hand gestures to highlight important information

Tip #4: Start strong

Like watching a movie trailer, the first seconds of your talk are critical for capturing your audience’s attention. How you start your speech sets the tone for the rest of your presentation and tells your audience whether or not they should pay attention. Here are some ways to start your presentation to leave a lasting impression:

• Use a quote from a well-known and likable influential person 
• Ask a rhetorical question to create intrigue
• Start with an anecdote to add context to your talk 
• Spark your audience’s curiosity by involving them in an interactive problem-solving puzzle or riddle

Tip #5: Show your passion

Don’t be afraid of being too enthusiastic. Everyone appreciates a speaker who’s genuinely excited about their field of expertise. 

In “ Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance ,” Angela Lee Duckworth discusses the importance of passion in research and delivery. She delivers her presentation excitedly to show the audience how excitement piques interest. 

Tip #6: Plan your delivery

How you decide to deliver your speech will shape your presentation. Will you be preparing a PowerPoint presentation and using a teleprompter? Or are you working within the constraints of the digital world and presenting over Zoom?

The best presentations are conducted by speakers who know their stuff and memorize their content. However, if you find this challenging, try creating notes to use as a safety net in case you lose track.

If you’re presenting online, you can keep notes beside your computer for each slide, highlighting your key points. This ensures you include all the necessary information and follow a logical order.

Tip #7: Practice

Practice doesn’t make perfect — it makes progress. There’s no way of preparing for unforeseen circumstances, but thorough practice means you’ve done everything you can to succeed.

Rehearse your speech in front of a mirror or to a trusted friend or family member. Take any feedback and use it as an opportunity to fine-tune your speech. But remember: who you practice your presentation in front of may differ from your intended audience. Consider their opinions through the lens of them occupying this different position.

Tip #8: Read the room

Whether you’re a keynote speaker at an event or presenting to a small group of clients, knowing how to read the room is vital for keeping your audience happy. Stay flexible and be willing to move on from topics quickly if your listeners are uninterested or displeased with a particular part of your speech.

Tip #9: Breathe

Try taking deep breaths before your presentation to calm your nerves. If you feel rushed, you’re more likely to feel nervous and stumble on your words.

The most important thing to consider when presenting is your audience’s feelings. When you approach your next presentation calmly, you’ll put your audience at ease and encourage them to feel comfortable in your presence.

Tip #10: Provide a call-to-action

When you end your presentation, your audience should feel compelled to take a specific action, whether that’s changing their habits or contacting you for your services.

If you’re presenting to clients, create a handout with key points and contact information so they can get in touch. You should provide your LinkedIn information, email address, and phone number so they have a variety of ways to reach you. 

There’s no one-size-fits-all template for an effective presentation, as your unique audience and subject matter play a role in shaping your speech. As a general rule, though, you should aim to connect with your audience through passion and excitement. Use strong eye contact and body language. Capture their interest through storytelling and their trust through relatability.

Learning how to give a good presentation can feel overwhelming — but remember, practice makes progress. Rehearse your presentation for someone you trust, collect their feedback , and revise. Practicing your presentation skills is helpful for any job, and every challenge is a chance to grow.

Understand Yourself Better:

Big 5 Personality Test

Elizabeth Perry, ACC

Elizabeth Perry is a Coach Community Manager at BetterUp. She uses strategic engagement strategies to cultivate a learning community across a global network of Coaches through in-person and virtual experiences, technology-enabled platforms, and strategic coaching industry partnerships. With over 3 years of coaching experience and a certification in transformative leadership and life coaching from Sofia University, Elizabeth leverages transpersonal psychology expertise to help coaches and clients gain awareness of their behavioral and thought patterns, discover their purpose and passions, and elevate their potential. She is a lifelong student of psychology, personal growth, and human potential as well as an ICF-certified ACC transpersonal life and leadership Coach.

How to make a presentation interactive and exciting

6 presentation skills and how to improve them, how to write a speech that your audience remembers, 8 clever hooks for presentations (with tips), how to not be nervous for a presentation — 13 tips that work (really), 3 stand-out professional bio examples to inspire your own, the importance of good speech: 5 tips to be more articulate, how the minto pyramid principle can enhance your communication skills, your guide to what storytelling is and how to be a good storyteller, how to disagree at work without being obnoxious, the 11 tips that will improve your public speaking skills, 30 presentation feedback examples, fear of public speaking overcome it with these 7 tips, stay connected with betterup, get our newsletter, event invites, plus product insights and research..

3100 E 5th Street, Suite 350 Austin, TX 78702

• Platform overview
• Integrations
• Powered by AI
• BetterUp Lead™
• BetterUp Manage™
• BetterUp Care®
• Sales Performance
• Diversity & Inclusion
• Case studies
• ROI of BetterUp
• What is coaching?
• About Coaching
• Find your Coach
• Career Coaching
• Communication Coaching
• Personal Coaching
• News and Press
• Leadership Team
• Become a BetterUp Coach
• BetterUp Briefing
• Center for Purpose & Performance
• Leadership Training
• Business Coaching
• Contact Support
• Contact Sales
• Privacy Policy
• Acceptable Use Policy
• Trust & Security
• Cookie Preferences

We use essential cookies to make Venngage work. By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.

Manage Cookies

Cookies and similar technologies collect certain information about how you’re using our website. Some of them are essential, and without them you wouldn’t be able to use Venngage. But others are optional, and you get to choose whether we use them or not.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

These cookies are always on, as they’re essential for making Venngage work, and making it safe. Without these cookies, services you’ve asked for can’t be provided.

Show cookie providers

• Google Login

Functionality Cookies

These cookies help us provide enhanced functionality and personalisation, and remember your settings. They may be set by us or by third party providers.

Performance Cookies

These cookies help us analyze how many people are using Venngage, where they come from and how they're using it. If you opt out of these cookies, we can’t get feedback to make Venngage better for you and all our users.

• Google Analytics

Targeting Cookies

These cookies are set by our advertising partners to track your activity and show you relevant Venngage ads on other sites as you browse the internet.

• Google Tag Manager
• Infographics
• Daily Infographics
• Popular Templates
• Accessibility
• Graphic Design
• Graphs and Charts
• Data Visualization
• Human Resources
• Beginner Guides

Blog Beginner Guides How To Make a Good Presentation [A Complete Guide]

How To Make a Good Presentation [A Complete Guide]

Written by: Krystle Wong Jul 20, 2023

A top-notch presentation possesses the power to drive action. From winning stakeholders over and conveying a powerful message to securing funding — your secret weapon lies within the realm of creating an effective presentation .  

Being an excellent presenter isn’t confined to the boardroom. Whether you’re delivering a presentation at work, pursuing an academic career, involved in a non-profit organization or even a student, nailing the presentation game is a game-changer.

In this article, I’ll cover the top qualities of compelling presentations and walk you through a step-by-step guide on how to give a good presentation. Here’s a little tip to kick things off: for a headstart, check out Venngage’s collection of free presentation templates . They are fully customizable, and the best part is you don’t need professional design skills to make them shine!

These valuable presentation tips cater to individuals from diverse professional backgrounds, encompassing business professionals, sales and marketing teams, educators, trainers, students, researchers, non-profit organizations, public speakers and presenters. 

No matter your field or role, these tips for presenting will equip you with the skills to deliver effective presentations that leave a lasting impression on any audience.

Click to jump ahead:

What are the 10 qualities of a good presentation?

Step-by-step guide on how to prepare an effective presentation, 9 effective techniques to deliver a memorable presentation, faqs on making a good presentation, how to create a presentation with venngage in 5 steps.

When it comes to giving an engaging presentation that leaves a lasting impression, it’s not just about the content — it’s also about how you deliver it. Wondering what makes a good presentation? Well, the best presentations I’ve seen consistently exhibit these 10 qualities:

1. Clear structure

No one likes to get lost in a maze of information. Organize your thoughts into a logical flow, complete with an introduction, main points and a solid conclusion. A structured presentation helps your audience follow along effortlessly, leaving them with a sense of satisfaction at the end.

Regardless of your presentation style , a quality presentation starts with a clear roadmap. Browse through Venngage’s template library and select a presentation template that aligns with your content and presentation goals. Here’s a good presentation example template with a logical layout that includes sections for the introduction, main points, supporting information and a conclusion: 

2. Engaging opening

Hook your audience right from the start with an attention-grabbing statement, a fascinating question or maybe even a captivating anecdote. Set the stage for a killer presentation!

The opening moments of your presentation hold immense power – check out these 15 ways to start a presentation to set the stage and captivate your audience.

3. Relevant content

Make sure your content aligns with their interests and needs. Your audience is there for a reason, and that’s to get valuable insights. Avoid fluff and get straight to the point, your audience will be genuinely excited.

4. Effective visual aids

Picture this: a slide with walls of text and tiny charts, yawn! Visual aids should be just that—aiding your presentation. Opt for clear and visually appealing slides, engaging images and informative charts that add value and help reinforce your message.

With Venngage, visualizing data takes no effort at all. You can import data from CSV or Google Sheets seamlessly and create stunning charts, graphs and icon stories effortlessly to showcase your data in a captivating and impactful way.

5. Clear and concise communication

Keep your language simple, and avoid jargon or complicated terms. Communicate your ideas clearly, so your audience can easily grasp and retain the information being conveyed. This can prevent confusion and enhance the overall effectiveness of the message. 

6. Engaging delivery

Spice up your presentation with a sprinkle of enthusiasm! Maintain eye contact, use expressive gestures and vary your tone of voice to keep your audience glued to the edge of their seats. A touch of charisma goes a long way!

7. Interaction and audience engagement

Turn your presentation into an interactive experience — encourage questions, foster discussions and maybe even throw in a fun activity. Engaged audiences are more likely to remember and embrace your message.

Transform your slides into an interactive presentation with Venngage’s dynamic features like pop-ups, clickable icons and animated elements. Engage your audience with interactive content that lets them explore and interact with your presentation for a truly immersive experience.

8. Effective storytelling

Who doesn’t love a good story? Weaving relevant anecdotes, case studies or even a personal story into your presentation can captivate your audience and create a lasting impact. Stories build connections and make your message memorable.

A great presentation background is also essential as it sets the tone, creates visual interest and reinforces your message. Enhance the overall aesthetics of your presentation with these 15 presentation background examples and captivate your audience’s attention.

9. Well-timed pacing

Pace your presentation thoughtfully with well-designed presentation slides, neither rushing through nor dragging it out. Respect your audience’s time and ensure you cover all the essential points without losing their interest.

10. Strong conclusion

Last impressions linger! Summarize your main points and leave your audience with a clear takeaway. End your presentation with a bang , a call to action or an inspiring thought that resonates long after the conclusion.

In-person presentations aside, acing a virtual presentation is of paramount importance in today’s digital world. Check out this guide to learn how you can adapt your in-person presentations into virtual presentations . 

Preparing an effective presentation starts with laying a strong foundation that goes beyond just creating slides and notes. One of the quickest and best ways to make a presentation would be with the help of a good presentation software . 

Otherwise, let me walk you to how to prepare for a presentation step by step and unlock the secrets of crafting a professional presentation that sets you apart.

1. Understand the audience and their needs

Before you dive into preparing your masterpiece, take a moment to get to know your target audience. Tailor your presentation to meet their needs and expectations , and you’ll have them hooked from the start!

2. Conduct thorough research on the topic

Time to hit the books (or the internet)! Don’t skimp on the research with your presentation materials — dive deep into the subject matter and gather valuable insights . The more you know, the more confident you’ll feel in delivering your presentation.

3. Organize the content with a clear structure

No one wants to stumble through a chaotic mess of information. Outline your presentation with a clear and logical flow. Start with a captivating introduction, follow up with main points that build on each other and wrap it up with a powerful conclusion that leaves a lasting impression.

Delivering an effective business presentation hinges on captivating your audience, and Venngage’s professionally designed business presentation templates are tailor-made for this purpose. With thoughtfully structured layouts, these templates enhance your message’s clarity and coherence, ensuring a memorable and engaging experience for your audience members.

Don’t want to build your presentation layout from scratch? pick from these 5 foolproof presentation layout ideas that won’t go wrong. 

4. Develop visually appealing and supportive visual aids

Spice up your presentation with eye-catching visuals! Create slides that complement your message, not overshadow it. Remember, a picture is worth a thousand words, but that doesn’t mean you need to overload your slides with text.

Well-chosen designs create a cohesive and professional look, capturing your audience’s attention and enhancing the overall effectiveness of your message. Here’s a list of carefully curated PowerPoint presentation templates and great background graphics that will significantly influence the visual appeal and engagement of your presentation.

5. Practice, practice and practice

Practice makes perfect — rehearse your presentation and arrive early to your presentation to help overcome stage fright. Familiarity with your material will boost your presentation skills and help you handle curveballs with ease.

6. Seek feedback and make necessary adjustments

Don’t be afraid to ask for help and seek feedback from friends and colleagues. Constructive criticism can help you identify blind spots and fine-tune your presentation to perfection.

With Venngage’s real-time collaboration feature , receiving feedback and editing your presentation is a seamless process. Group members can access and work on the presentation simultaneously and edit content side by side in real-time. Changes will be reflected immediately to the entire team, promoting seamless teamwork.

7. Prepare for potential technical or logistical issues

Prepare for the unexpected by checking your equipment, internet connection and any other potential hiccups. If you’re worried that you’ll miss out on any important points, you could always have note cards prepared. Remember to remain focused and rehearse potential answers to anticipated questions.

8. Fine-tune and polish your presentation

As the big day approaches, give your presentation one last shine. Review your talking points, practice how to present a presentation and make any final tweaks. Deep breaths — you’re on the brink of delivering a successful presentation!

In competitive environments, persuasive presentations set individuals and organizations apart. To brush up on your presentation skills, read these guides on how to make a persuasive presentation and tips to presenting effectively . 

Whether you’re an experienced presenter or a novice, the right techniques will let your presentation skills soar to new heights!

From public speaking hacks to interactive elements and storytelling prowess, these 9 effective presentation techniques will empower you to leave a lasting impression on your audience and make your presentations unforgettable.

1. Confidence and positive body language

Positive body language instantly captivates your audience, making them believe in your message as much as you do. Strengthen your stage presence and own that stage like it’s your second home! Stand tall, shoulders back and exude confidence. 

2. Eye contact with the audience

Break down that invisible barrier and connect with your audience through their eyes. Maintaining eye contact when giving a presentation builds trust and shows that you’re present and engaged with them.

3. Effective use of hand gestures and movement

A little movement goes a long way! Emphasize key points with purposeful gestures and don’t be afraid to walk around the stage. Your energy will be contagious!

4. Utilize storytelling techniques

Weave the magic of storytelling into your presentation. Share relatable anecdotes, inspiring success stories or even personal experiences that tug at the heartstrings of your audience. Adjust your pitch, pace and volume to match the emotions and intensity of the story. Varying your speaking voice adds depth and enhances your stage presence.

5. Incorporate multimedia elements

Spice up your presentation with a dash of visual pizzazz! Use slides, images and video clips to add depth and clarity to your message. Just remember, less is more—don’t overwhelm them with information overload. 

Turn your presentations into an interactive party! Involve your audience with questions, polls or group activities. When they actively participate, they become invested in your presentation’s success. Bring your design to life with animated elements. Venngage allows you to apply animations to icons, images and text to create dynamic and engaging visual content.

6. Utilize humor strategically

Laughter is the best medicine—and a fantastic presentation enhancer! A well-placed joke or lighthearted moment can break the ice and create a warm atmosphere , making your audience more receptive to your message.

7. Practice active listening and respond to feedback

Be attentive to your audience’s reactions and feedback. If they have questions or concerns, address them with genuine interest and respect. Your responsiveness builds rapport and shows that you genuinely care about their experience.

8. Apply the 10-20-30 rule

Apply the 10-20-30 presentation rule and keep it short, sweet and impactful! Stick to ten slides, deliver your presentation within 20 minutes and use a 30-point font to ensure clarity and focus. Less is more, and your audience will thank you for it!

9. Implement the 5-5-5 rule

Simplicity is key. Limit each slide to five bullet points, with only five words per bullet point and allow each slide to remain visible for about five seconds. This rule keeps your presentation concise and prevents information overload.

Simple presentations are more engaging because they are easier to follow. Summarize your presentations and keep them simple with Venngage’s gallery of simple presentation templates and ensure that your message is delivered effectively across your audience.

1. How to start a presentation?

To kick off your presentation effectively, begin with an attention-grabbing statement or a powerful quote. Introduce yourself, establish credibility and clearly state the purpose and relevance of your presentation.

2. How to end a presentation?

For a strong conclusion, summarize your talking points and key takeaways. End with a compelling call to action or a thought-provoking question and remember to thank your audience and invite any final questions or interactions.

3. How to make a presentation interactive?

To make your presentation interactive, encourage questions and discussion throughout your talk. Utilize multimedia elements like videos or images and consider including polls, quizzes or group activities to actively involve your audience.

In need of inspiration for your next presentation? I’ve got your back! Pick from these 120+ presentation ideas, topics and examples to get started. 

Creating a stunning presentation with Venngage is a breeze with our user-friendly drag-and-drop editor and professionally designed templates for all your communication needs. 

Here’s how to make a presentation in just 5 simple steps with the help of Venngage:

Step 1: Sign up for Venngage for free using your email, Gmail or Facebook account or simply log in to access your account. 

Step 2: Pick a design from our selection of free presentation templates (they’re all created by our expert in-house designers).

Step 3: Make the template your own by customizing it to fit your content and branding. With Venngage’s intuitive drag-and-drop editor, you can easily modify text, change colors and adjust the layout to create a unique and eye-catching design.

Step 4: Elevate your presentation by incorporating captivating visuals. You can upload your images or choose from Venngage’s vast library of high-quality photos, icons and illustrations. 

Step 5: Upgrade to a premium or business account to export your presentation in PDF and print it for in-person presentations or share it digitally for free!

By following these five simple steps, you’ll have a professionally designed and visually engaging presentation ready in no time. With Venngage’s user-friendly platform, your presentation is sure to make a lasting impression. So, let your creativity flow and get ready to shine in your next presentation!

Discover popular designs

Infographic maker

Brochure maker

White paper online

Newsletter creator

Flyer maker

Timeline maker

Letterhead maker

Mind map maker

Ebook maker

Like what you're reading?

14 effective presentation tips to impress your audience

Get your team on prezi – watch this on demand video.

Anete Ezera July 15, 2022

An effective presentation can communicate key ideas and opinions, save time, and contribute to your overall success as a business, but good presentation skills don’t come naturally to everyone. In this blog post, you’ll find 14 effective presentation tips you can implement in your next presentation to make it a success. 

Whether you’re preparing for an important presentation at work or school, or you’re looking for ways to generally improve your presentation skills, you’ll find these presentation tips useful. We’ve gathered a list to help you impress your audience from the get-go. You’ll find tips for creating and presenting your slides, talking in front of an audience, and other effective presentation techniques to help you stand out. 

Most common presentation mistakes

Before we list our top effective presentation tips, let’s explore the most common presentation mistakes. If you’ve made one or more mistakes in this list, you’re not alone. Most people have made at least one mistake. However, what’s important is to be aware of these errors and try avoiding them next time.

#1 A poor start

One of the most common mistakes people make is undermining the importance of the first few minutes or seconds of their presentation. 

Let’s say you’ve practiced your key talking points meticulously and gone over your slides a million times, but when you’re in the spotlight and need to say your first line, do you know exactly what to say to wow the audience? 

The start of your presentation is crucial. Not only because how you start sets the tone for the rest of your presentation, but also because people generally require around 8 seconds to decide whether they find the subject interesting enough to keep listening. Starting your presentation with a captivating intro is even more important than you think. To ensure you start off right, read our guide on how to start your presentation . 

#2 Lack of preparation

Yes, even though it’s clear that you should prepare before giving a presentation, it’s still a common mistake amongst presenters. Preparing content and talking points is an obvious start, but there are other steps that you might be overlooking.

Before you even join a meeting or walk into a room where you’re going to present, consider the technical requirements and get familiar with the equipment. If you’re presenting online, make sure to test-run your presentation and the visual aids you’re going to use. The last thing you want is a broken video link, poor audio, or a weak connection when you’re presenting. 

Also, consider the questions your audience might want to ask you about the topic. Think about how you’d answer those questions, or do even further research to really impress the audience with your answers. 

Explore other ways to prepare for a presentation to feel even more confident when presenting.

#3 Losing track of time

It’s great to feel passionate about your topic. However, you’ll have to consider your audience’s level of interest and knowledge. Some details might seem fascinating to you, and you’d like to talk about them for hours, but for your audience, too much information will drain their energy and lose their attention. 

Therefore, make sure to keep track of time. Also, consider your audience’s interests. A concise presentation is always better than a long one with a ton of information. Plus, you’ll have a higher chance of keeping your audience’s attention throughout the presentation. 

Effective presentation tips

Now that we’ve looked at some of the most common presentation mistakes – let’s dive into effective presentation tips that’ll help you excel in future presentations. 

#1 Tell a story

Stories connect, inspire, and empower people. Telling a story can entice action, help understand an idea, and make people feel connected to the storyteller. It’s also one of the most effective presentation tips. A study by organizational psychologist Peg Neuhauser found that a well-told story is easier to remember than facts, which makes it a highly effective learning technique. 

With that in mind, telling a story when you’re presenting can engage your audience and make it a more memorable experience. You can either share a personal story or a historical event, just make sure to have a clear connection between the story and the topic you’re presenting. 

#2 Work on your body language

Body language can make a huge difference in how your presentation is perceived. It’s one of the presentation tips you definitely shouldn’t overlook. 

Body language says a lot about a person’s confidence level, emotions, state of mind, and even credibility. For the audience, it’s a way to understand what the person is saying and how interested they are in the topic. 

Therefore, work on your body language to better convey the message you’re trying to communicate. Practice in front of a mirror before your presentation and be conscious of your hand gestures and facial expressions. 

#3 Understand your audience

Before crafting your presentation, you must know who you’re speaking to. Understanding the interests, demographics, professional background, and other valuable information of your audience is crucial in making your speech successful. 

If you’re speaking at an event, contact the organizers to get more information about other speakers and the audience. If you’re presenting at work, you may already know your audience fairly well. Use this information to your advantage and create content you know they’ll resonate with.

#4 Use high-quality visuals

What’s one of the most effective presentation techniques? Use of visuals. They play a crucial role in your presentation. However, only high-quality visuals will make a good impression and effectively communicate your message. Use high-quality visuals like images, videos, graphs, maps, and others to really land your point. 

Using visuals is a great way to convey your ideas as they’re easier to process than text. If you’re not sure where to find great visuals, check out our blog post on presentation visuals for five free resources.

P.S. the Prezi library holds a variety of images, videos, GIFs, stickers, and other visuals, including different charts and maps to spice up your presentation. It’s all available in your dashboard .

#5 Use data visualizations

Do you want to showcase statistics or other datasets in your presentation? Use data visualizations to make your data stand out and impress your audience. 

There’s nothing more boring than a bunch of data presented in a flat way. If you want to tell a story with your data, use interactive infographics or slides enriched with eye-catching visuals. Showcasing data will make your ideas appear more trustworthy and credible. 

Prezi Design offers a range of templates to choose from. You can start creating data visualizations from scratch or choose a template and edit the data there. 

#6 Make it engaging with interactive elements

It’s not easy to deliver an engaging presentation. People can easily get distracted or try to multitask, especially in the virtual environment. Sometimes, it’s difficult to focus on the speaker and the written text. Other times, the content just isn’t impressive enough to hold the audience’s attention. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

You can make your presentation more engaging for everyone by including interactive content like graphs and charts. With interactive data visualizations, you’ll make the data discovery process more engaging and exciting for your audience. 

Your audience will be able to hover over data points and click on certain icons or datasets to discover information on their own. Interactive visualizations will make the presentation more memorable and impressive. 

As you can see in the example below, you can discover different data by engaging with the infographic. 

#7 Stay consistent with fonts and color styles

You want your presentation to look visually appealing and highlight essential information. To make that happen, stay consistent with font styles and color schemes throughout your presentation. 

Use one or two fonts max to make the text easy to read and understand. Also, use a carefully selected color scheme that’s not too distracting. If you’re using Prezi Design, you can easily copy and paste styles by right-clicking on your data visualizations and selecting “copy styles.” This makes it easier to stay consistent and saves time when picking matching colors. 

#8 Structure your presentation properly

Before creating your presentation, think about its structure. What’s the main idea you want to convey? Use that as your starting point, and only include information that adds value to the narrative. 

Plan out the first topics carefully to properly introduce your argument. Add the essential information in the middle part of your presentation. Lastly, close your presentation with a summary of the main points and leave your audience with an afterthought. Also, plan when you’re taking questions and for how long. 

For more insight, watch this tutorial on how to structure your presentation:

#9 Practice your public speaking skills

Public speaking may not be your forte, but you can get better with practice. Don’t decline a great opportunity to share your ideas with a larger audience just because you feel nervous speaking in front of a group of people. 

One of the best ways to improve your public speaking skills is to practice in front of your family or friends – people you feel comfortable with. Also, focus on the topic you’re presenting and get excited about the idea you want to convey. This way you’ll appear more confident and feel less nervous about public speaking. 

Explore other public speaking tips from Jessica Chen, the founder, and CEO of Soulcast Media: 

#10 Show your slides next to you on-screen

If you’re presenting on Zoom or in a virtual meeting , think twice before you share your screen. The days of hiding behind slides are over. People want to see and connect with other people, not sit through another run-of-the-mill screen share. To do that, use Prezi Video to showcase all your content right next to you in your video feed. 

As a result, your presentation will look more engaging than a traditional virtual presentation . Also, your audience will have the chance to read your body language and follow along with what you’re saying even better. 

If you already have your slides prepared, don’t worry – you can easily integrate them into Prezi. 

See Prezi Video in action and check out our video templates to get started.

#11 Calm down before presenting

Being in front of an audience can feel nerve-racking. However, there are ways to calm down before presenting that will make you feel more centered and confident. The last thing you want is all your hard work to go to waste just because of stress. 

Try breathing exercises or a five-minute guided meditation before presenting. The trick is to remove all distractions and focus on the present moment so you’re not overthinking right before starting your presentation. Also, be fully prepared and know exactly what to say and when which will help you feel more collected. If you want to discover other ways to feel and look more confident, read how not to be nervous before a presentation . 

#12 Use transitions and animations 

Add movement to your slides with transitions and animations. You’ll make your presentation more visually appealing and engaging. However, be careful not to overwhelm your audience with your choice of transitions and animations. 

Choose a transition that matches your presentation visually and use it throughout your presentation. Consider what animations will be relevant to your audience and select a few to add to your slides. Don’t overdo it. Keep the focus on the message you’re trying to convey, and use animations to only support that message. 

#13 Be enthusiastic 

When you’re in a room with a positive and enthusiastic person, you can’t help but feel uplifted as well. High-energy people have this effect on others. Most importantly, a lot of people tend to mimic people’s behavior and mirror their energy when they feel a connection or relate to them. That’s called the chameleon effect . 

When you’re presenting, you want your audience to feel curious about what you’re presenting. You may also want to leave your audience feeling uplifted, interested to know more, or inspired. To have that effect on others, try to convey those emotions when presenting. Practice your speech, slow down your narration at times, or take a pause after you’ve delivered a statement, and use different presentation techniques to present your project and really drive your points home. 

#14 End your presentation in a memorable way

The first few minutes of your presentation are crucial for captivating your audience’s attention. However, don’t underestimate the importance of ending your presentation as powerfully as you started it. 

The way you end your presentation will play a crucial part in how your audience will remember it. You want to make a memorable impression by closing your presentation with a summarizing statement, a rhetorical question, a call to action, or another impactful way. Discover 10 ways you can end your presentation in our guide.  

There are a lot of factors to consider when creating and delivering a presentation. You want your slides to look professional and visually appealing while conveying your main points. You also want to look and sound confident even if you’re nervous about public speaking. Whatever your concerns may be, remember that preparation is essential. Practice and dedication are the keys to giving a successful presentation . Make sure to follow these effective presentation tips to excel in your future presentations. If you’re interested in creating a captivating presentation with Prezi, contact us to learn more or try it for free . 

Elevating presentations with Prezi AI

Embrace the innovation of Prezi to bring your presentations to life. With its unique platform, Prezi AI offers more than just visually appealing templates; it provides an immersive narrative experience, engaging your audience with a story-driven approach. By integrating Prezi AI , our platform’s capabilities are further enhanced, offering intelligent design suggestions and optimizing content layouts to ensure your presentations are not only beautiful but impactful. This integration is a perfect example of effective presentation techniques in action, using technology to create a more engaging presentation.

Interactive elements: transforming passive listening into active engagement

Prezi revolutionizes the way information is presented by incorporating interactive elements that invite audience participation. With Prezi AI, these features become even more accessible, suggesting ways to make your presentation more engaging through clickable areas, zoomable images, and dynamic visualizations. This level of interaction encourages exploration, making your message more memorable and transforming a standard presentation into an effective presentation.

Adding a personal touch in digital presentation with video

Prezi Video stands out by seamlessly integrating your content alongside your video feed, bridging the gap between traditional presentations and personal engagement. This feature is crucial for those looking to follow presentation tips that emphasize the importance of connecting with your audience on a more personal level. Prezi AI enhances this experience, ensuring your content is displayed in the most effective way possible, making your virtual presentations feel as though you’re directly conversing with your audience.

Mastering presentation artistry with Prezi

The journey to becoming a skilled presenter involves continuously refining your approach and embracing tools that elevate your ability to communicate effectively. Prezi, enriched with Prezi AI, is one such tool that transforms ordinary presentations into captivating experiences. By leveraging these advanced features, you can deliver presentations that are successful, memorable, and truly unforgettable, embodying the essence of tips for presentation mastery.

Whether you’re an experienced speaker or preparing for your first presentation, Prezi equips you with the tools to succeed. Engage your audience, tell compelling stories, and deliver your message with confidence and creativity. Following effective presentation tips and exploring how Prezi AI can transform your next presentation is a step towards mastering the art of impactful communication. Delve into the features and begin your journey to presentation mastery today.

Give your team the tools they need to engage

Like what you’re reading join the mailing list..

• Prezi for Teams
• Top Presentations

• $ 0.00 0 items

How Long is the Perfect Presentation?

When it comes to creating a PowerPoint or Prezi Presentation , one of the most common questions is:

“How long should it be?”

The answer to this question is not a simple one , as the length of a perfect presentation or pitch will vary depending on a number of factors.

Let’s analyze five key subtopics that can help determine the ideal length of your presentation.

The first consideration when determining the length of your presentation should be your audience. You need to think about whether they experienced professionals in your field or can they be considered with little knowledge of the topic?

Will they be attending the presentation in person, or will they be viewing it remotely via online presentation tools?

The level of familiarity your audience has with your topic and the context in which they will be viewing the presentation will greatly influence how much information they can absorb and follow.

Presentation Topic

The complexity and difficulty of the topic also plays a big role in determining the overall length of your presentation.

A simple topic with a clear message can be effectively communicated in a shorter amount of time, while a more complex topic may require a longer presentation and a Q&A at the end.

The purpose of your presentation should also be taken into account when determining its length.

Are you trying to inform, persuade or simply entertain your audience? The purpose of your presentation will influence the amount of information that needs to be covered.

Attention Span

The average attention span of an adult is around 5-10 seconds, so it’s important to keep your audience engaged throughout the presentation.

Too much information at once can be overwhelming and cause everyone to tune out at some point. In order to maintain the attention, you should aim to keep your presentation concise and to the point at all subtopics.

It’s important to consider the timing of your presentation, including how much time you’ve been allocated and how much time you need to effectively communicate your message.

It’s better to have a shorter, more focused presentation that leaves a lasting impact on everyone, rather than a longer one that may not be fully understood.

The length of the perfect PowerPoint presentation will vary depending on:

• attention span;

A general rule of thumb is to keep the presentation as short as possible while still effectively communicating the information you need.

Most experts recommend limiting your presentations to 15-25 minutes to keep the audience engaged and avoid overwhelming them with too much information.

Remember, it’s not about the number of slides, it’s about the amount of information that needs to be conveyed.

Make Your Presentations Unforgettable .

Download our 25 eye-catching presentation templates that will Wow your audience every time.

You must be logged in to post a comment.

.css-1qrtm5m{display:block;margin-bottom:8px;text-transform:uppercase;font-size:14px;line-height:1.5714285714285714;-webkit-letter-spacing:-0.35px;-moz-letter-spacing:-0.35px;-ms-letter-spacing:-0.35px;letter-spacing:-0.35px;font-weight:300;color:#606F7B;}@media (min-width:600px){.css-1qrtm5m{font-size:16px;line-height:1.625;-webkit-letter-spacing:-0.5px;-moz-letter-spacing:-0.5px;-ms-letter-spacing:-0.5px;letter-spacing:-0.5px;}} Best Practices The #1 rule for improving your presentation slides

by Tom Rielly • May 12, 2020

When giving presentations, either on a video conference call or in person, your slides, videos and graphics (or lack of them) can be an important element in helping you tell your story or express your idea. This is the first of a series of blog posts that will give you tips and tricks on how to perfect your visual presentations.

Your job as a presenter is to build your idea -- step-by-step -- in the minds of your audience members. One tool to do that is presentation graphics, such as slides and videos.

Why graphics for your presentation?

A common mistake is using slides or videos as a crutch, even if they don’t actually add anything to your presentation. Not all presentations need graphics. Lots of presentations work wonderfully with just one person standing on a stage telling a story, as demonstrated by many TED Talks.

You should only use slides if they serve a purpose: conveying scientific information, art, and things that are hard to explain without pictures. Once you have decided on using slides, you will have a number of decisions to make. We’ll help you with the basics of making a presentation that is, above all, clear and easy to understand. The most important thing to remember here is: less is more.

Less is so much more

You want to aim for the fewest number of slides, the fewest number of photos, the fewest words per slide, the least cluttered slides and the most white space on your slides. This is the most violated slide rule, but it is the secret to success. Take a look at these examples.

As you can see in the above example, you don’t need fancy backgrounds or extra words to convey a simple concept. If you take “Everything you need to know about Turtles”, and delete “everything you need to know about” leaving just “turtles”, the slide has become much easier for your audience to read, and tells the story with economy.

The above example demonstrates that a single image that fills the entire screen is far more powerful than a slide cluttered with images. A slide with too many images may be detrimental to your presentation. The audience will spend more mental energy trying to sort through the clutter than listening to your presentation. If you need multiple images, then put each one on its own slide. Make each image high-resolution and have it fill the entire screen. If the photos are not the same dimensions as the screen, put them on a black background. Don’t use other colors, especially white.

Your slides will be much more effective if you use the fewest words, characters, and pictures needed to tell your story. Long paragraphs make the audience strain to read them, which means they are not paying attention to you. Your audience may even get stressed if you move on to your next slide before they’ve finished reading your paragraph. The best way to make sure the attention stays on you is to limit word count to no more than 10 words per slide. As presentation expert Nancy Duarte says “any slide with more than 10 words is a document.” If you really do need a longer explanation of something, handouts or follow-up emails are the way to go.

Following a “less is more” approach is one of the simplest things you can do to improve your presentation visuals and the impact of your presentation overall. Make sure your visuals add to your presentation rather than distract from it and get your message across.

Ready to learn more about how to make your presentation even better? Get TED Masterclass and develop your ideas into TED-style talks.

© 2024 TED Conferences, LLC. All rights reserved. Please note that the TED Talks Usage policy does not apply to this content and is not subject to our creative commons license.

Home Blog Design The Rules of PowerPoint Presentations: Creating Effective Slides

The Rules of PowerPoint Presentations: Creating Effective Slides

Creating a PowerPoint presentation can seem straightforward, but several essential rules must be followed when the goal is to deliver something truly compelling. These guidelines ensure that your presentation slides are visually appealing and serve their primary purpose: clearly communicating your message to evoke an emotion.

In this article, we will cover 14 rules that differentiate an amateurish presentation from a professional one. Each rule will include tips on how to implement it.

Table of Contents

Keep It Simple

Consistent design matters, use visuals wisely, focus on readability, limit text per slide, data presentation should be clear, use animations sparingly, use white space effectively, prepare a strong opening and closing slide, test for cross-platform compatibility, always include a call to action, stay within time limits, plan the flow of information, balance between text and visuals.

This is a no-brainer. Complex or cluttered slides overwhelm your audience and detract from your message. Every element on the slide should have a clear purpose. Too much text, excessive animations, or irrelevant images will distract rather than enhance your presentation.

When preparing presentation slides, always focus on the key message of each slide. Ask yourself, “Does this support my point, or is it just noise?” Simplifying your content makes your presentation more engaging and easier for your audience to follow.

• Use bullet points rather than paragraphs.
• Limit each slide to one key idea or point.
• Avoid unnecessary effects like transitions between every slide.
• For more information on creating a truly compact presentation, check out our article on the 10-20-30 rules for presentations .

A well-designed slide deck should have a uniform look throughout the presentation. A consistent color scheme, font selection, and layout make your slides aesthetically pleasing and help the audience stay focused on the content.

A mismatch of fonts, colors, and slide layouts gives the impression of a disorganized presentation or lack of skill. You don’t have to be a designer to accomplish this; just stick to a PowerPoint template and get the design decisions sorted out for you.

• Stick to one or two fonts (e.g., a sans-serif font for headers and a serif font for body text). Check out our guide on the best PowerPoint fonts for more information.
• Use a limited color palette (three to four complementary colors).
• Ensure that each slide follows a similar layout for headings and content placement.
• Our color theory for presentations article can guide you about the psychological factors of certain colors and how to create color combinations.

Visuals are critical to any good presentation slides PPT, but they should be used thoughtfully. Images, charts, and diagrams help illustrate points in a way that words alone cannot. However, overusing visuals or choosing inappropriate ones can be counterproductive in terms of visual communication .

The rule is to use visuals that support your content. For instance, opt for a simple, well-labeled chart rather than a wall of numbers when discussing data. Pictures should reinforce your message, not distract or confuse the audience.

• Choose high-quality images that relate directly to your content.
• Make sure charts and graphs are easy to read with clear labeling.
• Avoid clipart and overly decorative elements. Instead, opt for high-quality vector images for PowerPoint .

Effective PPT presentation slides must be easily read, even from the back of the room or during a virtual presentation. Small or overly intricate fonts can make it difficult for your audience to follow along.

Ensure that text stands out against the background, with a strong contrast between the font color and slide background. A good rule is to avoid bright or overly complex backgrounds that can obscure text.

• Use a minimum font size of 24 points for body text.
• Stick to simple fonts like Arial, Calibri, or Helvetica.
• Avoid placing text over busy backgrounds.
• Don’t use intense contrast between text and background. Websites like WebAIM color contrast checker are ideal to ensure you work with the appropriate hues.

Your slides are not a presentation transcript; they should provide highlights and key points, not the entire content.

Slides packed with text are hard to read and tempt your audience to start reading rather than listening to what you’re saying. Stick to the idea of “less is more” when preparing good presentation slides.

• Use short bullet points or brief phrases instead of full sentences.
• Aim for no more than 5-7 lines of text per slide.
• Highlight key points, not entire explanations.
• Apply the Feynman technique to simplify explanations.

If your PowerPoint presentation includes data, it must be presented in a way that’s easy to understand. Avoid dense tables of figures and opt for simple, clean charts and graphs that visually communicate the data.

Good presentation slides ensure that every data point supports your narrative. Clarity is the number one winning factor when presenting sales growth, research findings, or market trends.

• Use charts that match the data type: bar graphs for comparisons, pie charts for proportions, etc.
• Label axes and data points.
• Avoid 3D charts that can distort data visualization.
• Check our guides on data presentation and data storytelling to structure your data in the most appropriate format.

While animations and transitions can add a dynamic element to your presentation, they should be used sparingly and with a clear purpose. Overuse of these effects can make a presentation look unprofessional and distracting.

The best practice is to use simple transitions, such as fades or wipes, to move between slides smoothly. Animations within slides should be used to emphasize important points or guide the audience’s attention, not as a constant feature of your effective PPT presentation slides.

• Stick to one type of transition throughout the presentation.
• Use animations only to highlight important data or concepts.
• Avoid overly complex or distracting animations.
• These effects are not restricted to PowerPoint. Learn how to use Google Slides animations .

White space, or the empty space on a slide, is just as important as the text and visuals. It gives your content room to breathe and prevents the slide from feeling overcrowded.

Proper use of white space can make your good presentation slides more professional and easier to read. It allows the audience to focus on the key points rather than trying to decipher a crowded slide.

• Leave margins around the text and visuals to balance them. If you plan to print your slide deck, consider safe areas, margins, and bleed.
• Avoid filling every inch of a slide with content.
• Use white space to separate different elements for clarity.

The first and last impression is critical in any PPT presentation. Your opening slide sets the tone for the entire presentation, while your closing slide provides the final takeaway.

Keep the opening clean and straightforward, introducing the topic without overwhelming details. The closing slide should summarize the main points and leave a lasting impact, perhaps with a call to action or final thought.

• Use a simple title slide to start your presentation .
• Include key takeaways or a strong conclusion in your closing slide.
• Avoid introducing new information in the final slide.

Sometimes, formatting, fonts, or multimedia may not translate well between systems, leading to errors during the presentation. For users who consistently work with Google Slides templates , this may not be an issue, but if PowerPoint or Keynote are your presentation software options, then it’s best to stick to the safe side.

• Test your presentation on both Mac and PC platforms.
• Use standard fonts that are available across different operating systems. If not, opt for Google Fonts.
• Embed fonts or convert your presentation to PDF format to avoid compatibility issues.

If your presentation has a purpose beyond delivering information—such as inspiring action or driving decisions—your final slide should include a clear call to action slide . This will direct your audience to what to do next, ensuring that your message has a lasting impact. It can be as simple as just adding a banner slide to seduce prospective clients about your upcoming offers.

• Use action-oriented language like “Sign up,” “Start now,” or “Contact us.”
• Provide clear instructions or next steps for the audience to follow.
• Keep the call to action simple and easy to follow.
• Bold colors help to guide the audience toward the CTA button or phrase.

When preparing your presentation slides, keep the time constraints in mind. While the content may be detailed and relevant, your presentation must fit within the allocated time to avoid rushing or cutting key information.

• Time yourself when rehearsing to ensure you stay within limits.
• Trim unnecessary slides or points if your presentation exceeds the allowed time.
• Use visual cues, like a progress bar or section divider slides, to show time management.

The presentation structure of your slide deck should guide the audience through your argument or story step by step. Start with an introduction, move into your key points, and conclude with a summary or call to action. Jumping between unrelated points can confuse the audience, so the order of your slides matters as much as the content.

• Plan your slides in a way that builds on the previous information.
• Ensure smooth transitions between sections.
• Use summary slides to reinforce key points at the end of each section.

As with everything in life, going overboard or coming up short has consequences. Too much of either of these elements can make your slides overwhelming or too simplistic.

When considering how to make effective presentation slides, always think about how the text and visuals can work together to reinforce the main message. If a visual alone can convey the point, limit the text to a title or supporting bullet point.

• Pair concise text with a relevant visual.
• Avoid slides that are entirely visual or entirely text-based.
• Maintain a clear hierarchy by using larger fonts for headings and smaller ones for supporting text.

Like this article? Please share

Presentation Ideas, Presentation Tips Filed under Design

Related Articles

Filed under Design • October 17th, 2024

Architecture Project Presentation: Must-Know Secrets for Creative Slides

Impress your audience by mastering the art of architectural project presentations. This detailed guide will give you the insights for this craft.

Filed under Google Slides Tutorials • October 16th, 2024

How to Add Voice Memos to Google Slides

Make your slides more interesting by learning how to add voice memos to Google Slides presentations. Step-by-step instructions here.

Filed under Business • October 8th, 2024

Data-Driven Decision Making: Presenting the Process Behind Informed Choices

Discover how to harness data for informed decision-making and create impactful presentations. A detailed guide + templates on DDDM presentation slides.

Leave a Reply

How Long Should Your Presentation Be? | Public Speaking | Presentation Skills

There is a lot of debate over this generic advice. Many people advocate for short presentations because people are losing their attention spans. But wait a second: I have seen speakers get up, speak very vaguely, be very abstract, dump a bunch of data on the audience, and nobody remembered it after two minutes.

On the other hand, I have seen speakers stand up to speak in the morning and speak until midnight and the audience still wants more because they were interesting, engaging, and memorable with lots of stories and anecdotes that related and interacted with the audience. So it is not necessarily about speaking for a shorter period, it is about how interesting you are.

A study done by the United States Department of Defense in 1974 showed that the optimum length of a speech was 17 and a half minutes long. Well, i do not agree. If you are boring for 30 seconds, it is too long and if you are interesting for two hours, it can be too short.

You need to step back for a moment and ask yourself what you goal is.what messages do you want the audience to understand and remember in order to get them to do what you want them to do? Then work backwards from there. If you have been given an hour long slot, prepare a 45 minute long speech and leave the rest for questions. You must have heard about the time limit of 18 minutes at the TED talks. There is no magic behind it- it just forces smart speakers to redefine and narrow it down to their best points only.

So make sure you take enough time to make your point in an interesting fashion- no more than that but no less either.

Privacy Overview

Become a media pro in 20 minutes.

Free download for a limited time only [value of

Download E-Book

Get a free personalized quote now.

How Much Content is Too Much in Your Presentation?

One of the fundamental goals of any presentation is to convey information to your audience. Whether you’re looking to inspire action or educate audience members on a specific topic, you need solid information to create a valuable presentation. You need to be able to objectively consider how much content is too much in your presentation.

With that in mind, there’s a fine line between an illuminating presentation and information overload. The human brain can only take in so much information at once. By packing too much content into your presentation, a large portion of it won’t be processed by your audience.

So, how much content is too much in your presentation? Here, we’ve set out to answer the common question and provide strategies for balancing your presentation’s content. With these tips in mind, you’ll have the tools to create a compelling, memorable presentation for your audience.

Content Overload and Audience Retention

Being presentation fanatics ourselves, we get the urge to cram as much info as we can onto those slides. More is more, no?

In many ways, simplicity is the key to audience retention . When a huge amount of information is included in a presentation, it compromises the impression left on your audience. Your statements will get jumbled and, ultimately, forgotten.

To capture your audience’s attention like you’re using the Force, edit your presentation down to the essentials. If nothing else, what do you want your audience to learn? The answer to that question should guide the content throughout your presentation.

Too Much Text Will Distract Your Audience

When you’re presented with text on a slide, the impulse to read that text is strong. So, when your presentation is packed with text, your audience will immediately start trying to read it. This diverts their attention from your delivery of the presentation, ultimately compromising their ability to retain the information.

With too much-written content in your presentation, your audience won’t be listening to you. We know that you have valuable things to say – make sure that your audience hears them by editing out unnecessary written content on your slides. When your audience can scan through the text quickly, they’ll move their eyes from the slide and start absorbing your presentation delivery.

Try Out The 7 by 7 Rule.

A great rule of thumb, called the 7 by 7 rule , recommends that you have a maximum of 7 lines on any one slide. Those lines should ideally have a maximum of 7 words each. While it’s A-okay to divert from this rule occasionally, it serves as an excellent benchmark from which to judge the amount of content in your presentation.

Emphasize Important Statistics.

To give a statistic more impact, make it the only text on a slide. An isolated sentence is inherently more powerful than a list or paragraph, as there’s nothing else on the slide to distract from it.

Three Points Per Presentation

The “rule of three” is a standard strategy in the art of presentations. This rule suggests that you present three (or less) key points to your audience in a presentation. The goal with this rule is that your audience walks away having absorbed all of your main points. When you keep the main points to a minimum, each point will have more of an impact.

What About Longer Presentations?

The three-point rule works well for presentations that are 15 to 30 minutes in length. If your presentation is longer, say, 45 minutes to an hour, you can consider adding a few more main points to your outline. While you certainly don’t have to add main points for longer presentations, your audience will have the time to absorb more information. So, if you have more to say, you can do so without swamping your audience.

Text vs. Graphics: Balancing Your Presentation Content

Rest assured – we love reading as much as anyone. But, replacing some of the text on your slides with graphics and images can improve the success of your presentation.

Using images in place of text will maximize the impact of your spoken presentation. In contrast to text, which can distract your audience, images compliment your delivery of the presentation. Your audience members will be able to absorb your words while taking in the value of the image.

Images and graphics add context and visual interest to any presentation. Visual aids are especially useful when you’re trying to portray a complex idea or concept. Your audience will gain a different perspective through an image than they will from spoken words or text. So, a variety of content in your presentation will provide your audience with a deeper, more complete understanding of your key points.

For a presentation that leaves your audience reeling, deliver content in a concise, focused manner. It’s inevitable that audience members won’t retain every single point that you make. But, you can ensure that your crucial points have a powerful impact through careful editing and the inclusion of multiple content mediums.

Author:  Ryan

Related posts.

FREE PROFESSIONAL RESOURCES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX.

Subscribe for free tips, resources, templates, ideas and more from our professional team of presentation designers.

What Makes a Great Pitch

by Michael Quinn

Summary .   

Pitching for new business is a make-or-break moment for many teams. You want to win the pitch, and so you develop a detailed slide deck, tout your credentials, capabilities and successes (case studies), and select your strongest presenter – possibly the leader of your team or company — to do all the talking. Right? Wrong.

Partner Center

• Type 2 Diabetes
• Heart Disease
• Digestive Health
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Diet & Nutrition
• Health Insurance
• Public Health
• Patient Rights
• Caregivers & Loved Ones
• End of Life Concerns
• Health News
• Thyroid Test Analyzer
• Doctor Discussion Guides
• Hemoglobin A1c Test Analyzer
• Lipid Test Analyzer
• Complete Blood Count (CBC) Analyzer
• What to Buy
• Editorial Process
• Meet Our Medical Expert Board

This Is the Best Nap Length for Boosting Energy and Focus

30-minute naps, longer naps.

• Napping Too Long
• Sleep Needs
• Best Time of Day

A nap is a short period of sleep taken during the day. Naps can be a powerful tool for boosting your mood and alertness, improving memory and learning, and reducing stress. Research has even shown that napping can improve blood pressure and heart health.

The best nap length may depend on your sleep needs and goals. Experts generally recommend short power naps between 10 and 20 minutes long and naps between 30 and 90 minutes. For most people, naps should not be longer than 30 minutes.

Nap lengths can have varying effects. Shorter naps, for example, are less likely to lead to sleep inertia , a foggy or groggy feeling upon awakening. Longer naps, on the other hand, are likely to lead to grogginess because they can promote a deep sleep.

To determine the best nap length for you, you will have to experiment with different nap lengths to determine what helps you to feel rested without post-nap grogginess. 

LaylaBird / Getty Images

A power nap is a short, planned period of sleep that can manage tiredness and help you feel alert once again. To help you feel rested, the nap must be timed so you wake up in the early and lighter sleep stages. This will help reduce sleep inertia. 

There is no medical definition, but most power naps last 10 to 30 minutes. Ideally, a 20- to 30-minute power nap offers the benefits of sleep without making you feel groggy when you awaken. A power nap can be helpful if you do not sleep well overnight but are not sleep-deprived.

A short power nap can help reduce sleepiness and improve:

• Alertness 
• Focus and concentration
• Reaction time
• Short-term memory  

A 30-minute nap might offer more restorative sleep than a power nap. It may help improve mood, boost creativity, enhance cognitive performance, and support memory consolidation (turning new memories into long-term memories). 

A downside to napping for 30 minutes is that it may lead to sleep inertia. This is because it increases the chance of waking up during a deeper sleep stage.

When people wake up from a 30-minute nap, they might feel dizzy or dazed. To minimize the grogginess, consider a 20-minute nap or a longer nap of 60 to 90 minutes. 

If you have time for a longer nap, consider a 60- or 90-minute nap. This is enough time for a deep, slow-wave sleep that ends in a lighter sleep stage where you awaken feeling fully awake.

What Is Slow-Wave Sleep?

Slow-wave sleep is the third stage of non-REM sleep , which is defined by measurements of brain activity during the sleep cycle, as follows:

• Stage 1 is the transition from wakefulness to sleep.
• Stage 2 is the stage where you are asleep.
• Stage 3, or slow-wave sleep, is deep sleep.
• Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is the stage in which you dream and when the brain is most active.

A medium-length nap of around 45 minutes might not be as helpful as other nap lengths. Sleeping for 45 minutes causes you to awaken during the slow-wave stage. If you awaken in this short time, you may wake up to sleep inertia. 

A 60-minute nap can allow for slow-wave deep sleep and offer benefits such as enhanced memory consolidation and retention. However, 60-minute naps may lead to significant sleep inertia. They are best suited for times when you have enough to recover after the nap. They can also negatively affect nighttime sleep, so this nap is best reserved as an early afternoon nap.

A 90-minute nap can allow for a complete sleep cycle, which includes both non-REM and REM sleep stages. This nap length can support memory, boost creativity, improve mood, and enhance thinking skills like analysis and planning. A 90-minute nap reduces the chance of sleep inertia because you will likely awaken during a lighter sleep stage.

A drawback to napping for 90 minutes is that it may interfere with nighttime sleep. Because of their length, 90-minute naps may be better suited for weekends or nonworking days.

What Happens When Naps Are Too Long?

Napping can be beneficial, but it is not a good idea to take very long naps or to nap more than once a day. Long naps and frequent napping can decrease nighttime sleep efficiency , the time you spend in bed actually sleeping. 

According to the National Sleep Foundation, good sleep efficiency is 85% or higher. If sleep efficiency is lower than that, it means that your sleep quality needs to work through changes to your sleep habits. 

With sleep efficiency and quality in mind, it is probably not a good idea to exceed the 90-minute nap. The 90-minute nap can allow you to cycle through all sleep stages and wake up rested without disrupting nighttime sleep. 

If you are over-napping or taking frequent naps, let your healthcare provider know. They can work with you to determine the cause of your fatigue, which could be an underlying health condition like anxiety or depression or the result of a sleep disorder .

If you find that naps are voluntary and enjoyable and do not make it harder to sleep at night, it is unlikely that a health issue or sleep disorder is involved.

How Much Sleep Do You Really Need?

Most healthy adults need seven hours of sleep nightly. Babies, young children, and teenagers will need more sleep to promote growth and development. 

Deciding how much sleep you actually need depends on your overall health, daily schedule, and sleep patterns.

You can assess how much sleep you need based on specific factors. These include:

• Whether you are productive, healthy, and happy with seven hours of sleep every night or if you need more sleep to help you feel rested
• Health issues that may require you to rest more
• High energy expenditures, such as working a labor-intensive job or playing a sport
• Daily activities that require your daily alertness, such as driving and operating heavy machinery 
• A history of a sleep disorder 

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine's sleep experts recommend sleep requirements and needs like the ones above. They review research studies about sleep duration and critical health outcomes, such as heart disease , depression, chronic pain , and diabetes , to determine what sleep needs may look like.

The Best Time of Day to Nap

Research has found that afternoon naps, when correctly timed, do not negatively affect nighttime sleep. Napping in the afternoon can allow you to get as much or even more sleep in 24 hours than if you did not nap. 

According to the Sleep Foundation, the best time to take a nap is in the early afternoon or between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Many people find they naturally feel tired during this time, and napping in the early afternoon can help to improve energy and moods, increase alertness, boost memory and cognition, and improve physical ability.

Research on midday napping shows it can significantly lower blood pressure , which leads to improved heart health. One study presented at the 2019 American College of Cardiology's Annual Scientific Session found that midday napping can be as effective for blood pressure numbers as other lifestyle habits, such as reducing salt and alcohol.

That study found that, on average, the midday nap lowered blood pressure by 5 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg), similar to taking a low dose of blood pressure medicine . Interestingly, even just a 2 mm Hg blood pressure difference can reduce the risk of heart attack by up to 10%.

To avoid nighttime sleep disruptions, you should avoid naps after 3 p.m. or at least eight hours before bedtime.

If you work a night shift or irregular hours, taking a brief nap before heading to work can help improve alertness and job performance. Napping is also helpful after a night shift or early morning shift to catch up on sleep or return to a nighttime schedule.

Additional times you may consider taking a nap include:

• After intense mental activity : If you have a busy morning with school or work, a short nap after lunch can rest your mind and increase productivity for the rest of the day.
• Early evening : If you are a night owl (someone who stays up late and wakes up later in the morning), an early-evening nap may be better for your circadian rhythm . Your circadian rhythm is your body's 24-hour natural internal clock in the brain that manages alertness and sleepiness.

Napping can be beneficial, but you must find the right balance for your schedule and unique needs. Listening to your body can help you learn about your unique sleep needs and decide the best time to nap.

Other Tips for Healthy Napping

To get the most out of your naps, consider the following:

• Keep naps short : Aim for power naps, no more than 20 to 30 minutes. Longer naps can make you feel groggy afterward and may affect your nighttime sleep.
• Take your naps in the early afternoon : Napping after 3 p.m. can interfere with your nighttime sleep. Specific factors, such as sleep schedule, need for sleep, age, health, and medication use, can also affect the best time for you to nap.
• Create a restful space : Nap in a quiet, dark space with a comfortable temperature and few distractions. 
• Set an alarm : To avoid over-napping or sleeping beyond your recommended nap time, set an alarm.
• Allow yourself time to wake up : It is essential to give yourself enough time to wake up before resuming daily activities. This way, you feel more alert and less groggy. 

A nap is a short period of sleep taken during the day. Naps vary in type and length, but they should typically occur in a time slot at least eight hours away from your bedtime. A daytime nap can improve energy levels and wakefulness, boost mood, enhance cognitive skills, compensate for sleep deficits, and even help you manage your blood pressure numbers. 

If you are a late sleeper or feel tired after an activity that requires mental acuity or physical labor, you can adjust nap schedules based on your daily work schedule. 

Power naps may be an option if you do not sleep well at night but are not sleep-deprived. Longer naps can help you compensate for a sleep deficit. It is not a good idea to nap longer than 90 minutes because this can disrupt nighttime sleep.

Let your healthcare provider know if you are over-napping or taking frequent naps. They can work with you to determine the cause of your need for additional sleep, whether a sleep disorder or other health condition. 

American College of Cardiology. A nap a day keeps high blood pressure at bay.

National Council on Aging. How long should a nap be? Pros and cons.

Trotti LM. Waking up is the hardest thing I do all day: sleep inertia and sleep drunkenness .  Sleep Med Rev . 2017;35:76-84. doi:10.1016/j.smrv.2016.08.005

Sleep Foundation. Do power naps work?

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Power naps: benefits and how to do it.

Dutheil F, Danini B, Bagheri R, et al. Effects of a short daytime nap on the cognitive performance: a systematic review and meta-analysis .  Int J Environ Res Public Health . 2021;18(19):10212. doi:10.3390/ijerph181910212

Stepan ME, Altmann EM, Fenn KM. Slow-wave sleep during a brief nap is related to reduced cognitive deficits during sleep deprivation .  Sleep . 2021;44(11):zsab152. doi:10.1093/sleep/zsab152

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Sleep phases and stages .

Sleep Foundation. Does napping impact your sleep at night?

Liang SF, Shih YH, Hu YH, Kuo CE. A method for napping time recommendation using electrical brain activity . IEEE Trans Cogn Dev Syst . 2020;12(3):645-657. doi:10.1109/tcds.2020.2991176

Harvard Health Publishing. Should I take afternoon naps?

Ohayon M, Wickwire EM, Hirshkowitz M, et al. National Sleep Foundation's sleep quality recommendations: first report .  Sleep Health . 2017;3(1):6-19. doi:10.1016/j.sleh.2016.11.006

Sleep Foundation. Napping: benefits and tips .

Sleep Foundation. How much sleep do you need?

Souabni M, Souabni MJ, Hammouda O, et al. Benefits and risks of napping in older adults: a systematic review .  Front Aging Neurosci . 2022;14:1000707. doi:10.3389/fnagi.2022.1000707

Gurubhagavatula I, Barger LK, Barnes CM, et al. Guiding principles for determining work shift duration and addressing the effects of work shift duration on performance, safety, and health: guidance from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society .  J Clin Sleep Med . 2021;17(11):2283-2306. doi:10.5664/jcsm.9512

By Lana Barhum Barhum is a freelance medical writer with 15 years of experience with a focus on living and coping with chronic diseases.