21 Interactive Presentation Ideas for Maximum Engagement

 

Nobody wants a presentation as dry as a stale cracker,  Most people admit to multitasking during business presentations, with around 73% indulging in it. How can you ensure your audience doesn't fall into this statistic?  

Enter interactive presentation. These experiences are engaging, memorable, and keep your audience actively involved. 

In this blog, we'll delve into the world of interactive presentations, providing practical tips to captivate your audience and showcasing how Cleverstory can elevate your presentation game.
 

What is an Interactive Presentation?

 

An interactive presentation is a dynamic experience that extends beyond traditional formats. Engaging the audience throughout, it incorporates elements like quizzes and polls to create a participatory atmosphere. It goes beyond isolated interactions, enhancing the overall impact and retention of the content, making the presentation memorable and effective.

 

 

Benefits of Interactive Presentation: 
 

Enhanced Knowledge Retention:

Interactive presentations transform information into an engaging experience, making it more likely for the audience to remember and understand key points. This active participation aids in long-term knowledge retention and comprehension.

 

Drives Measurable Success:

By monitoring audience interactions, you not only understand what resonates but also refine your sales pitch accordingly. This data-driven approach significantly increases the likelihood of turning potential clients into loyal customers, directly impacting your ROI.

 

Builds Brand Strength:

The captivating nature of interactive presentations contributes to a positive brand perception. This strengthened perception gives your brand a distinct advantage in a competitive market.

 

Expands Reach through Accessibility:

Integrating interactive elements, videos, and audio enhances accessibility, and with the interactive presentations being easily adaptable ensures that your message reaches a broader audience.

 

Facilitates Real-time Engagement:

Interactive presentations enable real-time engagement with your audience. Through live discussions, Q&A sessions, and instant feedback, you establish a direct connection, making your message more impactful and building a relationship with your audience.

 

Tailors Content for Individual Preferences:

The interactive nature allows customization based on individual preferences. Whether it's choosing specific content paths or participating in polls, attendees feel more connected as they actively shape their presentation experience, fostering a sense of personalization.

 

Creates Memorable Experiences:

Interactivity adds an element of novelty to your presentation, making it memorable for your audience. Memorable experiences are more likely to be shared, extending the reach of your brand and message beyond the immediate presentation. 

 

20+ Ideas to Create an Interactive Presentation: 
 

When considering interactive presentations, it's crucial to choose methods tailored to your specific scenario. Here, we've outlined some easily adoptable techniques to implement and enhance interactivity in your presentations.

 

1. Icebreaker Games:

 

If you want people to participate, incorporate fun games that make participants comfortable and encourage interaction. Some example ice breaker games: 

• Two Truths and a Lie 
• Find Your Match
• Speed Networking.

 

2. Real-time Q&A:

 

When you incorporate real-time questions and answers, it allows the participants to respond immediately, which in turn fosters engagement, all the while addressing concerns.

 

It can also give the participants a welcoming atmosphere, all the while encouraging them to know more about your product/service. 

 

3. Interactive Testimonials & Case Studies:

 

What makes interactive testimonials and case studies valuable is that they give the participants fool proof evidence about everything you have been explaining so far.

 

It also gives them a chance to see how your product/service is relevant and be the solution to their problems. 

Also it’s important to make sure that the specific pointers are from the testimonials are highlighted and when shared, people can explore the mentioned statistics at their own convenience.

 

And this is  where the - anchor text, interactive elements, interactive scrolling, easy embedding of pdf - features of Cleverstory comes into play. It makes the whole experience all the more memorable for the viewers.

 

 

4. Data Visualisations:

 

Sometimes, the content you present can be overwhelming when there is a lot of data. This is because the data you present is seen as just another text. But, presenting complex data in engaging infographics, charts, and dashboards that update in real-time makes it easier to understand.

 

Thus, the data you desperately want your audience to retain is now already in their head. 

Plus with Cleverstory’s easy embedding features you can pull up these charts, infographics, and dashboards from anywhere and add it to your presentation.

 

 

5. Adding Videos:

 

It is universal that some things are better conveyed in video than in text.

 

Thus, it is important that you break up your text and engage visually with relevant clips, demos, or testimonials every now and then in your presentation otherwise it’s gonna sound very monotonous.

Cleverstory takes this up a notch and lets you embed these videos into your presentation as inline assets by this way you will be able to track the engagement of your audience with the video specifically and gives you more insights on what picks their interest.

 

 

6. Adding Audios:

 

According to research conducted by Lehmann and Seufert in 2017, about 50% of people showed improvement in recalling what was told to them when it was associated with sound effects.

 

Thus, including music, sound effects, or voiceovers to create a specific mood will not only enhance your presentation’s storytelling but will also help the participants retain the concept of the presentation. 

 

7. Breakout Sessions:

 

While you give the participants breaks between your presentations, it will encourage them to brainstorm ideas and interact with fellow participants.

 

This also enhances collaboration while keeping the audience engaged and hyped up. 

 

8. Branching Narrative:

 

Linear presentations are great, but when your presentation branches out to different set of slides based on your audience response to certain questions or scenarios it makes the presentation all the more personalized and engaging.  

 

9. Avoid Text-Heavy Slides:

 

Text-heavy slides can not only look overwhelming, but they can easily distract the participants. Text-heavy slides are a sure-shot way to make sure your audience multitasks during your presentation.

 

Use visuals, graphics, and concise points to make information clear and engaging.

 

10. Flipbook Experience:  

 

Imagine a captivating digital experience resembling a book, allowing you to seamlessly flip through pages. Sounds cool right? - Cleverstory does exactly that.

These pages do not have any limitations on the volume of information that can be added within each flip, providing an unrestricted canvas for exploration.

 

Unlike traditional PDFs and PowerPoint presentations, the flipbook approach encourages effortless navigation and engagement. Users can seamlessly search within the flip pages, transforming the way information is accessed and absorbed. 

 

 

11. Adding Animated Icons:

 

Adding animated icons and interactive elements to your presentations isn't just about making things look cool—it's about boosting how engaging and effective your communication is.

 

These elements don't just sit there; they contribute to telling a good story, adding personality to your brand, and helping organize information in a way that's modern and innovative.

Cleverstory takes this up a notch with the interactive element features like: parallax, spin, fade, reveal, that adds depth to the content and makes each scroll interesting. 

 

12. Hidden Clues with Awards & Rewards:

 

What if you tell the audience that your presentation has a bunch of clues, and once they figure it out, they will be given discounts/offers/coupons on your products/services.

 

Not only will it help with engagement, but it will also lead to conversion. This could also play a significant role in webinars and event shows. 

 

13. Easily Shareable & Accessible:

 

Don’t you want the presentation you worked so hard on to be seen by other potential prospects apart from the group you are presenting to? Thus, it is important to ensure that your presentation is accessible and can be easily shared online or downloaded for offline viewing.

With Cleverstory your content is easily shareable - and you can also optimise it for the various views like laptop, tab or mobile view making the overall experience more easier.

 

This plays a major role in situations where the sales reps are on the field and would be using, tabs or ipads to help with their presentation/ pitch.

 

14. Storytelling:

 

Craft a compelling narrative that connects your audience emotionally and strengthens your message. Storytelling helps the audience to retain the conveyed message much faster and more easily. 

In cleverstory You get to weave the story with each scroll, the animations and interactive elements all align with your scroll and make your presentation more alive which in turn that helps in easier navigation and better engagement.

 

15. Clickable Buttons:

 

Guide the audience through the presentation with interactive buttons for navigation, additional content, or action prompts.

Instead of overwhelming your audience with information after information it's better to just have the important ones on the page and add in a CTA there which when clicked on would take them to the specific section or landing page

 

Where you have additional information about it this way you can make sure that you won’t be giving your audience a fatigue.

 
Cleverstory takes this up notch and helps you track when your viewers click on these specific buttons helping you to know exactly what interests them.

 

16. Quizzes & Polls:

 

Adding quizzes and polls into your presentation furthers audience engagement and tests the audience’s knowledge about how much they have understood the subject you are presenting. There are various types of quizzes and polls you can include. For starters: 

 

• Interactive scenario quiz
• Picture Puzzles 
• Problem solving quiz 
• Open-ended polls

 

With interactive content creation tools like Cleverstory, you can embed your quiz, questionnaires, and polls directly into the presentation created with it no matter where you have created it can be embedded in a couple of clicks into your current presentation so you don’t create it from scratch in your current presentation.

 

 

17. Interactive Scrolling:

 

Design your presentation to react to audience scrolling, revealing content progressively or triggering interactive elements.

With tools like Cleverstory each scroll increases the  engagement of the audience, and the interactive element aligns itself to the scroll making sure to give your audience a better experience.

 

18. Social Media Integration:

 

Encourage real-time engagement and reach a wider audience with a designated hashtag, live tweets, or social media polls.

 

Also if you were to share your presentation on social platforms interactive presentation ensures that your content stands out in the crowded social media feed.

 

19. Adding Humour:

 

According to Forbes, presentations that incorporate humour are more memorable than ones without. Not only that, humour eases the audience’s tension but also yours!

 

Humour helps you lighten the mood and makes your message more relatable.

 

20. Body Language & Eye Contact:

 

When presenting, it is important that you maintain a confident posture, eye contact, and engage in your delivery to connect with your audience and enhance the presentation’s impact.

 

21. Hover Cards/Pop-Ups:

 

Provide supplemental information on specific points or visuals when users hover over them, offering deeper insights without cluttering the presentation.

 

Tools for making an interactive presentation

Okay, you might be wondering whether you've got to do the whole interactive presentation all by yourself from scratch. Fret not, my friend, because there are various tools out there that are designed to help you. Like Mario famously said, Let’s-a-go! 

 

Cleverstory - Present your story cleverly! 

 

 

• Cleverstory is a content experience platform made for professionals seeking to escape boring content and create impactful experiences.
• It has a drag-and-drop interface for easy content creation - hence, it requires no coding skills (every marketer’s one true wish!)
• It helps build interactive content for diverse formats like decks, reports, landing pages, resource hubs, and website embedding. 
• Cleverstory’s content adapts to any device for seamless delivery.
• It emphasises storytelling and helps build engaging narratives that connect with your audience. 
• The product is heavily user-friendly and has an intuitive interface. This means that you don’t have to go through that learning curve everyone dislikes. 
• Cleverstory also provides actionable insights that help by providing insights - based on the user active on the content, such as - views, shares, downloads, time spent, engagement with the interactive elements, bounce rates, and the assets viewed. 
• Cleverstory also helps to make interactive content out of PDF, PowerPoint, etc. you could simply upload the content, and in its place, interactive content will be created
• It has the ability to integrate graphs, charts, images, audio, gifs, videos, quizzes, polls, Q&A, and even chatbots.
• Also, there are a lot of immersive templates to choose from, so you don’t need to create from scratch all the time.

 

 

 

Google slides

 

 

• Google Slides host hyperlinks that link slides or external websites to provide additional information or context.
• The animations & transitions in Google Slides use subtle animations and transitions to guide attention and add visual interest. 
• You can connect your Google slide with Google Meet, which helps you connect with your audience in real-time and address questions instantly.
• Embedded your Forms & Quizzes in Google slide to gather audience feedback and test their knowledge directly within the presentation
• Also easily helps with integrating images and videos and has a variety of templates and themes to choose from 

 

Canva:

 

 

While Canva isn't primarily an interactive content creation platform like Cleverstory, it still offers several features and workarounds that can help you add a touch of interactivity to your designs, making them more engaging and dynamic.

 

• Canva helps add links to text, images, or buttons to direct users to external websites, pages, or resources, creating a self-guided experience.
• Create invisible clickable zones within images or designs to trigger actions like pop-up information, embedded media, or navigation to other slides.
• It can link directly to your social media profiles or encourage viewers to share your content with built-in social media buttons.
• Helps to Incorporate animated GIFs or short video clips to add movement and grab attention.
• Use advanced Canva charts with hover features that reveal additional data points or information on mouseover.
• Design your content with layered elements that can be revealed progressively through scrolling, clicking, or animation, creating a sense of discovery.

 

Prezi:

 

 

• Prezi lets you arrange your content on a single canvas, allowing you to zoom in and out, navigate between ideas organically,
• You can incorporate clickable objects, hotspots, quizzes, polls, and even video embeds to keep your audience actively involved. 
• Prezi's signature zoom feature lets you delve deeper into specific details within your content.
• Prezi Design lets you create interactive reports, infographics, and social media content.
• Create a dynamic video presentation where you can interact with your audience in real time.

 

Mentimeter:

 

 

• Mentimeter is an online presentation software. With this software, you can add quizzes and real-time voting to gather data and add images and GIFs to make your presentation engaging.
• Mentimeter is a cloud-based tool, meaning all you need to do to start working with it is sign up. Create presentations using templates and themes, quizzes with 13 question types, and insert images and GIFs from integrated free stock images and GIF libraries. Once your presentation is ready, just share a link with your audience.
• Well-designed interactive online presentations with real-time response and data analysis.
• Gathering feedback-based statistics at companies, schools, and universities.

 

To sum it up:

 

Interactive presentations can provide you with a myriad of possibilities. Most people just see it as a way to increase the active engagement of participants, It can do more. 

Consider using interactive presentation for your  demos, interactive classes, sales pitches, webinars, events, for your business reports and even marketing campaigns, - in each of these scenarios it can do way more than just boosting the engagement - it helps with identifying where exactly your audience are interacting, how many of your audience have gone through the content, what picks their interests, who have interacted with the presentation, personalize the content based on their interest, engage with them while they are on the presentation, and with a gating form you can even get the leads. 

 

Hence the things you can do with a interactive presentation tool has no limit, interactive presentations are no longer just your average engagement boosting tool.

FAQ’s:

 

How can I avoid overwhelming my audience with interactivity

To avoid overwhelming your audience with interactivity, strike a balance by incorporating engaging elements strategically. Ensure relevance and consider the pace to maintain interest without inundating them.

 

Examples of interactive games for presentations:

Examples of interactive games for presentations includes: 

• Decision-Making Games
• Digital Board Games
• scenario-based simulations

These games enhance audience engagement, making the presentation more memorable and impactful.

 

How to make an PPT interactive? 

You can manually make your PPTs interactive by including videos, images, audios and live QnA or you could just import your PPT to Cleverstory and it will make your interactive presentation ready in a few clicks.

 

Is multimedia presentation and interactive presentation same?

No, they are different, multimedia presentation involves adding images, audios, and videos where as interactive presentation goes beyond that making the user to engage with the content, they can click on specific details and navigate through it all the while giving you insights on how the users engage with the content.