There are many software options available to use that can help you with your presentation. You might find yourself needing several different software to build your slides, deliver your presentation (if you are presenting online), and help keep your audience engaged.
Choosing a program to build your visual aids can be daunting, and many of us use PowerPoint because we are comfortable with it. PowerPoint is a great tool to build your visual aids, but there are also others to consider.
With the PowerPoint desktop app and browser app, you have a lot of options to choose from making this an excellent choice. Some features that make this a good choice include:
Presenter Coach
An AI feature that can help you rehearse your presentation by highlighting pace, wordiness, complexity, informal speech, and more.
Support
There is large amount of help content found on the internet.
Free
All Seneca students have access to Microsoft PowerPoint 365 for free.
Common Tool
It is a fairly standard presentation tool, so you will be adding common skills to your resume.
Canva can be used for creating many different multimedia projects, including presentations. Some features that make this a good choice include:
Templates
Canva is known for a large collection of templates to use, including mobile, game, video, and traditional presentations. The templates make it easy to create gorgeous presentations with little design knowledge.
Browser-based
Canva "presents" right from within the browser, making this a good option if you are not sure about what kind of computer will be in the room.
Canva Live
You can present right in Canva, have your audience follow along with the presentation, and submit questions live.
Google Slides is one of the most popular presentation tools available and there are many reasons that make this a good choice. Some of those features include:
Browser-based
Slides allows you to present with downloading any additional software reducing the number of technical issues you may encounter.
Themes
Slides makes it easy to find free, attractive, and easy to use themes and templates to make your presentation look good with little design knowledge.
You can find more software options online, so unless your instructor has specified which software you need to use, feel free to explore other options.
As a presenter, you choose a virtual presenting tool that allows you to conduct a successful presentation, but as a student you may not always have a choice in what you use. Whether you know which platform you will be using or if you get to choose, consider these features and whether or not the software you use includes them:
Ability to upload and share documents
Screen sharing
A chat feature or another way to communicate and answer audience questions
Live polls and surveys
A way to record the presentation and access the video
Registration forms
Analytics
Accessibility on mobile devices
Closed captioning
While you are enrolled at Seneca, you might encounter or be asked to use platforms such as BigBlueButton, Microsoft Teams, and Zoom, among others. You will want to know what tool you have to use, and the capabilities of it. You may also have an added layer of permissions.
For example, in Zoom there are a multitude of settings available to hosts, co-hosts, alternative hosts, participants, and more, and these can also change based on whether a presentation is a created as a meeting or a webinar. Collect as much information as possible from your instructor to ensure you are familiar with how to use the software.
Getting audience engagement is an easy way to level up your presentation. Later, this tutorial will talk about engaging with body language, but you can also engage your audience using a variety of digital tools to gather feedback, collect examples, assess their knowledge, and more.
Mentimeter is a tool that can help you ask your audience a variety of questions like true or false, open-ended, word clouds, and more.
Professional
Mentimeter has a clean and professional look that is great for those looking to add a layer of sophistication, while still collecting audience responses.
Accessible
Accessibility is an important part of presentations and Mentimeter is one of the most accessible audience engagement tools available.
One-Stop
You can present entirely from Mentimeter because you can create (and even import) slides without interaction, which helps reduce the number of tools you are using.
Free
Free for Seneca students. When prompted to log in, select the SSO option and use your Seneca credentials.
Learn how to set up an interactive presentation using Mentimeter. Do you have to create your whole presentation there? Not at all! Just create a few interactive slides and provide your audience with access following Mentimeter instructions.
Kahoot is another popular choice for audience engagement. Here are some reasons you may want to choose Kahoot:
Fun & Engaging With some fun music, great animations and a competition-based atmosphere, these make Kahoot a really fun option.
Digital whiteboards are a great option to solicit feedback for online presentations. Audiences can often anonymously add content to them and brainstorm together.
There are browser-based websites such as:
But many video conferencing software like Zoom and Microsoft Teams have built-in whiteboard features.
Many of the video conferencing tools and presentation tools listed above have built-in methods to engage your audience. For example, Canva's Live option, Zoom's poll tool, and more. If you know which software you will be presenting with, do a little research ahead of time to see what you can do to add some engagement.
Do not underestimate the value of low tech engagement methods, such as:
"Raise your hand if..." works often for both in-person and online.
Asking for answers in the chat.
Asking for volunteers in the audience.