Using Visual Storytelling For More Interactive Presentations

Most of us dread the idea of sitting through a boring presentation. We have all been there – watching slides one after the other without ever truly engaging with it. Contrary to what people think, 55% of a presentation’s effectiveness depends on non-verbal factors.

Visual elements play a huge role in making our presentations engaging. It is even more important for presentations on live online events. With visual storytelling, you can make any presentation interesting and engaging. Let’s find out how to do it.

Focus on the story

Presentations have a primary purpose: persuading the audience to agree to the point you are making. There are many ways to do this. For example, you can come up with all the studies and stats that support your argument. You can also talk about historical events that validate your point. While these are effective methods, they can become even better if you add a story to them.

When you weave numbers and figures around a story, your audience can retain it easily. To create a story, you need to have a thorough understanding of the subject you are presenting on.

A story, for example, creates a premise, introduces the problem, suggests solutions, and comes down to a conclusion. These segments should line one after the other to become a coherent whole. When you are telling a story, you are playing with the audiences’ minds, urging them to find solutions to the problems. As a result, they will be genuinely eager to know which solution makes the most sense.

When you tell a story, you also get to use visual elements effectively. While graphs and pie charts also count as visual elements, they do not have the same effect in the absence of a context. Finding a narrative is the first thing you should do to make your presentations more engaging.

Use images with a purpose

Simply adding a lot of pictures will not make your presentation any more interesting. At best, people will overlook it. At worst, they will leave the audience even more confused.

You should only use pictures to explain a problem or suggest a solution. To put it simply, your pictures and diagrams should make data and information more comprehensible. They should explain difficult concepts with visual elements. If your pictures are not serving any purpose, they do not deserve to be in your presentation.

Engage your audience with polls

Polls can be very effective in virtual events. When you display the result of poles in graphs or diagrams, they also add a visual element to your presentation. More importantly, polls engage the audience and make them feel important. As a result, they will be more attentive to what you have to say.

Poll results also spark differences, which is great for attracting attention. When your audience is debating and discussing the subject, the work for you becomes easier. All you need to do is continue on your track and you will have a great presentation.

Use your voice to your advantage

Not everyone has a great voice, but we can all develop oratory skills. When you can speak with authority and confidence, weaving a story becomes easier. On top of that, 38% of your presentation’s efficiency depends on your voice.

If you are solely relying on texts and images, your presentations will appear very lifeless. Your voice is the framework within which you play with images, texts, information, and data. Make the most of it to create engaging presentations.

Optimise your virtual events platform

If you are still using traditional solutions for your online events, presenting can become especially difficult. While Zoom, Google Meet, Skype, etc. are the pioneers of the field, newer software offers better features and functionalities. For example, Event Anywhere is a modern digital event platform that offers a 360° communication suite with audio, video, chat messaging, and screencasts. With more advanced software, your presentations will automatically be better.

We hope these tips and ideas will help you come up with engaging and captivating presentations, be it for work, business, or education.