[Business English Presentations] How to Create a Great Presentation in English: 6 Key Tips

We create all kinds of English presentations in the workplace, from small team presentations evaluating performance and efficiency to major fundraising proposals for the company. Different types of presentations and audiences will affect how we write and structure our content. However, no matter what kind of presentation we are preparing, we should always keep the following basic tips and key principles for creating an English presentation in mind.

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1.  Presentation Planning 【Planning Before You Start】

“Opening PowerPoint and immediately starting to create slides” is one of the most common mistakes people make when preparing a presentation. If we start creating slides without first having a clear idea of what we want to say, the presentation can easily lack logic and flow. Instead, before creating our slides, we should first consider our audience, timing, venue, and objectives. Based on these considerations, we can then determine the appropriate style, content, and structure for our presentation.

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2.  Keep It Clean and Simple 【Keep Your Presentation Concise】

In our Advanced Business Presentation Skills training courses, one of the most common presentation issues we see is a lack of white space. Participants often try to put everything they want to communicate onto their slides without restraint. However, an effective visual composition is actually about finding the right balance between content and empty space.

Overly cluttered slides not only look less visually appealing, but can also cause the audience to lose focus and overlook important information. When there is too much content, we should be bold enough to remove anything unnecessary and emphasize key information in a concise and powerful way.

Before & After:

Tips.

Different companies may have different expectations regarding presentation content and design. Some managers view presentations as a “supporting tool” for a verbal report, while others consider them “essential documents” that need to convey complete information. When we need to provide a large amount of information or data while keeping the layout clean and concise, we can place the additional content in an appendix at the end of the presentation. This allows us to maintain a clear and well-organized presentation structure.

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3.  Layout and Design 【Slide Structure and Design】

Once the written content is complete, the next challenge is figuring out how to present it effectively and attractively. In presentations, visuals and diagrams are often more effective than text at capturing the audience’s attention and creating a strong impact. Therefore, we should minimize the amount of text and use images, icons, or diagrams whenever possible.

‍Which of the following two slides do you think communicates the key message more vividly and effectively?

_{Although the two slides contain the same text, their design and layout create very different effects. The slide with visual elements (Slide 2) is not only more engaging, but also uses a center-outward design to convey the concept of IT as a core organization extending into various specialized departments.}

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4.  Bullet Points 【Using Bullet Points Effectively】

In presentations, we should avoid overusing bullet points, which are popular with many people, because too many bullet points can make a presentation lengthy and uninteresting. Try to limit each list to 3–5 points and include only concise, impactful information.

When writing bullet points in English, we should use parallel grammatical structures for each item and pay attention to the grammar and tense of verb phrases.
■  To report past achievements or results: use past-tense “-ed” verbs
■  To report ongoing activities: use “-ing” verbs
■  To report future plans: use the base form of the verb or an infinitive with “to.”

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5.  Highlighting 【Emphasizing Key Points】

There are many ways to emphasize key points in a presentation. Bold, italic, underline, and font color can all be used to highlight important information. When using these emphasis techniques, it is best to choose just one rather than using multiple methods at the same time.

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6.  Don’t Get Hung Up on Animations 【Use Animations Sparingly】

Some people like to add animations to their presentations to make them more engaging. However, too many animations can not only distract from the key message, but can also lead to technical issues. If we want to make a presentation more engaging or emphasize a particular point, we can consider duplicating the same slide and then adding visuals or text to subsequent slides to highlight that point.

Create a step-by-step effect by gradually adding content, then use visuals to emphasize the key point you want to highlight:

Tips.

Other related tips and key principles:
■  Think about your presentation style in advance and keep it consistent. For example, limit your color palette to 2–3 colors.
■  Make sure the hierarchy of “main title, subheading, and body text” is clear.
■  Regardless of the amount of text, use an English font size larger than 30 pt.

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Boost Your Business English

“Creating effective presentations” is an ongoing challenge for business professionals because there are so many techniques and details to consider, from writing the content to designing the layout. That’s why we should keep the basic principles above in mind and ask ourselves the following questions when creating a presentation:
■  Can this presentation help us communicate the key points of our report more effectively?
■  Can this presentation help us tell our story in a logical and coherent way?
■  Have we included too much information and caused the key message to get lost?

By doing so, we can ensure that our English presentations remain professional while effectively communicating the key messages.
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｜Further Reading: 【Business English Presentation】A Great Presentation Opening Is Half the Battle_‍

｜Further Reading: 【Business English Presentation】How to Handle Q&A at the End of a Presentation: Useful English Phrases and Q&A Tips at a Glance
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