You’re giving your sales team a PowerPoint presentation about the group’s performance over the last quarter. After a few slides, you notice that most of your coworkers are either looking down at their phones or at their laptop screens—you’ve lost their attention.
To keep audiences engaged, your presentation needs energy. Movement, characters, color, and more—video is the ideal presentation content for elevating the attention and spirit of the room. It’s one of the most engaging mediums.
Grab the attention of your audience by incorporating video in your presentation. In this post, we will cover three easy yet powerful ways to use video in any type of professional presentation, whether it’s a sales deck or an employee-onboarding session.
1. Adding video to a PowerPoint presentation
If you’re using traditional slide-based presentation software, such as PowerPoint or other popular alternatives, the most common way to add video is to import a video file.
Generally, importing a video is preferred over adding a video through a YouTube link or embed code because you won’t need to rely on streaming the video during your live talk.
A major benefit of importing your video file is that it gives you control over your presentation. For example, PowerPoint allows you to customize the video-playing experience in a number of ways, including:
How to add video files to your presentation
Importing a video file into PowerPoint is a simple process—click “Insert,” select “Video,” and then click “Movie from File.”
Here are a few technical tips to keep in mind when adding and presenting a video from PowerPoint:
- Avoid adding video links that play the video from a specific folder on your computer. You’ll be able to play the video only if you are presenting from that device.
- Avoid adding video to your presentation through YouTube links. You won’t be able to play the video if your internet connection is disrupted.
- If you’re having trouble importing a video file, make sure it is in the right format. Here is a list of supported file formats for PowerPoint.
2. Adding GIFs to a presentation
Besides video files, you can also import a GIF—an animated image—into your presentation.
A GIF is basically a soundless mini video. It can be used to add information or humor or convey a mood in your slides.
GIFs are a great presentation asset for quickly illustrating small actions and telling micro-stories. They’re simple to create and easy for audiences to digest. GIFs are also excellent for setting the tone of presentation slides as a type of “ambient video”—a seamlessly looping video shown passively to capture attention and cultivate a certain emotion.
The minimal nature of GIFs is, however, somewhat limiting. GIF files are smaller and may appear grainy if they are made larger in slides. For people hoping to show somewhat long, full-screen videos in their presentations, it’s better to import a video file than to use a GIF.
How to add GIFs to your presentation
Adding a GIF to a presentation often begins with creating the GIF itself. There are plenty of tools available online—Giphy, GifMaker—that allow you to convert existing video files into GIFs. Recordit is especially convenient if you’re trying to create a GIF of your screen activity. And, of course, if you’re creating a video in Vyond, our platform allows you to save your animated videos as GIFs (a Premium and Professional account feature).
When your GIF is created, importing it into your PowerPoint is easy—just click “Insert,” select “Photo” then “Photo Browser” and choose the GIF file from your computer or saved drive.
To help you make the most of this format, here are a few tips for creating effective, engaging presentation GIFs:
- If you’re displaying data, consider creating a GIF to showcase the information. The slight movement of the GIF can illuminate the data’s underlying meaning that you want audiences to appreciate. For example, a GIF of a positive sales revenue chart over a period of time could show a line chart that steadily moves upward.
- It’s distracting to view a slide that has a constantly moving GIF, so build in a pause to make the motion less disruptive. In Vyond, you can do this by extending the end of your last video scene so the GIF has a longer pause at the end before it loops.
Here’s an example:
3. Video as the presentation
You don’t always need to use PowerPoint to create presentations: A video can be the presentation.
Animation platforms, like Vyond, offer plenty of presentation-appropriate visuals—title cards, infographics, etc.—so you’re able to create visually appealing “slides,” which are essentially extended video scenes. You can easily pause the video to talk about the information being shown because the frames are longer than normal.Compared with PowerPoint, the video format is much more engaging because you can incorporate more visuals, motion, and sound throughout the presentation.
Using video as the presentation also makes it easier to keep your content consistently branded. With a video as the entire presentation, you can ensure that every moment is stylistically aligned with your brand.
There are, however, a few challenges with this presentation format. Video players don’t include a notes function, as other tools provide, so you need to memorize your talking points or have a copy of them nearby as you present the video. You also have less mobility as a presenter—you must be near the computer at all times so you’re able to hit the space bar to pause and to play. For those reasons, it’s probably best to use this format for internal presentations that happen in small, laid-back settings.
How to create video presentations
There are no strict boundaries for creating video presentations. While some people create slide-like videos, the presentation could also include scenarios with characters to illustrate a concept.
Technically speaking, there are a few tips that can help with seamlessly presenting through a video:
- Extend the time that the visuals in a frame are shown so that you have a moment to press pause and elaborate on what is being shown.
- Consider where you need to include or eliminate audio so that you’re always able to talk to the audience as the video is playing.
- Keep a physical or digital copy of your presentation notes nearby as you present since you won’t be able to see them on your computer as the video plays.
- Download a file of the video so that you can easily play it during your presentation, even if the internet connection is weak.
Raise the energy of your presentation with video
Everyone has sat through at least one boring PowerPoint presentation. You’ll put your audience to sleep if you include too many static slides in your presentation. Instead, liven up and engage your audience by adding video to your presentation. The movement of video—whether it’s in a PowerPoint or it’s the presentation itself—will capture your viewers’ attention and encourage them to focus on the information you’re sharing.
About Vyond
Vyond allows people of all skill levels in all industries and job roles to create dynamic and powerful media. With features that go beyond moving text and images, you can build character-driven stories or compelling data visualizations that engage audiences and deliver results.
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