The beginner’s guide to team presentations
There are many reasons you might be giving a team presentation rather than flying solo. Perhaps the marketing team is presenting its results, or the IT team is launching new software. Whatever the case, the rules are the same for engaging team presentations.
Use these rules to organize your team and unite your individual voices around one message.
Key takeaways:
- Teams work in a collaborative group to reach an end goal.
- Select a team lead to organize the presentation, keep every member on track, and field questions from your audience.
- Your success depends on the success of everyone on your team.
Benefits of team presentations
Over half of U.S. workers rely on collaboration for their jobs, so expect to be part of a team presentation at some point in your career. They’re a necessary and beneficial part of business communication.
A team presentation isn’t just about one presenter. You need each person on your team for the presentation to be a success. Plus, successful team presentations have a higher authority level because they use the combined expertise of the entire team.
After the 2022 FIFA World Cup final, soccer fans everywhere were in a hot debate over who the better player was: Argentina’s Messi or France’s Mbappe. But a team’s success is about more than the star player.
Messi and Mbappe rely on their teammates to provide passes, keep the ball out of their goal, and provide support. A team only wins if they work as one unit toward victory rather than as individuals looking for glory.
In the business presentation world, each presenter has a role to play—supportive or active. Your presentation is only as strong as all the presenters combined.
7 tips to improve your team presentations
Use these seven tips to give effective team presentations.
1. Choose a leader
Even though you’re presenting as a group, a leader is still needed for a team presentation. The leader ensures everyone stays on track and works together toward the same goal.
Here are some primary duties of the team lead:
- Starts and finishes the presentation
- Introduces team members
- Organizes the presentation
- Assigns roles
- Keeps team members on track
The leader doesn’t have to be the team's most senior member. The leader could also be the one with the most subject-matter expertise, the best presentation skills, the most organized, or the most confidence.
2. Establish the presentation’s objective
Your presentation should have one central objective that you come back to in every part of the presentation. Team members may take different paths, but that unifying key point will bring everyone back home to drive your main message forward.
To help each person in the group understand the main idea, summarize it in a sentence. That way everyone has a unified theme to consult when creating their presentations.
3. Build a storyline
Storylines are a crucial part of every presentation, and team presentations are no exception. A storyline gives your presentation structure so the audience can understand how the data fits into a bigger picture.
Storytelling also makes the presentation more engaging. For example, instead of telling the executives how you spent your budget this year, tell a story about the obstacles you overcame through innovative solutions made within budget.
With storytelling, it’s easier to evoke an emotional response, which is far more memorable and effective in driving your desired results.
A strong brand storyline is even more important with a team structure as it gives each team member direction as they work independently. This way each individual presentation will fit together collectively to communicate your ideas and goals.
4. Establish team responsibilities
Giving team members responsibilities lets everyone know their duties in the presentation. It also distributes the workload fairly so no one is overworked.
The leader gives each team member a clear list of what they should create and say alongside a timeline. Then, use collaboration tools to keep everyone aligned and create pathways for communication as individuals work on their responsibilities.
Create guidelines so everyone knows who is making which slides, how many slides to build, and the design of the presentation.
5. Practice the presentation
Group presentations require more practice sessions than individual presentations. Each group member should practice their part alone and with the group.
Make sure you rehearse the entire presentation several times so you can see how each part fits together, iron out transitions between speakers, and pinpoint any areas you need to restructure or add.
6. Know who will answer questions
Most presentations hold a Q&A session during or after the presentation. When presenting as a group, you’ll want to avoid confusion about who answers each question during the presentation.
Instead of everyone jumping in at once or in awkward silence, establish a system for answering questions before you present. This system can be a round-robin structure, a designated Q&A speaker, or a blend of both.
Another option is to have the presentation leader act as a moderator for all questions. The audience can direct their questions to the leader, and they will pick the most qualified presenter (including themself) to answer.
7. Show support during the presentation
Remember, you work as a group even when you’re not presenting. When a team member speaks, the other presenters should attentively listen and show support. You want everyone to succeed because their success is your success. Your audience will see the presentation as a whole, not as individual parts.
Some ways to actively listen include:
- Leaning forward
- Keeping eye contact
- Taking notes
- Using facial expressions
Boost your team presentations with Prezent
Let Prezent take the lead when it comes to your team presentation design! With Prezent’s AI-powered productivity platform, your team can save time while building beautiful, brand-compliant slides.
Prezent provides your team with access to over 35,000 customized slide templates designed with your company’s branding and built to fit key business themes. Build the best storyline to convey your message with knowledgeable recommendations from Prezent’s intuitive software, and learn why that particular presentation style works with Prezent’s built-in learning curriculum.
Become a better communicator and add Prezent to your team today! Contact us to learn more.
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