So you want to be the next Steve Jobs. Or Martin Luther King. Or any other dazzling orator you look up to. But you need a little something to add to your presentation ideas – you don’t want to bore people to death with Powerpoint.
Whether you’re creating a sales presentation, an event presentation, or just showing your travel video to Uncle Ron, we’ve compiled some of the best ways to get your audience seriously hyped up about your message.
Biteable offers online video presentation software, so we know a thing or two about making engaging presentation videos. In this guide, we share some of our favorite video presentation inspiration and show you some of the different types of presentations you might consider.
When you’re ready to make your own video presentation, head over to Biteable for hundreds of brandable templates, video scenes, and workplace-ready animations. With Biteable, making a video presentation is as easy as making a PowerPoint – only a whole lot more fun.
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Types of video presentations
If you’re looking to win over your audience with a presentation, videos are the best way to do it. According to Insivia, viewers retain 95% of a message when they see it in a video, but only 10% if they have to read on-screen text.
When you’re making your presentation, you could either make your video the whole presentation, or just a part of the whole. Did you know, for example, that you can embed a video in a Powerpoint document? Either is possible with our video templates and it can be interesting to mix things up once in a while.
There are four main types of presentations:
- Informative
- Demonstrative
- Persuasive
- Inspirational
Picking the right one will ensure you’re onto a winner with your video presentation. For example, if you’re onboarding some new employees, you might choose a video template that’s an informative presentation like this one:
Or, if you want to show off how something works, a demonstration presentation might be what you want to create:
A persuasive presentation would involve creating a video more like this charity infographic example:
And if you want something a little more inspirational, try something like this positive quote video template.
But that’s not all, folks! If you’d like to check out more awesome Biteable video templates, visit our templates page here.
Creative (and fun!) video presentation ideas
You’ve now picked the type of presentation you need. But how do you get creative with your video?
First of all, it’s important your video is top-notch. Without high-quality graphics and production value, your message may fall by the wayside. Choose online video presentation software that’s easy to use and makes great-looking videos. That’s where Biteable comes in.
Whatever the topic of your presentation, your video format and design need to match the overall tone and message.
Delivering a corporate presentation on climate change? A fast-paced, wildly colorful template with upbeat music is going to feel a little off-message.
To identify how to design your presentation, think about the feelings you want to evoke in your audience. Want them to be crying with laughter? Moved to tears? Motivated into taking action? Pinpointing the emotions behind your presentation will help you choose the right template and make the best video possible.
17 great video presentation ideas
Now you’ve nailed down the type of video presentation you want to make, it’s time to master the finer details. Here’s just some of the ways you can make your message sing.
1. Start with a bold statement
A bold statement can capture your audience’s attention right from the get-go. Your statement should offer something slightly unusual and maybe even a little controversial. Something to make people sit up and take notice.
2. Tell a story
One of the best ways to get your audience’s attention is to tell a story – it’ll hit them right in the feels.
A personal, human story works because it the audience can relate to it on a personal level. Think about some stand-out examples of human stories that relate to your business or idea, and tell that story so people will connect with the central character. The bigger the emotion the better: love, longing, overcoming obstacles, things we’ve all had to deal with at some point in our lives.
Think about the ‘story arc’ – how will you frame your message so the audience immediately empathizes?
If you’re selling trainers, perhaps you’ll talk about someone who’s training for a marathon. If you’re lobbying for women’s rights, perhaps you’ll tell a story of when a passing comment affected you deeply. Maybe you should think back to the decision that started your business, and start your presentation with that.
Here’s a great example of storytelling from one of the world’s top brands:
3. Use music
Music has great power to support and enhance the emotion in a video presentation, and has been proven to sustain an audience’s attention and aid in information retention. Music is used in movies to suggest an emotional state to the viewer, so why not in a video presentation?
Modern, up-tempo music will snap people to attention at the right moment, while slow, minor-key sounds relax the brain, which is useful for reviewing content so it can slip more easily into long-term memory.
It can be a struggle to find good quality royalty free music, but here at Biteable we have a selection of great royalty free tracks (or you can upload your own if you’re that way inclined).
Music is one of the most critical (and often overlooked) aspects of any presentation. Here’s a good example of a Biteable template where the music does a great job of supporting the message.
4. Visual metaphor
Research has shown that combining pictures and text is one of the best ways to help people engage with and retain information. There’s something about how our brain works that makes text by itself far less memorable, so if you can combine something visual with your message, you’ll keep people’s attention longer and they’ll remember more of your presentation.
Talking to a group of people about taking action on something that scares them? A picture of someone diving or bungee jumping could work. Telling your boss how important that company retreat is next year? Show them an image of happy, relaxed people with their toes in the sand.
It doesn’t have to be obvious and clichéd, either. Closed doors, wide open roads, and lighting a candle all have subconscious messages that you don’t really need to explain. (Whatever you do, just don’t use the ultimate cliche: the overused ‘water ripple’.)
5. Use questions
Questions can be a great way to open a presentation, because they encourage the audience to think for themselves. It opens them up to a realm of critical thinking, which is perfect when you’re gonna sock it to them with your impactful message.
‘Did you know 15 billion trees are cut down each year?’
‘Have you ever considered what life would be like if you didn’t have to save money?’
The art of asking questions in a presentation means you can incorporate them into your video as a great lead-in. Combined with some appropriate music, it can really get your audience thinking about the issue, and then you’ll go on to explain exactly what your solution is.
6. Humor
Having a laugh can really do a lot to win over an audience. There’s no need to be too serious, and even if you’re dealing with a heavy topic, lightening the mood can work wonders.
Whether you’re looking to create a funny sales video, an event presentation, or a presentation for an interview — one thing’s for sure, you can’t go wrong by including humor.
7. Repetition
Simple. Effective. Powerful.
Repetition can be used in several ways: by offering several one-word sentences in a row (the repetition is in the rhythm), or by repeating a word or a key phrase several time throughout your presentation.
In his famous Stanford speech in 2005, for example, Steve Jobs concluded by saying “Stay hungry. Stay foolish.”
Repetition is powerful. It drives home your key message and strengthens your position.
8. Motion Graphics
Motion graphics are basically animation with text as a major component, and is a staple of what we do at Biteable.
When you use moving graphics in a presentation, it instantly captures attention. If your audience is just taking their seats, or are halfway through hearing your story, there’s no doubt they’ll sit up and take notice if you introduce some cool motion graphics, like this Meeting Tips example.
9. Quotes
Although they can sometimes feel clichéd, quotes are a great way to impart a message in a presentation. Want your audience to understand something complex? A quote from Einstein should do it. Or would you like to say something meaningful and poetic? A couple of lines of Shakespeare should convey some wisdom.
10. Audio narration
Narration can give a different mood to your presentation, especially if the voice is powerful and the words are heartfelt. Use it to change the tone or pace of your presentation and it will certainly keep your audience hooked if there’s a danger of them losing interest.
11. Go bright with color
Color can have a huge effect on how your video comes across. Don’t be afraid to experiment. The contrasts of black and white can be extremely effective, but you can also grab people’s attention with some carefully-chosen primary and secondary colors, like in our Motion Graphics template.
12. Use illustrations
Illustrations are a great way to communicate information, especially if you’ve got lots to say. Whether you want to create a crowd of people or a cool depiction of some new fancy gadget, illustrations can draw the eye and make your presentation more interesting.
13. Infographics
When you utilize infographics, you can pack in a huge amount of data and information without confusing your audience. Think pie charts, digital numbers, and ascending animated graphs. These can show your audience boring data in an exciting way.
14. Create interesting transitions
The one advantage of video over a standard presentation is that you can do all types of funky things with transitions, like a whip pan transition, when the camera quickly pans between scenes. It’s a bit like a wipe, but much faster. Check out our full article on transitions here.
15. Make it look cinematic
Adding a cinematic touch can help your audience feel receptive to your message because subconsciously, they will associate these elements with being at the cinema, eating popcorn, and generally having a good time.
16. Go retro
A cool, retro look for your presentation will make it hard to ignore. By going retro, you add a little bit of cheeky style to your message. You don’t need to go quite as retro as the template below, but taking a step back in time is a sure way to add a little bit of zing to things.
17. End on a meaningful note
Your presentation will only give your audience a lasting impression if you end it right.
It’s important to let the audience know what you want them to do next: to visit a website for more information, to ponder an idea or new direction, or to take action toward a particular goal.
An attention-grabbing visual will work really well here, along with a meaningful end to the music – a change of pace, volume, or pitch.
What’s the takeaway message? A strong CTA (call to action) will ensure your presentation is memorable and much more likely to be talked about.
Video brings your presentation alive
Of course, we’re a little biased here at Biteable, but we’ve also sat through enough mind-numbingly dull presentations to know that video offers a delightful treat for your audience. It brings your message to life in a way no other medium can.
Ready to start crafting your presentation? Check out our range of templates here.