Whether you’re presenting to an audience of thousands or dozens, you need to go above and beyond their expectations to earn your listeners’ respect and attention.
You’re competing with their phones, their conversations with people nearby, and their thoughts about what they’re going to eat next.
So, how do you create an original, engaging presentation people actually listen to?
As it turns out, presentations have a lot in common with other events. You’ll need more than just words to turn your presentation into a memorable experience. Here at Eventbrite, we’ve helped organize thousands of presentations, and we know of many ways to make your presentation a one-of-a-kind event.
Eventbrite creators are always thinking up new, exciting ways to make their events stand out, and that gives us great examples that any presenter can learn from.
In this post, we’ll walk you through 27 fun ideas to take your presentations above and beyond your audience’s expectations. If you implement just a few of these, you’ll have all eyes and ears on you.
Table of Contents
Attention-grabbing presentation ideas
Interactive presentation ideas
How to take your fun presentation ideas to the next level
Fun presentation ideas
Presentations don’t have to be dry and boring. Keep things light and entertaining to hold your audience’s attention. While some presenters feel that they “deserve” an audience’s ear, you need to earn their attention by adding entertainment value.
So, here are some fun ideas for how to win over your audience:
1. Use cute imagery
Cute photos and illustrations can add a lot of visual appeal and entertainment value to any presentation. If you can find quirky or funny images that relate to your topic, even better. Anything that gets an “aww” or a laugh from your audience will snap their attention back to you.
That’s why events like puppy yoga by Laughing Frog Yoga are so popular. The puppies aren’t necessary to help you stretch, but they make the event more appealing and get people excited to do yoga. The same principle applies to presentations: crank up the cuteness factor!
2. Lead with humor
Humor is an excellent way to draw people in and keep them engaged with your presentation. Try to open up with a joke or two, but be sure to keep it light and tasteful. Don’t rely on jokes too heavily — the focus should still be on the content of your talk.
If you’re giving a corporate presentation, try to come up with a joke that requires some industry knowledge or uses jargon specific to the workplace. Doing that entertains the audience, stays on theme, and establishes your familiarity with the subject matter.
3. Play a game of trivia
Break out into mini-games or quizzes during your presentation for some healthy competition between audience members. People will be more engaged and remember more of your content if they’re actively participating.
That’s why so many events focus on interactivity. Furthermore, if you reward people for learning, they’re much more likely to pay close attention to what you’re saying. More about that in a minute.
4. Use music to keep the energy going
Playing music during your presentation can give it a much-needed energy boost. Just be sure to keep the volume low, and don’t play anything too distracting, as it could detract from your message.
As with any event, you’ll want music that matches the tone you’re trying to convey. If you’re giving a serious presentation about a timely matter, consider going with something solemn. If it’s an upbeat topic, your best bet is an up-tempo song to keep the mood lively.
5. Give away prizes, gifts, or coupons
You can’t set foot in too many events without getting a tote bag, a pen, and a water bottle, and that’s for good reason.
Giving your audience a free promotional gift, or swag, is a great way to grab their attention and ingratiate yourself with them. That’s why creators like May’s Place hand out elaborate swag bags with goodies like scented candles and discounts for vendors to distribute at May’s Night Market.
With presentations, you can hand out your prizes at the beginning or end, or give everyone a QR code for a discount or coupon. You could even plant an Oprah-esque prize under their seats!
6. Start and end on a high note
You may have heard that people remember the first and last parts of a presentation more than anything else — it’s called the serial-position effect. That means that if you have a strong introduction and conclusion, it’ll leave a positive impression on your audience, even if the core of your presentation wasn’t as strong.
A high note can be anything — a joke, an anecdote, an enticing insight. If you have something to offer your audience, physically or metaphorically, the start and end of your presentation are the best places to do it.
7. Prepare a list of potential questions
Maybe not an obvious way to add fun to it, but if you don’t do this, your presentation could end up stilted and slow, as questions you’re not prepared for can really mess with your flow. A good presenter has to be prepared for audience questions.
Questions after presentations are also your chance to fully engage with your audience and give them the details that interest them the most. But audience questions can pop up spontaneously during the talk as well, sometimes when you least expect them.
That’s why it’s crucial to make sure you’re ready for the most common questions and have an idea of what you’re going to say — it doesn’t need to be scripted, just thought-out.
8. Introduce an element of surprise
Adding unexpected elements to your presentation can keep your audience engaged — like having a surprise guest take the stage, for example. It’s all about breaking up the monotony of a traditional presentation and keeping things interesting.
At events, organizers sometimes opt for something like flash mobs or performances to surprise the attendees. Giordano Productions do this at their Marino Albero’s House Concert where they incorporate special guests to entice more people to come and add an element of anticipation.
Your presentation might not need that level of production, but surprising the audience with lighting or sound cues can still go far to add some spice.
9. Encourage discussion between sessions
If you’re delivering a multi-session presentation, the breaks between sessions are great opportunities to engage your audience. Have them discuss a question or two and share their thoughts. This is also a great way to break up long presentations and let everyone catch their breath.
At events, activities like networking games and icebreakers are often used during downtime. Those can work just as well with presentations. And if there aren’t enough people in attendance for these techniques to be effective, you can always engage them personally and have a quick Q&A session.
Attention-grabbing presentation ideas
Sometimes, it’s not enough to just have fun presentation ideas. You have to grab your audience’s attention with a mix of how you speak and other creative elements of the presentation. Here are some of the best ways to keep your audience engaged:
10. Use creative transitions
Transitions are one of the most overlooked elements of presentations. Not only can they help you move from one topic to another without losing your audience, but if done well, they can also add an element of surprise and excitement.
At events, organizers often use creative transitions, like props or unusual sound effects, even if it’s just to signal the end of a session. You can also use fun facts or anecdotes as transitions or give attendees a moment to stand and stretch.
If you’re feeling particularly creative, consider using something like smoke machines or confetti cannons to really draw the audience in!
11. Tell a story
Storytelling is a powerful tool that makes your presentation more engaging and memorable. Research shows that stories are 12 times more memorable than facts alone, so they’re the perfect way to make your point stick.
Storytelling techniques for events can be used to incorporate more creative storytelling in your presentation as well. By creating colorful characters, highlighting a central theme, and showing clear benefits, you can tell a compelling story that ties a presentation together.
12. Keep it short
At events, time is always of the essence. Presenters and organizers alike are trying to fit as much content as possible into a tight agenda. That’s why events like Melanin in the City’s Speed Dating ensure people can meet as many other attendees as possible in their limited two-hour window. It’s also difficult to keep your audience engaged if your presentation is too long.
So, try to say what you need to in the shortest possible way. You can use visual aids or graphics to help illustrate what you mean without having to go into endless detail. If you need guidance, just try and follow the 10/20/30 rule to keep your presentation to 10 slides, under 20 minutes, using a 30-point font or larger.
13. Plan your movement
You may have heard it before, but it’s worth repeating: 90% of communication is nonverbal. Your movement is a large part of that. Your audience will follow your motion, speed, and body language to understand the full picture of what you’re saying.
Event creators and presenters need to plan how their event will allow for the same kind of nonverbal communication. In-person events need both seated and standing areas for presenters, to allow for communication through body language. A virtual event should have carefully-framed cameras to do the same.
14. Use bright, coordinated colors
Nothing grabs an audience’s attention like a strong color scheme. Event organizers know that choosing the right palette can add to an event’s branding and direct the audience’s attention, and this also applies to presentations.
The trick here is to use colors that complement each other but don’t clash. You can draw inspiration from the color schemes of events like Ladies Get Paid, pictured above. As you can see, the bright colors don’t clash but create distinctive branding and a more exciting atmosphere.
15. Market it ahead of time
People will pay much more attention to your presentation if you build up some hype ahead of time. Event creators use social media posts, emails, and other forms of outreach to make sure their attendees are as excited as possible about the upcoming event. The same applies to presentations — if people are excited about your topic, they’ll hang on your every word.
Event planners know the value of solid multichannel marketing, so they invest in the right tools to do it well. One of the most popular platforms for this is the Eventbrite marketing platform, which can automate email and social media campaigns so you can market your presentation as effectively as possible.
16. Create visual summaries of key points
If you’ve got a lot of content to cover, visuals are a great way to help people process and remember important information more easily.
Using visuals like charts and graphs can also help people who are visual learners better understand your content. You can even create slides that have a summary of the key points in large font so everyone knows the key takeaways from the talk.
17. Leave room to improvise
Remember to leave some room for improvisation in your presentation. It’s good to be prepared, but it’s also important to be able to think on your feet and respond naturally to questions or comments from your audience. That way, you can stay engaged with your attendees and make sure everyone gets the most out of the presentation.
The power of improvisation to grab an audience’s attention is clearly apparent at events like Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre’s Catharsis Dramatic Improv. There, performers engage the audience because nobody knows what’ll happen next, not even they themselves. You can grab your audience’s attention with a similar attitude, being ready for anything.
18. Arrange seating intentionally
How an audience is arranged can affect the way they engage with your presentation. Event organizers know this all too well, which is why they plan seating arrangements carefully before every event.
For presentations, arrange seats so that nobody has to crane their neck to watch the speaker or the projector screen. This helps ensure that everyone can be comfortable and therefore keep their focus on the presenter.
For interactive presentations, you could also arrange the seating in a way that encourages conversation. Having round tables or chairs facing each other, for example, makes it easier for people to interact during breaks.
Interactive presentation ideas
Interactive presentations aim to get attendees fully involved in the message. Here are some of the best interactive presentation ideas:
19. Organize small group talks
Events are all about connecting people, and one of the best ways to do that is through small group discussions. It makes sense to schedule these after your presentation to emphasize important points in more detail, as IMPACT Life did at the Harm Reduction Conference.
Mingling with your audience after the presentation also gives you a chance to hear any lingering questions and concerns directly from the listeners.
20. Live audience surveys
Live surveys and polls give instant feedback from the audience. To do the same during your presentation, ask them questions about your topic, solicit their opinions on various topics, or even quiz them on what they learned during your presentation.
Afterwards, you can use the findings to strengthen your points or provide more detailed explanations when answering questions.
21. Encourage feedback via social media
Many organizers will give their attendees a hashtag or a social media space where they can discuss the event and ask questions. That gives them valuable information while raising the event’s profile on social media sites.
Quinceanera.com did this in a simple but effective way by creating their own hashtag, #XVExpoON23, for the Ontario Quinceanera.com Expo and Fashion Show and rewarding social media participation with prizes. You can do the same with your presentation, continuing the conversation through other mediums and building your brand at the same time.
22. Incorporate multiple senses
Experienced organizers and presenters know that incorporating multiple senses in their event can draw people in and help them remember the details more clearly. You can do the same with your presentation by bringing in elements of sound, smell, taste — anything that adds to the experience through the senses.
That means you should coordinate sound and lighting cues to reinforce the information you’re providing. If it’s relevant, you can even pass out food samples or physical models of a product to incorporate even more sensations.
23. Interactive Q&A
If you’re giving a presentation, make sure to leave some time at the end for questions. For a stronger interactive element than just a Q&A session, invite an audience member to ask a question and then encourage everyone else to share their thoughts on the answer.
This lets your audience actively engage with the material and allows them to get more out of the talk than just what you’re saying.
24. Provide real-time examples
Event planners know that real-world examples are one of the most powerful ways to drive home a point or idea. During your presentation, look for opportunities to provide those same kinds of concrete examples.
For example, you could include an interactive demo or invite audience participation by explaining how your presentation topic applies to a volunteer audience member’s life.
25. Involve volunteers
Speaking of volunteers, event organizers often recruit volunteers to help out during their events, and you can do the same in your presentation. You can give volunteers specific tasks or activities to keep the audience engaged, like introducing topics or answering questions.
26. Use audience quotes and feedback
Similarly to the earlier suggestion on storytelling, your audience will be more engaged if you use real-life stories and quotes. Try asking around before your talk and collecting some stories or quotes from the people in attendance — but make sure to ask their permission if you want to use them in your talk.
Including audience experiences can help make your points more relevant and give everyone an opportunity to connect with each other’s experiences.
27. Make it accessible
Events of all kinds are often planned with accessibility in mind, like Hope Hill Lavender Farm LLC did by providing sign language interpreters at their Hope Hill Lavender Tour.
Your presentation should follow the same principles: Provide captions for audio and video clips, offer a transcript of your talk, and make sure all visuals are legible from the back of the room.
How to take your fun presentation ideas to the next level
Your presentation isn’t just about what you say onstage. It’s also about how many people come, how they feel about the venue, and their experience getting there.
You can add value to the whole process by using Eventbrite. Eventbrite’s Marketing Platform makes it fast and easy to market your presentation to bring more attendees. It lets you automate and optimize marketing through social media and emails, and it’s also a platform where other people can search for and find your presentation and buy their tickets.
So, start using Eventbrite to boost your attendee numbers and target a whole new audience with your presentation.
