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Make beautiful presentations, together

Stay in sync in your slides, with easy sharing and real-time editing. Use comments and assign action items to build your ideas together.

Present slideshows with confidence

With easy-to-use presenter view, speaker notes, and live captions, Slides makes presenting your ideas a breeze. You can even present to Google Meet video calls directly from Slides.

Seamlessly connect to your other Google apps

Slides is thoughtfully connected to other Google apps you love, saving you time. Embed charts from Google Sheets or reply to comments directly from Gmail. You can even search the web and Google Drive for relevant content and images directly from Slides.

Extend collaboration and intelligence to PowerPoint files

Easily edit Microsoft PowerPoint presentations online without converting them, and layer on Slides’ enhanced collaborative and assistive features like comments, action items, and Smart Compose.

Work on fresh content

With Slides, everyone’s working on the latest version of a presentation. And with edits automatically saved in version history, it’s easy to track or undo changes.

Make slides faster, with built-in intelligence

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Stay productive, even offline

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25 Tools for Creating and Delivering Amazing Presentations

Updated: August 10, 2022

Published: November 10, 2020

If you're in business, you need to know how to create captivating presentations. Whether you're trying to convince your boss to support a new campaign, talking with a prospect to close a deal, or building a new piece of marketing collateral, you need to know how craft a presentation that won't put people to sleep.

The best (and easiest) way to do that? Use the right tools to create and deliver your presentation.

If you're not sure which tools to use, look no further than this blog post. We’ve compiled our list of the top presentation tools for sales and marketing professionals. They’re listed below, in no particular order. But first ...

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Best Presentation Tools

Canva makes design easy -- even for marketers and salespeople who feel like they're design-challenged. The platform gives you a bunch of presentation templates to use right away, and it's very easy to customize them to your organization and presentation objective. Plus, a variety of apps that integrate with Google Drive, Instagram, and YouTube, to name a few.

Pricing : Free; Pro, $12.95/month for up to five people; Enterprise, $30/month per person

Often, being different is what attracts prospects, and Powtoon can help you do that in your presentations. Powtoon’s animation software lets you easily create videos with props, characters, and more -- which can help you differentiate your company when talking with prospects.

Pricing : Pro, $19/month; Pro+ $49/month; Agency, $89/month

3. PowerPoint

For years, PowerPoint has been the standard in presentation software, but it hasn’t remained static. PowerPoint is full of features to make sales and marketing presentations dynamic and engaging. ( Here are just a few ways you can do that .)

Pricing : Business Basic, $5/user/month; Business Standard, $12.50/user/month; Business Premium, $20/user/month

4. Slidesgo

Slidesgo is your creative companion in the world of presentation design. This website specializes in crafting visually stunning Google Slides and PowerPoint templates that breathe life into your ideas, making them shine on any screen. With a wide variety of templates ranging from business and marketing to medicine and education, Slidesgo empowers presenters of all backgrounds to engage, educate, and inspire their audiences.

Pricing: Free plan, $0; Premium, $4.99; Education, $2.99

A PowerPoint add-in, Oomfo helps sales and marketing pros create those oh-so-important interactive charts for presentations. Specialized charts, live charts from multiple files, data from cloud applications, interactive options, one-click conversions -- it’s all possible, and more, with Oomfo.

Pricing: Free

Apple’s Keynote allows users to work between their Mac and iOS devices, as well as with people who use Microsoft PowerPoint. With easy-to-use visual tools, drag and drop functionality, interactive charts, and more, Keynote is a popular choice among sales and marketing professionals.

Pricing : Free

7. SlideModel

SlideModel contains thousands of ready-made and 100% editable presentation templates to help any presenter save time creating engaging and aesthetically pleasing presentations. Their collection of presentation templates covers a variety of business purposes and even gets updated periodically to add new business and education templates. You can find a collection of visually appealing slides on the site including dashboards, creative infographics, editable Maps, funnels, timelines, mindmaps, and presentation slides depending on the need of your presentation. Their slides templates are easy to edit and are compatible with PowerPoint and Google Slides.

Pricing :  Free plan, $0; One-Day Access, $24.50; Annual Unlimited, $199.90/year

8. Beautiful.ai

Create beautiful slides, pitches, and proposals without a team of designers. AI applies design rules in real time, and a library of free photos and icons are at your fingertips.

Pricing : Basic, $0; Pro, $12/month; Team, $38/user/month

9. Haiku Deck

Available for the web or iPad, Haiku Deck has become a favorite of sales and marketing pros. With Haiku Deck, professionals can quickly create presentations that can be "easily projected, shared, posted, embedded on a website or blog, or viewed on any web-enabled device." Though it's another tool that helps you create presentations from scratch, its ease-of-use sets it apart from the rest.

Pricing : Pro, $9.99 - $19.99/month; Premium, $29.99/month

Vyond is an online animation software that allows you to create animated videos for marketing campaigns, sales enablement, or even human resources. Use their library of customizable templates or create your own from scratch.

Pricing : Essential, $229/year; Premium, $649/year; Professional, $999/user/year; Enterprise, contact for pricing

11. Storydoc

With templates for all the most popular business use cases, Storydoc is an interactive presentation maker built to help sales teams and marketing professionals engage more prospects and boost conversion rates. 

You can create amazing and engaging decks where you can embed video and social media content to tell your story the right way. Then, integrate your CRM into Storydoc decks, as well as calendars, sign-up forms, and other solutions that will make your presentation. Additionally, you have access to Storydoc's tracking analytics which shows who viewed your presentation and which components they interacted with the most. 

Pricing :  Free trial 14 days); Starter Plan, $40/month

Busy sales and marketing pros choose emaze because it makes creating amazing presentations quick and easy. The options abound with emaze: Choose a professionally designed template and then create a slideshow, video presentation , or 3D presentation.

Pricing : Business Plan, contact for pricing; Executive Plan, $40/month; Pro Plan, $13/month

13. Camtasia

TechSmith’s Camtasia is an amazing tool that helps you create professional videos. You can record screen movements, import HD video from another source, customize and edit the video, and then share the completed video presentation on practically any device. 

Pricing : Individual, $249.99/user/year; Business $249.99/user/year; Education, $169.99/user/year; Government and Non-Profit, $223.99/user/year

14. SlideShare

SlideShare is a popular choice for sales and marketing professionals looking for a way to share their content publicly. Because it already has a built-in audience, you can easily distribute your presentation out to lots of people -- and those people can embed your SlideShares on websites and blogs, or share them on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, etc.

15. SlideDog

Sometimes, sales and marketing professionals need to be able to move between presentation tools, but it’s not always possible because of their technical limitations. SlideDog is the solution, as it enables users to switch between PowerPoint, Prezi, PDF, web pages and others.

Pricing : Free; Pro, $99/year; Pro Event, $49 for one-time payment

16. Presentation Assistant

Presentation Assistant lives up to its name: It assists professionals by enabling them to annotate, zoom, and more during a presentation. Sales and marketing professionals can clarify and emphasize points more clearly to their audience with Presentation Assistant.

Pricing : Presentation Pointer, $29.95; Presentation Screen Master, $29.95

17. authorSTREAM

Sales and marketing pros choose authorSTREAM to make their presentations dynamic and engaging. authorSTREAM allows users to share their PowerPoint presentations publicly or privately, broadcast them, convert them to video, communicate and collaborate about them, and more.

Pricing: Free or paid plans start at $4.20/month

18. Zentation

With Zentation, salespeople and marketers combine video and slides into a simulated live experience. Presentations created with Zentation become webinars, webcasts, and virtual events for prospects and customers -- all great collateral for marketing and sales.

Pricing : Free; Premium, $10 - $45/month; White-Label, contact for pricing

Sales and marketing professionals love Prezi because it is cloud-based. Prezi makes creating, editing, and presenting from your browser, desktop, iPad, or iPhone possible anywhere, any time.

Pricing : Standard, $5/month; Plus, $15/month; Premium, $59/month

20. Brainshark

Sales reps and marketers often choose Brainshark, a cloud-based presentation tool, because it allows them to create and deliver presentations live or on-demand (even using their iPad or iPhone), use on-demand video content, polls, or surveys for increased engagement, and embed presentations in websites and blogs.

Pricing : Contact for pricing

Vcasmo is a unique presentation tool -- it's a multimedia solution that enables users to synchronize a video and slideshow, side by side. Sales and marketing pros love Vcasmo because it supports playback in three forms: browser, mobile, and iPad. 

Pricing : Free; Standard, $10.99/month; Professional, $16.99/month

22. ViewletBuilder

ViewletBuilder is a different presentation tool; it captures critical screen updates and cursor position changes so sales and marketing pros can create presentations detailing how their product or sites work. With a plethora of features, ViewletBuilder allows for editing and enhancing and includes a variety of publishing and sharing options, too.

Pricing : Pro, $399; Enterprise, $599

23. Zoho Show

Zoho Show is a top pick for sales and marketing pros because it lives online, making it possible to create, access, present, and more from anywhere, any time. The simple, intuitive interface and collaboration features are just two of its beloved benefits.

24. AhaSlides

Pricing : Free; Essential, $4.95/month; Pro, $15.95/month; Annual, Monthly & One-time plans available.

Visme is an all-in-one content creation platform with a vast library of professionally designed presentation templates, each tailored to your industry and specific proposal needs. Its beginner-friendly design platform allows you to drag and drop elements into place, use dynamic fields to update all your content in one place instantaneously and integrate your tools like Hubspot or Salesforce, and more to personalize each presentation.

Pricing: Free, Starter: $12.25/month, billed yearly, Pro: $30/month, billed yearly, Visme for Teams & Enterprises.

What are you waiting for? Pick a tool and start creating. Your prospects are waiting.

Editor's Note: This post was originally published in October 2014 and has been updated for freshness and comprehensiveness.

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6 online presentation tools that’ll engage your audience

Get your team on prezi – watch this on demand video.

Meghan Ryan April 09, 2021

Online presentations are more common in the workplace than ever before. Maybe you just launched a new product and you need to create a product demo for a remote client. Or maybe you want to do online sales training for your employees. Presentations like these are really different online than they are in person, and many things that helped you stand out and engage your audiences in the office won’t help you when you present online. It helps to have all the virtual presentation tools at your disposal to make your presentations stand out and get people’s attention online . 

What we look for in online presentation tools  

A free version to try.

Free trials and free basic plans allow you to try out the platform and decide whether you like it before you make a purchase. You don’t want to spend a lot of money buying the product and then realize you’re not going to use it. 

Ease of use

Good online presentation tools should be easy to learn and easy to use. Learning how to use a new tool takes a little time and effort, so you should choose a virtual presentation tool that has clear instructions, intuitive design, and starting blocks like templates and color schemes to help make designing presentations easier. 

Audience engagement

It’s tempting for online audiences to multitask or tune-out during a presentation, so your online presentation tools should help you grab their attention and keep them engaged. . Use virtual presentation tools that allow you to add interactive multimedia elements, such as moving text, audio, images, GIFs, and videos to your presentations. Something as simple as a unique slide animation can help your presentation stand out. 

Cloud storage and access

With cloud storage and access, you don’t need to carry your computer around to edit or use your presentations in different places. Your online presentation tools should have online access, so you can work on your presentation anywhere, anytime as long as there is an internet connection.

Team collaboration features

Got a project you need to work on with your teammates? It’s very inefficient if only one person can work on a project at a time, especially in a remote work environment. Find a web presentation tool that allows multiple people to edit at the same time. Real-time teamwork and collaboration leads to better productivity and communication. 

What online presentation tool could possibly cover all of those requirements? Keep reading to discover our top online presentation tools for 2022:

1. Prezi Video

Prezi Video is a video presentation tool that lets you bring text, video, images, and GIFs onto the screen with you, resulting in a professional-looking presentation that’s more engaging for your audience. At the same time, your audience can react with unlimited on-screen responses using Prezi Video. Creating a presentation is easy with Prezi’s free video templates or by reusing slides from a past presentation. You can sign up for a free trial or get your whole team using Prezi with our business solutions . Reach out for more details.

Presenters love the ability to make unique presentations that help them stay connected to their virtual audiences. Try out Prezi Video for your next training, sales pitch, webinar, online class, team update, and more.

Otter is a note-taking tool that can transcribe audio to text. Run Otter in an online meeting to record the conversation and create a written record of what was said. Afterward, Otter will provide an automatic summary of the most commonly said phrases and generate a nifty word cloud.

Virtual audiences can use it to capture information without breaking focus during a presentation or an event, and presenters can rely on it to connect with more audiences. Check out Otter to learn more about using it for your virtual events .

3. Creatopy

Creatopy lets you create animated GIFs for slideshows, emails, banners, and presentations. You can use one of their pre-designed templates and customize it with your own text, or start from scratch and make a GIF with your own imagery and content. Either way, you’ll create animations that’ll pop on screen.

Creating a GIF is easy with Creatopy’s drag-and-drop editor, so you can create professional designs in minutes. Get started and learn more at Creatopy.

Grain is a tool for recording and sharing highlights from virtual meetings. It’s great for record-keeping and recapping for your teams. Instead of reading or listening to the summary of a presentation, your team can just watch the best moments themselves.

Grain is a useful addition to the virtual presentation toolbox, especially in the post-event phase of a presentation. Send attendees highlights of the most important parts and avoid diluting your message through different media. Check out Grain to learn more.  

Docket is a workspace for collaboratively building meeting agendas and creating reminders so no items go undiscussed. Since it’s a shared workspace, it helps keep your team aligned and up to date on learnings. Use it to organize a virtual presentation with a client or stakeholder and to store notes on the presentation post-facto. 

Integration is currently available on several platforms , including Google and Zoom. Check out Docket to learn how it can help your team.

Krisp is a noise cancelling tool that can be used to improve audio quality on any conferencing, voice messaging, and communication app. Turn it on and remove background noise from yourself and other people on the call. It’s quick to set up and works with a wide range of headsets and microphones. 

Krisp is a crucial online presentation tool whenever you’re presenting from a shared space. Try it during your next call or presentation.

See these tools in action and explore the best virtual presentations on Prezi when you visit the Video Gallery . Or get started today and make your own virtual presentation on Prezi Video.

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14 Must-Have Online Presentation Tools So You Can Own The Stage

• August 16, 2018

The secret to winning your presentation is to own it, and using online presentation tools is one of the best ways to do it. Here are 14 creation tools on the web that boost your engagement with your audience.

Innovative Online Presentation Tools That Are Engaging

How to pick online presentation tools.

I can never count the number of online presentation tools out there, and most of them are amazing. Using a lot of them can be time-wasting, though. What I then do is to set up my list of criteria and then match the tool’s features and benefits with it.

Some of my main preferences are the following:

• Allows collaboration
• Allows online and offline editing and sharing
• Can be accessed across multiple device platforms
• Has compelling and engaging visual and audio features
• Has good technical support (for troubleshooting)

With these in mind, here are my top 14 recommended online presentation tools:

A post shared by Canva (@canva) on Mar 28, 2017 at 12:39pm PDT

One of my favorite online presentation tools is Canva. This one has both a free and a premium version. Either of the two is great.

Canva is a free presentation maker where you can create different kinds of visuals. You can use the images in their library, which comes with a fee or upload your own. This way, you can further personalize the look. This application makes it easy to build an original design. You can also alter the ready-made templates.

With Canva, you can edit online and download your saved work to your PC. This is a useful tool even for presenters who don’t have the skills in designing.

Access it here.

2. CustomShow

CustomShow is for marketing presentations . It works like cloud-based presentation software. You can use its cloud storage to collaborate and share files online. Here, you can customize your presentations based on your brand preference. You can also stream your presentations through its web meetings feature.

CustomShow works across multiple devices such as iPad whether online or offline. It also has its analytics platform, although there’s still room for improvement in its data intelligence.

Try it here.

Read Also: How To Create A Webinar Presentation That Sells

3. Genially

Work on your genially with your best friend. Learn how to make it collaborative! 👭👬🤝👍 #Innovation https://t.co/gERvBJydTa — Genially (@genially_en) September 4, 2017

One of the most interactive online presentation tools is Genially. You can make stunning and impactful visual media. These include infographics and mind maps. It also allows real-time collaboration among users. You can even embed some animation into your presentations. Plus, it can gather its own statistics. It then helps measure the effectiveness of your presentations.

Don’t forget to try it here.

4. Google Slides

A post shared by Google Slides (@custom.gs) on Jun 13, 2017 at 9:14pm PDT

This application is somewhat easy to use. One of its downsides is the limited design it offers. It doesn’t promote customization. Its history and accountability features aren’t always reliable.

Go try it out now.

Keynote has neat templates and its own transition features. You can apply them to improve your visuals. Plus, it integrates animations. To maximize this presentation tool, though, you need to take the time to learn it.

You can get it here.

A post shared by Powtoon (@powtoon) on Mar 22, 2018 at 1:35am PDT

See for yourself.

7. Preseria

Preseria is one of the must-have online presentation tools if you’re planning a conference . It allows you to manage and organize different presentations on one platform. Aside from that, Preseria can project these presentations. The only downside is you cannot change your content with it.

Use it today.

8. Prezi (Personal)

A post shared by أصدقاء النجاح 🕊🌱.. (@friend_of_success) on Mar 16, 2018 at 11:57pm PDT

A Prezi presentation breaks away from conventions. With this free presentation maker, you can zoom in on the important points of your discussion. A presentation in Prezi uses Pathway Points. This way, you can maneuver the different parts without jumping from one slide to another.

Note, though, the presentations made using its free edition are set to public view by default. It also takes some time to learn how to operate Prezi.

Make a Prezi presentation with this.

9. Slidebean

A post shared by Slidebean (@slidebean) on Feb 14, 2016 at 7:19am PST

Make a Slidebean presentation now.

Read Also: Online Presentation Tips To Get More Clients | Must-Know Trade Secrets

10. SlideDog

I love smart online presentation tools such as SlideDog. Its beauty lies in the fact you can combine different file types. It can be a PDF, PowerPoint, Prezi, web pages, images, and videos. The app organizes these files and creates a playlist out of them. It also features a live and interactive audience poll. You cannot use it to create presentations.

Experience how it works.

A post shared by Haiku Deck (@haikudeck) on Feb 19, 2015 at 5:03pm PST

The Haiku deck is well-known for its being gorgeous. You can select from a wide variety of amazing and appealing images. It clears away the clutter as well, so the focus goes straight to your message.

Explore it here.

11. PowerPoint Online

Our list of online presentation tools is not complete without PowerPoint Online. As its name suggests, it is the web-based version of MS PowerPoint. It is handy if, for some reason, you don’t use the Windows operating system. The features are almost the same. Moreover, you can now add social media posts including live tweets.zoho

Here’s a link so you can try it.

A post shared by Social Media 💻 Web Design (@socialtect) on Aug 10, 2015 at 9:35am PDT

Have fun with Zoho.

13. LibreOffice Impress

A post shared by AlloPC24 (@allopc24) on Jan 31, 2018 at 5:55pm PST

Learn more about it here.

Bonus: Slideshare

As a hosting service, you cannot build presentations with Slideshare. Instead, it lets you share your work from other online presentations tools to the public. It is already under LinkedIn, which means it’s a reliable business-oriented application.

Online presentation tools can make life easier for a public speaker or salesperson. I know they’ve made mine. They make presentations less nerve-racking and more engaging.

Try out these online presentation tools for your next speaking engagement. Don’t forget to let me know how it works for you.

Up Next: An Online Presentation That Sells | Tips On How to Create One

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in March 2018 and has been updated for quality and relevancy.

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April 4, 2024

11 Best Websites for Making a Presentation (And How to Choose One For Your Needs) 

Here are 11 of the best websites and programs to create free presentations online

Co-founder, CEO

The best websites for making presentations equip you with all the tools needed to build a professional, attractive, and informative slide deck quickly and efficiently. But with dozens of slide makers claiming to be the best, it’s hard to choose an app that suits your needs best. 

We’ve done the legwork for you and scoured the web for the best presentation websites. We based our evaluation on factors such as functionality, ease of use, AI sophistication, collaboration tools, and value for money. Below is the result — a comprehensive overview of the 11 best web-based slide creation apps based on our findings.  

Short on time? Summary of the best sites for making a presentation

1. plus ai — best all-round presentation maker.

Key Features

• Adds easy-to-use AI to Google Slides
• Affords customization options for slide templates, colors, and logos 
• Allows slide deck generation via different methods 
• Facilitates collaboration within teams on Google Workspace 
• Features a setting-rich but straightforward user interface
• $10/month for Basic and $20 for Pro versions when billed annually ($15 and $30, respectively, with monthly billing)

Plus AI is a powerful and user-friendly presentation maker that’s suitable for any purpose, whether you’re a professional, student, or amateur user.  

Plus AI gives you a robust selection of AI slide creation methods. You can generate presentations straight from text, work on them slide-by-slide, design them from scratch, or use existing templates. Regardless of the method, the tool’s AI technology does all the heavy lifting design-wise and the interface is a breeze to navigate, so you can sit back and focus on the content. 

Meanwhile, the customization options allow you to tailor the slides to your desired aesthetic, content type, and audience, and you can create your presentation in 80 languages. The resulting slide decks are elegant, professional, and appropriate for any use case. 

Plus AI is an affordable presentation maker, with pricing that starts at $10 per month with annual billing, or $15 when billed monthly. Each of the plans includes an AI extension for Google Docs; this feature helps you compose and edit text. If you’d rather not spend money without taking the tool for a test drive, Plus AI offers you a 7-day free trial.  

Here are the key pros and cons of Plus AI — they should help you decide if this presentation maker is right for you: 

• Generates professional and visually appealing presentations in minutes — no design skills needed
• AI function allows you to edit and format slides without manual effort
• Lots of ways to customize the presentation
• Vast selection of templates and example presentations  
• Text-to-slide and from-scratch creation
• Allows team collaboration in Google Workspace 
• Integrates with Google Slides and Microsoft PowerPoint
• Budget-friendly plans and a 7-day free trial 
• Plus creates presentations in Google Slides or PowerPoint format, which may be harder for newer users to edit

2. Canva — Best free presentation site 

• Offers mobile presentation templates 
• Web- or mobile-based Canva app supports collaboration 
• Remote Control feature lets you run the presentation from your smartphone
• Canva live feature allows viewers to join QA sessions during a presentation  
• Presenter mode lets you see your speaking notes and upcoming slides while you present 
• AI assists in slide creation and can present on your behalf
• Individual Free Plan: $0 per month
• Individual Pro Plan: $14.99 per month
• Teams Plan: $29.99 per month

Canva is a web-based template editor with graphics creation tools and a powerful presentation builder in its free plan. Canva offers you an array of slide templates designed for virtually any purpose, along with a suite of customization tools to tailor the presentation to your topic and setting. 

Canva has made a noticeable effort to optimize presentations for the smartphone. The app’s most striking feature is its selection of mobile presentation templates, which don’t lag their desktop-based peers in either aesthetics or utility. But whether or not your presentation is designed for a mobile screen, Canva lets you run it right from your smartphone, with a presenter view that shows your notes and upcoming slides. The audience can likewise engage with your presentation from their mobile devices during Q&A sessions.     

Depending on your use case, you may be able to get away with Canva’s comprehensive free plan. The free Canva has presentation creation and editing tools and gives you access to a huge selection of professional templates. However, it’s the $14/month Pro plan that lets you unlock all the premium tools and graphic assets. And if you need Canva to collaborate with teams, you’re looking at $29.99 per month for the first 5 users. 

To help you decide whether Canva is worth trying out, we’ve made this quick summary of the app’s pros and cons: 

• Solid free plan with basic features and a large selection of graphic assets 
• Optimized for mobile presentations 
• Elegant templates for any use case 
• Intermediate design skills required 
• No direct integration with Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 (possible through third-party apps)

3. Prezi — Best slide tool for creative users

• Web-based tool for creating presentations, videos, and infographics 
• Asset library includes templates, ready-to-use story blocks, and stock images from Unsplash and GIFs from 
• Integrates with Webex, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and other video conferencing apps to show presentations and the presenter on the same screen 
• Lets you convert PowerPoint presentations to Prezi

Pricing (all plans are billed annually)

• For students/educators: $3-8 per month
• For individuals: $7-19 per month
• For businesses: $15-29 per month

Prezi is a web-based tool for creating presentations, videos, and infographics that are suitable for business and educational settings. The tool offers a wealth of image and icon assets, as well as templates to get you started on your slide deck. The templates do not constrain your creativity with linear slides the way PowerPoint does — you can create your presentations on an open canvas. Prezi even lets you import and customize PowerPoint presentations in its app. And, with the help of Prezi’s new AI tool, you can create and edit entire presentations quickly. 

One of Prezi’s most defining features is its integration with popular video conferencing apps, such as Webex, Zoom, Teams, and Meet. Crucially, Prezi lets your slides appear on the same screen as your own video feed while you’re presenting. 

Prezi offers three pricing tiers. Students and educators get the least expensive options, with plans that range between $3 and $8 per month. For individual users, plans cost $7-19 per month, while business users pay between $15 and $29 per month. All of Prezi’s plans are billed annually, but you can try the tool for 14 days without committing to a subscription. 

If you’re not sure whether this presentation tool is right for you, consider Prezi’s pros and cons below: 

• Design freedom and for creating unique and attractive slides
• Graphic assets are readily available
• Integrates with video conferencing apps 
• AI assistant generates and edits presentations 
• Inexpensive plans for students and educators 
• Video and infographic creation part of each plan
• 14-day free trial 
• Design skills required to create quality presentations 
• Lack of integration with Google Slides and Microsoft PowerPoint
• No monthly billing options 

4. Visme — Best for graphics and special effects

• Tools for creating special effects and animating graphics 
• Ability to import and edit Microsoft PowerPoint presentations 
• AI designer helps create a presentation draft 
• Integration with Google Drive, DropBox, Mailchimp, Slack, and other apps 
• Presentation analytics tools 
• Basic package: $0/month 
• Starter package (individual): $12.25/month 
• Pro package (individual or team): $24.75-$79+/month

Visme is a web-based app for producing various types of visual content, including presentations. The app’s most distinct feature is its suite of special effects you can use to make the slides’ content and graphics more engaging. The app also lets you animate the images and insert video and audio features into the slides. 

Visme integrates with a whole host of other platforms and apps. These integration options are largely designed to let you import content seamlessly into Visme. For example, you have the option of importing your PowerPoint files into Visme, enhancing them there, and exporting them back in the .ppt format if you like. That said, Visme does not work as an extension in popular slide makers, like Google Slides or PowerPoint. 

You have three main pricing options with Visme. The Basic plan is free, but you’re limited in access to collaboration tools, assets, interactive, and AI features. The more comprehensive Starter plan costs $12.25 per month (billed annually), and equips you with Visme’s more premium tools. Finally, the Pro team plan sets you back $79/month for a team of 5 and lets you use Visme’s entire suite of interactivity and collaboration functions.     

Here are a few vital pros and cons if you need help deciding whether Visme is right for you: 

• Vast selection of special effects 
• Ability to animate graphics on the slides 
• Simple file movement between different web-based apps
• Free plan available 
• Free plans extremely limiting 
• No direct integration with Google or Microsoft slide tools 

5. Powtoon — Best for slides with animation

• Templates with configurable graphics and animation
• Customizable fonts, colors, and logos
• Access to stock images, videos, and soundtracks 
• Lite plan: $50/month ($15/month when billed annually) 
• Professional plan: $190/month ($40/month when billed annually) 
• Agency: $117/month (annual billing only) 

Powtoon is a visual web-based content creation platform with tools for making videos, animations, and presentations. The app’s presentation function lets you build slides using professional templates, in which you’re free to customize the fonts, colors, logos, and graphics. You can even animate the graphics and build custom avatars to present on your behalf — it’s one of Powtoon’s unique selling features. 

Powtoon’s suite of slide tools includes a database of royalty-free stock images, video footage, and music. You can use all of these assets in your slides, or upload your own as you see fit. However, how much of these shiny tools you can use in your slide decks depends on the chosen plan. 

There are three pricing plans available, and the discrepancy between monthly and annual payments is striking. Most presentation sites charge a few dollars more if you opt for monthly instead of annual billing, but Powtoon’s monthly prices easily triple and quadruple. For example, the Lite plan costs $15/month with annual billing, but $50 if you wish to pay every month instead. You get very basic features with this plan, especially as far as animation and interactivity are concerned. Likewise, the Professional plan jumps from $40 to $190 if you choose monthly payments. You get a bit more for your buck, but some rudimentary features are still absent (like font uploads). Meanwhile, the Agency plan costs a whopping $1400 annually (no monthly option), and this plan gets you all of the app’s bells and whistles. 

Not sure if investing in a product like Powtoon is worth it? Consider its pros and cons below: 

• Comprehensive animation and video creation features 
• Graphic and audio assets available with subscription 
• Fonts and logos can be uploaded
• Most customization, animation, and AI features only come with the expensive Agency package
• Monthly payment options are not reasonable 

6. Haiku Deck — Best site for image editing options 

• Minimalistic interface 
• Graphic design tools for improving slide aesthetics 
• Pre-loaded templates and image assets 
• Cloud-based file sharing for team collaboration 
• AI presentation builder (Haiku Deck Zuru)
• Pro plan: $9.99 per month billed annually, or $19.99 monthly
• Premium plan: $29.99 per month, billed annually

Haiku Deck is a web, desktop, and mobile-based presentation builder with a significant focus on design aesthetics. The app’s design tools allow you to refine the graphics in the preloaded templates and images you’re using in the slides. You can source the images right from Haiku’s repository, which boasts over 40 million assets. 

To help you create your slide decks, Haiku offers its AI assistant. The AI feature can create new presentations from your outline, or enhance your existing drafts. Since the AI learns from other Haiku users, its algorithms are now trained to outfit slides with contextually relevant imagery and graphics.    

Haiku Deck’s pricing has two tiers: Pro and Premium. The Pro plan costs $9.99/month when billed annually and affords full access to the slide creation tools. Meanwhile, the Premium plan will set you back $29.99/month (again, billed annually), and equips you with features such as analytics, live web tracking, and priority support. 

Here’s a summary of Haiku Deck’s most prominent pros and cons: 

• Visually appealing slides 
• Large database of graphic assets 
• Advanced tools for editing images 
• Capable AI-powered slide builder
• No free plan
• No integration with Google Slides or Microsoft PowerPoint 

7. Zoho Show — Best presentation site for budget-minded users  

• Clean interface with tools changing depending on the task 
• Library for templates, slides, and fonts to facilitate team collaboration 
• Over 100 templates 
• Imports/exports PowerPoint files 
• Presentations can be controlled from smartphone or smart watch
• For individuals: Free
• Professional Plan: $2.50/month and up (billed annually)
• With Zoho Workplace Standard: $3.00/month (billed annually) 

Zoho is a web-based suite of business tools, and Zoho Show is its slide creation app. Zoho Show is a straightforward, inexpensive, yet fully functional slide maker that offers most of the same features you’ll get from pricier presentation sites. You can build your decks using over 100 preloaded templates, work on PowerPoint presentations before exporting them to their original file format, and run your slideshow from a smart device. Show’s most unique feature is its clean, contextual interface that only displays tools that are relevant to your current task (whether that’s handy or limiting depends on your preferences). 

Zoho Show’s pricing has three tiers. First, there’s the Free plan. This package lets you build basic presentations, but you miss out on key collaboration features and have limited access to graphic assets. Next, you get the more comprehensive Professional Plan, which costs $2.50; you must sign up for Zoho WorkDrive and have a team of 3 people to get this plan. Finally, you can get the entire Zoho Workplace suite for $3/month — this option unlocks the full functionality of the Show app and lets you use other Zoho tools, such as their Office Suite, Mail, and Workdrive. 

Have a look at Zoho Show’s pros and cons below to see if this presentation website is right for you: 

• Interface automatically shows tools relevant to the task
• Ability to add custom fonts and embed files into slides
• Templates, graphic assets, and collaboration tools included
• Supports PowerPoint file formats 
• Subscription to Zoho Workdrive or Workplace required to access paid plan — unnecessary if all you need is a presentation tool
• Some plans require a minimum of 3 users 
• Free individual plan limits use of graphic assets, templates, and collaboration tools 
• No direct integration with Google Slides 

8. Pitch — Best presentation site for use in business and sales 

• Lets you build presentations with AI, from a template, or from scratch 
• Supports custom fonts and colors 
• Provides team collaboration tools 
• Allows you to embed presentations on the web 
• Offers engagement analytics tools 
• Pro plan: $25/month
• Business: $100/month 

Pitch is a web-based presentation maker designed primarily for business use. The app helps streamline slide deck creation with its AI tool, which generates a first draft based on your prompts and leaves your team with the task of refining the slides to your liking. The slides have shareable links, so your entire team can collaborate on the slide deck. You can even invite consultants from outside your workplace to edit the presentations. 

Once your slide deck is complete, Pitch allows you to embed it on the web in your CMS — much like you’d do with a YouTube video. And to give you a feel for how audiences engage with your presentation, Pitch equips you with engagement and analytics performance tools.  

There are three pricing options with Pitch. The free plan comes with all the presentation creation functions, but you get no tracking and limited collaboration tools. The Pro plan costs $25/month (or $22 per month when billed annually), and gives you more freedom to use Pitch in a team environment. Finally, the Business plan costs $100/month (or $85/month with yearly billing) and gives you access to the full suite of features. 

Can’t decide if Pitch is the best presentation website for your team? Have a look at its most vital pros and cons: 

• AI slide creation feature 
• Performance analytics tools 
• Integration with various productivity and collaboration apps
• Media asset library 
• Engagement tracking only available in paid plans
• No integration with Google Slides or Microsoft 365

9. Beautiful.ai — Best site for no-frills AI-generated presentations

• AI-powered presentation maker 
• Slide creation from user’s prompts 
• Automated slide formatting 
• File sharing within the team (requires Team Plan) 
• Graphic assets database 
• Pro: $144 per year  
• Team: $40/month per user with annual billing ($50 with monthly billing)
• Enterprise: Pricing available on request 

Beautiful.ai is an AI-powered presentation builder that leverages full automation to make slide creation quick and easy. All you need to do is enter a prompt for your slide deck, and beautiful.ai will generate your first draft. These AI-generated drafts are quite simplistic in terms of both content and graphics, but they serve as a good starting point. Moreover, beautiful.ai’s presentations are formatted consistently, which should save you time as you edit each slide. 

You get three pricing options with beautiful.ai — Pro, Team, and Enterprise. The Pro package is meant for individual use, and costs $144 per year (there’s no way to pay monthly). The plan equips you with the AI slide maker but limits your use of assets and team collaboration features. The Pro plan costs $50/month for each user, or $480 annual for each license you purchase. This plan affords access to more customization and teamwork functions and lets you use graphic assets. Finally, the Enterprise plan includes all the features of the Pro plan, but with more dedicated training and support for your team. You’d have to reach out to beautiful.ai’s sales team to get a quote for the Enterprise plan. 

Beautiful.ai helps create slides quickly and with little skill. However, if you’re not sure this app is right for you, consider its most vital pros and cons below. 

• Quick way to create and format slides
• Inexpensive plan for personal use
• Elegant slide templates
• No integration with Google Slides or Microsoft 365 
• Slide content is very basic 
• Limited customization and branding options 

10. Google Slides — Best for Google Workspace Users With Basic Presentation Needs 

• Basic presentation creation tool 
• Limited selection of templates, fonts, and colors 
• Supports import/export of PowerPoint files 
• Allows collaboration within the Google Workspace
• Free with a Google account 

Slides is the web-based presentation tool you get with your Google account. This rudimentary app features a limited library of templates, fonts, and colors, along with a basic suite of tools for formatting the text and graphics in your slides. You can insert your own image, video, and audio files into the slides, but there is no access to a library of royalty-free assets. 

Despite its functional constraints, Google Slides is a useful app because it lets teams using Google Workspace collaborate easily on presentations. To get the most of Slides, though, you need to boost its functionality with a suitable extension. Google Gemini now works as an extension within the app, but for the $30 it costs you, the output is disappointing. All Gemini knows does is generate simple, low-quality images; it won’t help you produce, format, or edit presentations. 

In contrast, an app like Plus AI leverages artificial intelligence algorithms to give Google Slides powers it lacks on its own. By using the Plus AI extension, you can create entire Slides presentations from a single prompt, automate slide editing and formatting, and access a rich library of templates and ready-made slide decks. Meanwhile, Plus AI’s customization features help you brand your presentations with custom fonts, colors, and your company logo. 

Not sure if Google’s slide creation tool is right for you? Have a look at its pros and cons below. 

• Allows collaboration in the Google Workspace 
• Compatible with PowerPoint files 
• Supports AI-powered slide-creation extensions, such as Plus AI
• Free to use with a Google account 
• Limited capabilities without third-party apps 
• No library with image, video, or audio assets

11. Microsoft PowerPoint — Best For Highly Skilled Presentation Designers 

• Vast library of slide themes, variants, and layouts 
• Database of stock images and videos 
• Massive array of slide editing, formatting, and customization tools 
• Supports collaboration in the Microsoft 365 ecosystem 
• As a standalone product: $159.99 (one-time fee) 
• With Microsoft 365 apps, for home use: $6.99-$9.99/month 
• With Microsoft 365 apps, for business use: $6.00-22.00/user/month 

PowerPoint is one of the world’s oldest presentation builders that’s been part of Microsoft’s arsenal since the early 1990s. To this day, PowerPoint has been the most commonly used presentation app. But there’s a reason we’ve ranked it last on our list. Buoyed by its popularity, PowerPoint hasn’t evolved much over time; you won’t get anything beyond the most basic and uninspired presentations out of it unless you’re an advanced user with lots of time on your hands. 

The app’s user interface immediately overwhelms you with options and settings. Some of these seem similar in how they function, and you won’t know which tool to use until you’ve experimented with them all. Apart from the cluttered interface, PowerPoint disappoints with its simplistic selection of templates and designs. 

You can use Microsoft’s Copilot to forgo the tedious task of creating your own PowerPoint presentation, but beware: like Gemini, Copilot is still limited in its slide-making abilities. You can get it to create a slide deck from a single prompt, but the output will feature basic and repetitive along with lifeless images. 

PowerPoint’s pricing is a bit convoluted at a glance — you get different options whether you want the standalone product ($159.99) or the entire Microsoft 365 suite. If you choose the latter, the Home options range in price between $6.99 and $9.99 per month, while the Business plans cost between $6.00 and $22.00 per month per user. 

We don’t believe that PowerPoint is worth your time considering the vast selection of more powerful and user-friendly presentation apps on the market. However, you can review the app’s pros and cons below and decide for yourself. 

• Massive selection of design and customization tools 
• Integrates with Microsoft Copilot 
• Lets team members using Microsoft 365 work on the same presentation simultaneously  
• Overwhelming user interface 
• Very basic templates and designs
• Creating professional presentations is a challenge for novice users
• AI assistant cannot produce elegant, content-rich slide decks 

How we ranked the best presentation sites 

To make your selection process simple and effective, we ranked the best presentation websites based on these vital criteria: 

• Functionality
• Level of AI sophistication
• Ease of use
• Collaboration options

Integration with popular slide creation tools 

Value for money, functionality .

The best presentation sites are loaded with handy functions that enable you to make visually appealing, info-rich, and engaging presentations with little effort and minimal editing. These include customization tools, templates, image assets, and graphics refinement features. 

Level of AI sophistication 

AI technology is at the forefront of slide makers’ drive to create the best product for their clients. AI-powered presentation sites save you from spending long hours on writing content, digging up graphics, and then formatting every slide — AI handles these tasks for you. But not all AI slide creators are made equal. Some leave you with rudimentary decks that feature repetitive content and unrelated imagery. Others give you a solid starting point for an informative and captivating presentation. 

Ease of use 

The best presentation sites greet you with an intuitive and uncluttered interface that takes you minutes (if not seconds) to master. But usability goes beyond navigating the UI. That’s why we also assess the simplicity with which you can actually produce presentations. Simply put, how easy is it to create and edit slides? Do you need advanced design skills to manipulate the graphics and give the slide deck your desired aesthetic ? The best slide makers take these questions into account, so that their product makes presentations a breeze. You worry about the content, and let the app do the rest. 

Collaboration options 

High-quality presentation apps allow team members to create, edit, and give feedback on presentations remotely. That’s because today’s business needs, along with hybrid work arrangements, mean that more and more teams are forced to collaborate electronically. Features such as cloud-based file sharing and integration with communication platforms help different members of your team work on the presentation from wherever they are. 

Google Slides and Microsoft PowerPoint are the most commonly used presentation programs in the world. These two giants are the natural, go-to option for slide creation in the corporate, educational, and institutional world. Any presentation app that’s worth its salt should integrate with at least one of these tools. At the very least, a quality independent slide app should be able to import and export files that can be used in Google Slides or PowerPoint. 

The best presentation apps are usually not free, but the money you pay for them should be worth the features and benefits you get in return. That’s why we’ve evaluated each of the slide makers above based on the balance between their price point and their offerings. 

How to choose the best presentation website for your needs? 

You can’t really go wrong by opting for any of the 10 presentation sites above; however, to get a tool that’s tailored to your use-case, you’ll have to do a bit more research and analysis. The four steps below should help you zero in on the optimal presentation maker for your needs.   

• Consider the purpose of the presentation. Some slide tools cater to sales teams (think Pitch), others to graphic-minded users (Haiku Deck comes to mind), while others, like Plus AI, are excellent all-rounders. 
• Decide on the level of customization you need. How concerned are you with personalizing and branding your slide decks? If a generic, templated presentation is all you need for a school project, investing in a feature-rich, customizable tool may be overkill. But if you need your slide decks to feature custom colors, fonts, and convey your brand identity, opt for a tool (and pricing package) that has this functionality. 
• Decide if you want AI help. Unless you’re a skilled designer with a passion for creating and formatting slides, AI can be incredibly useful. Consider this: would you rather spend hours on refining your slides and ensuring consistency, or have the AI tool produce a uniformly formatted first draft? Check out the best AI presentation makers here.
• Factor in your budget. Most presentation sites have similar pricing, with monthly plans ranging between $0 and $40. However, some charge more — much more. Of course, the higher price points generally translate into richer offerings that may include other apps for visual content creation. Consider whether you need these extras or if a capable slide creation tool will suffice. 

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When you zoom in on Google Slides, you get a close-up view of your text, image, or other slide element which makes it simpler to fine-tune those elements.

Ideas for your next PowerPoint Night

The best, funniest, and most thought-provoking prompts for your next PowerPoint night

What’s it for?

Make interactive presentations

Create show-stopping presentations and clickable slide decks with Genially’s free online presentation builder. Leave boring behind and tell a story that’s interactive, animated, and beautifully engaging.

INTERACTIVE CONTENT

A presentation that works like a website

Engage your audience with interactive slides that they can click on and explore. Add music, video, hotspots, popup windows, quiz games and interactive data visualizations in a couple of clicks. No coding required!

NO-CODE ANIMATION

Make your slides pop with animation

Bring a touch of movie magic to the screen with incredible visual effects and animated page transitions. Add click-trigger and timed animations to make any topic easy to understand and captivating to watch.

INTEGRATIONS

Live from the world wide web

Embed online content directly in your slides for a media-rich interactive experience. From YouTube and Spotify to Google Maps and Sheets, Genially works seamlessly with over 100 popular apps and websites.

TEMPLATES & TOOLKIT

Genius design tools

With Genially, anyone can create a polished and professional presentation. Choose from over 2000 pre-built templates, or create your own design using the drag-and-drop resources, color palettes, icons, maps and vector graphics.

ONLINE PLATFORM

Safe and sound in the cloud

Because Genially is online, you can relax knowing that your slides are always up-to-date. There’s no risk of forgetting to save changes or accessing the wrong file. Log in from anywhere, collaborate with your team, and make edits in real time.

All-in-one interactive presentation maker

Real-time collaboration.

Co-edit slide decks with others in real time and organize all of your team projects in shared spaces.

Multi format

Present live, share the link, or download as an interactive PDF, MP4 video, JPG, HTML, or SCORM package.

Engagement Analytics

See how many people have viewed and clicked on your slides and keep tabs on learner progress with User Tracking.

Import from PPTX

Give your old decks a new lease of life by importing PowerPoint slides and transforming them with a little Genially magic.

Keep content on-brand with your logo, fonts, colors, brand assets, and team templates at your fingertips.

Quiz & Survey Builder

Use the Interactive Questions feature to add a fun quiz to your slides or gather feedback from your audience.

Beautiful templates

Make your next deck in a flash with Genially’s ready-to-use slides.

OKR Presentation

School Notebook Presentation

Animated Sketch Presentation

Minimal presentation

Land Of Magic Presentation

Onboarding presentation

Visual Presentation

Animated chalkboard presentation

Online Education Guide

Terrazzo presentation

Startup pitch

Historical presentation

THEMES FOR EVERYONE

Interactive presentation ideas

From classroom materials to business pitches, make an impact every day with Genially.

Education presentations

Pitch decks

Business presentations

Thesis defense

Share anywhere

Present live

From the front of the room or behind a screen, you’ll wow your audience with Genially. Heading off grid? Download in HTML to present dynamic slides without WiFi.

Share the link

Every Genially slide deck has its own unique url, just like a website! Share the link so that others can explore at their own pace, or download an MP4 video slideshow or PDF.

Post online

Embed the slides on your website or post them on social media. Upload to Microsoft Teams, Google Classroom, Moodle or any other platform.

The benefits of interactive slides

🗣️ Active participation An interactive slide deck gives your audience cool things to click on and discover, boosting learning and engagement.

👂 Multi-sensory experience Audio, video, animations, and mouse interactions make your content immersive, entertaining and accessible.

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 People-friendly format Pop-ups and embeds condense more material into fewer slides so you can break information down into digestible chunks.


🎮 Gamification Games, quizzes and puzzles make information more memorable and enable you to gather feedback and check understanding.

How to make an interactive presentation

With Genially’s easy-to-use presentation platform, anyone can make incredible visual content in moments.

Choose a template or a blank canvas

Get stunning results in less time with a ready-made template. Feeling creative? Design your own slides from scratch.

Customize the design

Add animations and interactions

Resources to become a pro presentation creator

How to create an interactive presentation: Get started in Genially.

How to present data without sending your audience to sleep.

No-code animation: Bring your slides to life with cinematic visual effects.

The art of digital storytelling: Engage and thrill on screen.

Genially in a nutshell

How do I make a presentation interactive and how does Genially work? Find the answers to all of your slide-related questions here!

What’s an interactive presentation?

Interactive slides contain clickable hotspots, links, buttons, and animations that are activated at the touch of a button. Instead of reading or watching passively, your audience can actively interact with the content.  

Genially’s interaction presentation software allows you to combine text, photos, video clips, audio and other content in one deck. It’s a great way to condense more information into fewer slides. 

If you’re a teacher, you can share multiple materials in one single learning resource. Students can create their own projects using digital media and online maps. For business or training, try embedding spreadsheet data, PDFs, and online content directly in your slides. 

An interactive slide deck is more user-friendly than a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation or Google Slides document. That’s because you can break information down into chunks with pop-ups, labels, voiceovers and annotated infographics.  

The other benefit of interactive content is increased engagement. It’s easier to keep your audience’s attention when they’re actively participating. Try Genially’s presentation software and free slideshow maker to see how it’s better than other presentation websites. You won’t go back to standard presentation apps!

How do you make a clickable slide?

The best way to make slides clickable is to use Genially’s free interactive presentation program. Design your slide then apply an interaction. In a couple of clicks, you can add popup windows, hyperlinks, close-up images, games, animations, multimedia and other content. 

Choose from the library of hotspot buttons and icons to show people what to click on. Go to Presenter View to get a preview and see how your content will appear to your audience.

How do I create presentations that look professional?

You’ve got a deadline looming and you’re staring at the screen with a blank presentation. We’ve all been there! Starting a presentation design from scratch is tricky, especially if you’re short on time. 

Genially’s free online presentation maker has over 2000 ready-to-use templates for professional slide presentations, photos slideshows, and more. Each slide design has been created by our team of top graphic designers. No need to worry about fonts, centering images, or designing a matching color scheme. It’s all done for you. 

Start by browsing our layouts and themes for education, business and then customize with your own text and images.

How do I share or download my slides?

Because Genially is a cloud based presentation software, you can simply share the link to your slides. Like other online presentation tools, there are no files to download or store on your computer. Everything is saved online.  

When you publish your slide deck, it gets its own unique url, just like a website. Share the link with others to let them explore the content in their own time. If you’re presenting live, just click the Present button. 

You can also embed your presentation on your website, company wiki, or social media. Genially is compatible with WordPress, Moodle, Google Classroom, and other platforms. If you use an LMS, you can also download your interactive design slides in SCORM format.

For slideshow videos and slideshows with music, share online or download as an MP4 video. Check out our free slideshow templates for ideas.

Can I make a free presentation in Genially?

You bet! Genially is an easy-to-use slide maker, with a free version and paid plans. The free plan allows you to create unlimited slides with interactions and animations. Subscribe to one of our paid plans for more advanced features.

Discover a world of interactive content

Join the 25 million people designing incredible interactive experiences with Genially.

14 Best Online Tools for Presentations

Are you tired of putting in endless hours creating original, visually appealing presentation slides? Look nowhere else! We’ve put up a list of the top 14 online tools that will revolutionize the way you create presentations in this age of digital technology, where efficiency is important.

These tools include a variety of capabilities to let you easily create amazing slides, regardless of your status as a student, professional, or business owner. As we go into the world of the best online tools for producing presentation slides, get ready to fascinate your audience and make a lasting impression.

Table of Contents

What are presentation tools?

Anything that enables users to produce slides for use in a presentation can be referred to as a presentation tool. The majority of us immediately think of PowerPoint, but there are other tools that include features that let us design and customize presentations, add photos and graphics, and present our information as we see fit.

List Of Online Presentation Tools

• Google Slides

1- Microsoft PowerPoint

Platforms:  Web ,  iOS ,  Android

A popular application with a vast feature set and seamless integration with other Microsoft products is PowerPoint. Both beginner and experienced presenters will find it to be an ideal choice because of its user-friendly interface and wide range of customization options.

2- Google Slides

Platforms:  Web ,  Android ,  iOS

Google Slides is a collaborative and cloud-based platform for developing presentation slides as a part of the Google Workspace suite. Google Slides is the best tool for remote cooperation and teamwork since it offers simple sharing options, a wide variety of templates, and real-time collaboration.

Platforms:  Web ,  iOS

Canva is best recognized for its graphic design capabilities, but it also has a wide array of themes and tools for making presentation slides that appear professional. Canva’s simple drag-and-drop interface, vast picture library, and customizable themes make it a fantastic choice for visually beautiful presentations.

Platforms:  Web

Prezi distinguishes out for its distinctive and dynamic presentation style, which lets users add panning and zooming features to their presentations to improve storytelling. Cloud-based presentation software provides a new replacement for traditional slide-based presentations, making it particularly suitable for engaging and memorable presentations.

5- Haiku Deck

A strong presentation tool that focuses visual storytelling and simplicity is called Haiku Deck. Making stunning and powerful presentations is simple because to the minimalist style and carefully chosen high-quality photos. Users of Haiku Deck can quickly add text, graphs, and charts to their presentations to improve their messages. It is perfect for professionals looking for stylish and aesthetically spectacular presentations due to its easy interface and built-in presentation templates.

Storytelling is being revolutionised by the dynamic presentation tool Powtoon. Users may build attractive and interesting presentations using Powtoon’s user-friendly interface and large library of customizable templates, characters, and animations. Users may bring their ideas to life using a variety of features, including voiceovers, music, and transitions. Users of Powtoon are given the tools to deliver engaging presentations with style and originality.

7- Slidebean

Slidebean is a presentation tool that places a strong emphasis on efficiency and simplicity. By using artificial intelligence (AI) to generate slide layouts based on provided content, it helps users create presentations more quickly and with less effort. For those looking for a fast and effective  creation process., Slidebean is a great option because to its straightforward editing features and pre-designed themes.

Design and data visualization are combined in Visme, a potent presentation tool. Users may simply create presentations, infographics, and reports with its drag-and-drop interface. Visme is the best option for dynamic and engaging presentations because it has a huge library of templates, icons, and charts as well as the capability to embed media and interactive elements.

9- Zoho Show

A robust presentation tool with excellent collaboration features is Zoho Show. Users can easily construct aesthetically stunning presentations because to its huge slide library. Zoho Show is a flexible option for groups and individuals looking for an all-inclusive presentation solution because it supports offline editing, real-time collaboration, and interfaces with other Zoho products.

10- SlideDog

SlideDog is a versatile presentation tool that allows users to easily merge various media types into one cohesive presentation. Users may combine PowerPoint slides, PDFs, videos, web content, and more with SlideDog to create interactive and captivating presentations. Its user-friendly interface and capabilities, such as live sharing, make it suitable for use in conferences, meetings, and educational settings.

Platforms: Web

Emaze guarantees to help users in quickly creating attractive presentations. The web-based application includes pre-made layouts, 3D transitions, and several media types (including images, videos, and animated gifs).

Emaze also allows you to upload an existing PowerPoint presentation that is in its basic form and convert it into an Emaze with improved design, fonts, transitions, and other features.

Knovio is an online tool that enables you to design and publish interactive slides that can be seen on the internet. You can turn your slides into rich video and audio presentations with Knovio that you can share with colleagues via email or social media. These presentations can include navigation, a live transcript, footnotes, and more.

A presentation tool designed with mobile devices in mind that enables users to make and share presentations from their phone or tablet. Swipe is an easy-to-use presenting tool that emphasises collaboration and simplicity. Users may design sophisticated, dynamic presentations with Swipe that function seamlessly on a different device. It has features like analytics, real-time collaboration, and media embedding.

5 Tips for Creating Attractive Online Presentations

It’s fantastic to have a presentation tool that functions well and has amazing capabilities, but you also need to know how to make presentations that are outstanding. If you’re a beginner, check out these fast suggestions for making presentations online.

Drafting the content

When drafting the content, utilize a header and bullet points to make your points since no one will read long paragraphs. Include information that is pertinent to the topic you will discuss, written as simply as you can. Wherever you can, give examples as well, and make sure your introductions and conclusions are appealing.

Add graphics

Long simple text could appear uninteresting. By including relevant movies, photos, and other items on various slides, you may make your presentation more engaging.

Ensure simplicity

The addition of images is excellent, but your presentation doesn’t have to look like a sketchbook overflowing with hues and design components. It needs to be done carefully. Your choice of pictures, videos, and design components must be elegant, match the text, and be arranged so that the viewer doesn’t feel overpowered.

It’s important to decide how long the presentation will last. Don’t make it too brief, leading people to believe you didn’t put enough effort in, or too long, leaving them confused and bored. Consider the time and find a medium ground to express your message.

Other articles

Please read through some of our other articles with examples and explanations if you’d like to learn more.

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5 Free Alternatives To Microsoft PowerPoint

M icrosoft PowerPoint has always been the default choice for creating professional meeting briefs or fun little project demonstrations in schools. Its inclusion as a free service for students or working professionals makes it a no-brainer to use. However, for the general public, it can get quite expensive to pay for a subscription just to be able to create simple presentation slides. Although you can subscribe to Microsoft's Office Suite and get more bang for your buck, the pricing still doesn't hit the affordable range for most. 

Fortunately, completion has been growing, and a sea of strong contenders offer similar services to PowerPoint. After considering feature sets, here are five of the best free alternatives to Microsoft PowerPoint. At the end of the article, you can find a detailed explanation of why we've chosen the services, alongside useful comparisons that may help you make your decision easier.

Read more: The 20 Best Mac Apps That Will Improve Your Apple Experience

When it comes to productivity apps, Zoho makes some of the better ones in the market. Zoho Sheet, for example, is one of the best Microsoft Excel alternatives out there  —  owing to its extensive product catalog, there is a great way to view and edit presentations. The aptly named Zoho Show lets you design and demonstrate professional-looking slides, all without having to download the program.

Zoho takes a minimal approach to most of its services, and its PowerPoint application is no different. You'll find that most menus are contextually aware of what tasks you're currently performing, which helps keep unnecessary tools out of the way and bring the important ones in focus. There is also a huge library of customizable templates you can choose from, making it easier to kickstart your presentation work. 

Zoho Show is completely free to use for individuals and offers unlimited cloud storage. No features are locked behind a paywall, and rest assured, you can fully rely on this online presentation-making tool for all your needs, be it for school or work. 

Canva is a service that can easily climb up to becoming everyone's favorite once they start using it. While most applaud it for its graphic designing prowess, there are many other things Canva can do that you probably aren't aware of . Among them is the ability to craft beautiful slides for your presentations and projects. 

By creating a free account, you can access thousands of templates on Canva. You can filter these by use case—maybe you need one for a professional business briefing or a casual one explaining why your pet dog is the best canine. There is a whole section of ready-to-use templates dedicated to mobile-friendly viewing as well, which is something you don't usually find to be as accessible with other tools. 

Like most presentation apps, Canva lets you collaborate with your team members and work across devices seamlessly. The Canva app for mobile also lets you control your slides remotely during your presentation. Some menus also feature AI-featured tools to add one-click enhancements to your slides -- unfortunately, these are locked behind premium subscription tiers. However, for the cent percent of the population, Canva can be used without spending a dime to meet a plethora of creative needs. 

Apple takes great pride in developing in-house solutions to meet every user requirement. While most of its products dominate the competition in popularity, the same cannot be said for Keynote , the company's version of Microsoft PowerPoint. The program was first released in 2003 with macOS Big Sur and has largely remained one of those icons you glance over and forget about. 

However, recent versions of Keynote have made it a compelling alternative to PowerPoint. Not only is it pre-installed on every Apple device, including your iPhone, but it also works best with the iPad touchscreen. Keynote has a largely clean and professional approach to the built-in templates, but nothing is stopping you from going creative. Animations are one of Keynote's strongest suits, allowing you to create near cinematic-looking presentations with just a few clicks. 

While you can still use Apple Keynote through iCloud on Windows devices, this alternative is clearly meant for people surrounded by the walled garden of Apple technology. It makes use of features like AirDrop, Live Photos, and VoiceOver  — all of which are technologies available across Apple devices. Using Apple Keynote is completely free, and the app has easy exporting tools that make working with Microsoft PowerPoint less of a hassle.

WPS Presentation

WPS Office makes some of the best solutions for creating and editing documents on smartphones , but their service offerings extend to Windows, macOS, and even Linux. WPS Presentation is perhaps the closest you'll get to Microsoft PowerPoint in terms of the user interface and how most tools are bundled in familiar locations.

This PowerPoint app offers real-time collaboration where you can invite your team members and work on the same document remotely. Like most collaboration tools, users can leave comments to suggest changes or add information for other people on the team.

WPS Presentation is not the only free product; you can utilize every app in the WPS Office suite. Unlike most competitors, you don't need to download or use a separate mini-app to make presentations. WPS Office has a document editor, PowerPoint creator, spreadsheet manager, and other tools all within its umbrella. Premium plans for this service exist, but they mostly cater to unlocking features for editing PDFs. 

Google Slides

As a netizen, you most likely already have a Google account. Not only is it required to make any meaningful use of your Android phone, but popular services that we take for granted, like Gmail and Drive, all fall under Google's umbrella. One such free service that the tech giant has at its disposal is Google Slides . While the barebones UI might seem lackluster at first, Slides has nearly the same level of functionality as Microsoft PowerPoint and can even be supercharged by add-ons. 

All of Google's workspace apps, such as Docs, Sheets, and Slides, provide an intuitive way to work in a team. You can add comments, use annotations, and share the presentation with limited access to others. You can use one of the many predesigned Google Slides templates for simple presentations , or browse for templates that cater to specific needs. Being part of a bigger service catalog has its obvious advantages, such as seamless integration with Google Meet, Gmail, and other products from Google that you already use. 

We recommend Google Slides to anyone who needs to create and edit PowerPoint presentations on the go and can't be bothered with working in a complicated environment. The service is also available as an app for Android and iOS, and you can export your presentations in a wide range of formats, including PPT, PDF, or PNG for individual slides. 

To Pay Or Not To Pay?

You'll notice that all the services we've mentioned on this list are free to use. In fact, you can use Office 365 apps online for free   — including PowerPoint, which makes purchasing a standalone subscription to the Microsoft PowerPoint app quite redundant. However, nearly every free alternative here short of Keynote also offers premium plans, but should you consider buying one?

For the vast majority of people who are looking for a robust software to create, edit, and share presentations with  —  these free options deliver exceptionally well in every aspect. Some apps like Google Slides and Apple Keynote let you work in smaller teams with the free tier as well. Apps like WPS Office and Canva tend to lock new and exciting features like AI tools behind a paywall, and while these are nice to have, you definitely can do without them. 

If you're looking for a presentation tool for a company with multiple people, you can scale up using any of the alternatives mentioned on this list. Both Google Workspace and Zoho offer reliable and enterprise-level plans you can upgrade to. For everyone else  — enjoy creating and demonstrating your PowerPoint presentations for free.

Read the original article on SlashGear .

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AI presentation maker

When lack of inspiration or time constraints are something you’re worried about, it’s a good idea to seek help. Slidesgo comes to the rescue with its latest functionality—the AI presentation maker! With a few clicks, you’ll have wonderful slideshows that suit your own needs . And it’s totally free!

Generate presentations in minutes

We humans make the world move, but we need to sleep, rest and so on. What if there were someone available 24/7 for you? It’s time to get out of your comfort zone and ask the AI presentation maker to give you a hand. The possibilities are endless : you choose the topic, the tone and the style, and the AI will do the rest. Now we’re talking!

Customize your AI-generated presentation online

Alright, your robotic pal has generated a presentation for you. But, for the time being, AIs can’t read minds, so it’s likely that you’ll want to modify the slides. Please do! We didn’t forget about those time constraints you’re facing, so thanks to the editing tools provided by one of our sister projects —shoutouts to Wepik — you can make changes on the fly without resorting to other programs or software. Add text, choose your own colors, rearrange elements, it’s up to you! Oh, and since we are a big family, you’ll be able to access many resources from big names, that is, Freepik and Flaticon . That means having a lot of images and icons at your disposal!

How does it work?

Think of your topic.

First things first, you’ll be talking about something in particular, right? A business meeting, a new medical breakthrough, the weather, your favorite songs, a basketball game, a pink elephant you saw last Sunday—you name it. Just type it out and let the AI know what the topic is.

Choose your preferred style and tone

They say that variety is the spice of life. That’s why we let you choose between different design styles, including doodle, simple, abstract, geometric, and elegant . What about the tone? Several of them: fun, creative, casual, professional, and formal. Each one will give you something unique, so which way of impressing your audience will it be this time? Mix and match!

Make any desired changes

You’ve got freshly generated slides. Oh, you wish they were in a different color? That text box would look better if it were placed on the right side? Run the online editor and use the tools to have the slides exactly your way.

Download the final result for free

Yes, just as envisioned those slides deserve to be on your storage device at once! You can export the presentation in .pdf format and download it for free . Can’t wait to show it to your best friend because you think they will love it? Generate a shareable link!

What is an AI-generated presentation?

It’s exactly “what it says on the cover”. AIs, or artificial intelligences, are in constant evolution, and they are now able to generate presentations in a short time, based on inputs from the user. This technology allows you to get a satisfactory presentation much faster by doing a big chunk of the work.

Can I customize the presentation generated by the AI?

Of course! That’s the point! Slidesgo is all for customization since day one, so you’ll be able to make any changes to presentations generated by the AI. We humans are irreplaceable, after all! Thanks to the online editor, you can do whatever modifications you may need, without having to install any software. Colors, text, images, icons, placement, the final decision concerning all of the elements is up to you.

Can I add my own images?

Absolutely. That’s a basic function, and we made sure to have it available. Would it make sense to have a portfolio template generated by an AI without a single picture of your own work? In any case, we also offer the possibility of asking the AI to generate images for you via prompts. Additionally, you can also check out the integrated gallery of images from Freepik and use them. If making an impression is your goal, you’ll have an easy time!

Is this new functionality free? As in “free of charge”? Do you mean it?

Yes, it is, and we mean it. We even asked our buddies at Wepik, who are the ones hosting this AI presentation maker, and they told us “yup, it’s on the house”.

Are there more presentation designs available?

From time to time, we’ll be adding more designs. The cool thing is that you’ll have at your disposal a lot of content from Freepik and Flaticon when using the AI presentation maker. Oh, and just as a reminder, if you feel like you want to do things yourself and don’t want to rely on an AI, you’re on Slidesgo, the leading website when it comes to presentation templates. We have thousands of them, and counting!.

How can I download my presentation?

The easiest way is to click on “Download” to get your presentation in .pdf format. But there are other options! You can click on “Present” to enter the presenter view and start presenting right away! There’s also the “Share” option, which gives you a shareable link. This way, any friend, relative, colleague—anyone, really—will be able to access your presentation in a moment.

Discover more content

This is just the beginning! Slidesgo has thousands of customizable templates for Google Slides and PowerPoint. Our designers have created them with much care and love, and the variety of topics, themes and styles is, how to put it, immense! We also have a blog, in which we post articles for those who want to find inspiration or need to learn a bit more about Google Slides or PowerPoint. Do you have kids? We’ve got a section dedicated to printable coloring pages! Have a look around and make the most of our site!

Android Police

How to curve text in google slides.

Grab everyone's attention with curved text in presentation slides

Google Slides offers formatting options to tweak text, photos, videos, and other elements in a presentation. However, it lacks a few important add-ons. For instance, unlike PowerPoint, there isn't a built-in way to curve text in Google Slides. If you want to make your presentation stand out among the rest, use the tricks below to curve text in Google Slides.

Adding curved text is a neat way to elevate your presentation. Still, don't go overboard with curve text in Google Slides. It may create unnecessary distractions and make it hard for your audience to read a slide. Instead, highlight a few headings or text you want to separate from the other paragraphs.

Although Google Slides is available on mobile platforms like iPhone and Android phones , we focus on the web version in the steps below.

Curve text in Google Slides using PowerPoint

There are a couple of ways to curve text in Google Slides. If you have a Microsoft 365 subscription plan, use the PowerPoint desktop app to curve text and copy it into Google Slides. In another trick, you can use a web tool like Canva or InkPx to get the job done. Let's start with PowerPoint.

• Open Microsoft PowerPoint on Windows or Mac.
• Create a new presentation and go to any slide.
• Resize a text box and enter the text you want to add in Google Slides.
• Expand the text effects icon and click Transform .
• Check your curved text in action. Drag the white dots around the text box to resize it.
• Open a presentation in Google Slides and select a slide where you want to add curve text.

PowerPoint offers dozens of curved text styles. You'll have no trouble finding a style that matches your presentation tone and theme.

How to delete a text box in Google Slides

Use an online tool to curve text in google slides.

PowerPoint requires a paid Microsoft 365 plan. If you don't have a subscription, use the tools below to generate and upload curved text in Google Slides.

Curve text using Canva

Canva is one of the best graphic design tools available. The web app offers several editing tools to create curved text in a design. You can download the image with a transparent background and upload it to Google Slides. Follow the steps below.

• Use the top menu to tweak text style, color, size, and more.

The ability to download an image with a transparent background requires a Canva Pro subscription.

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Curve text using inkpx.

InkPx is a web tool for creating curved text. You can make one and upload it on Google Slides.

• Visit InkPx .
• Enter text and pick a color, style, and size. Then, tweak the radius, spacing, and other details.
• Pick a PNG or JPG image type and save the image.
• Launch a presentation in Google Slides.
• Select your image and open it in Google Slides.

Unlike Microsoft PowerPoint and Canva, InkPx is free to download and use. And unlike other web tools, you don't need to create an account to use the service.

Make your presentation stand out

Aside from curve text, there are other ways to make an interesting pitch. However, creating an engaging presentation from scratch can be time-consuming. Check the top Google Slides templates to get started and complete an applaud-worthy presentation in no time.

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How to Create Slides That Suit Your Superiors: 11 Tips

When you’re pitching ideas or budgets to execs in your organization, you need to deliver slides that fit those particular people just right. This checklist identifies the key considerations.

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I recently interviewed 20 of my customers, all in senior roles at Fortune 100 companies, and asked them their biggest pain point in presenting to higher-ups and even colleagues. What I heard consistently was that it can feel like Goldilocks bouncing from one option to the next, testing to figure out what’s “just right.” Does the audience want deep reports? Sparse slides? Something in between? Like … what?

Teams often come to presentation meetings with vast amounts of backup content just in case an exec wants to take a deep dive on any given point. There’s often a struggle to anticipate every direction attendees might want to go. It’s frustrating, and it’s not efficient.

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There are many ways to build slides. I’m not just talking about crafting them well versus poorly. I’m talking about all of the important decisions regarding how to organize them, how much text to use, when to lean into a chart, the best ways to use bullets and color, and whether to include an appendix with additional information. Before you make your next proposal or request of the executive team, use this list of 11 tips for your next set of slides as a guide.

Four Things You Must Have in Every Exec’s Slides

Before we drill down into the harder aspects, the ones where your executives’ tastes may vary widely, let’s quickly cover four aspects that you can consider the building blocks — the basics you should never proceed without.

Start with an executive summary. Begin the slide deck with a tight executive summary that follows a three-act structure. First, start with stating the current realities. Second, clearly state the problem or opportunity your idea addresses and its potential impact. Third, explain how your recommendation solves the problem or exploits the opportunity and the next steps you’re proposing.

Have a logical organization. The arc of the deck — the package from beginning to end — should make sense. If your audience reads only the headline of every slide, the order should be coherent and make most of the case for you. The content below each slide’s headline must support the statement made in the title. Remove everything that doesn’t support your point; as writers will tell you, you sometimes need to “kill your darlings” when you’re editing.

Begin the slide deck with a tight executive summary that follows a three-act structure.

Make it skimmable. Help your audience to quickly grasp the point without getting bogged down in details. Create a clear visual hierarchy. Guide the reader’s eye through the content: Use bold headings, bullet points, and numbered lists to break down information into digestible pieces. Highlight key takeaways or conclusions in a different color or font size to draw attention to these critical points.

Focus on concise insights. Succinct statements with clear insights are everyone’s jam. Every slide should serve a purpose and contribute directly to the decision-making process. Distill complex information. Don’t use 100 words when 20 words will nail it. If you’re having difficulty trimming, consider using company-approved AI tools to help you take out the fluff.

Five Preferences to Confirm With the Person You Want to Reach

Now we’ll delve into what your particular audience does and does not want. If you haven’t yet, start by asking the person you’re presenting to what they generally prefer. They probably know themselves well but have not been asked to articulate how they like to receive information.

Ask how dense is too dense. Some executives prefer detailed slides with comprehensive data. Others favor a more high-level approach. You’re weighing how to balance informative content with readability, ensuring that slides are not overloaded yet are sufficiently detailed to support decision-making.

Confirm the delivery format and timing. Some execs like information presented to them. Others prefer a pre-read of the material followed by a discussion. I always recommend our tool Slidedocs (I’ve written a free e-book on them), which are visual documents using both words and images. The templates help presenters organize their thoughts into a document for a pre-read or a read-along. They are designed to be skimmable and able to travel through your organization without the help of a presenter.

I’m a huge fan of pre-reads and prefer to use my time in meetings to ask questions and build alignment. If your audience didn’t review your material in advance, ask at the top of the meeting whether they would like you to present it or would prefer to read through it and then discuss it.

Find out how much data visualization they prefer. Charts, graphs, photos, and illustrations often communicate complex data more clearly than words alone. When execs can see what you’re saying, they often can better understand the impact of your idea. Does the exec want to understand exact numbers? Bar charts allow them to move their eyes across a series of specifics. Does the exec want to know the shape of a trend over time? Line charts can show the pattern. (See “Classic Charts Communicate Data Quickly.”) Some prefer charts with annotations that draw attention to what you think is the most important point. Others want to make their own conclusions from the data.

One of my clients, the CEO of a massive commercial real estate company, doesn’t want anything visualized. He prefers numbers, only in a table, and only in two colors — black and red. You might think this is archaic. But the fact that he’s clear to his teams about what he wants takes all the mystery out of how to communicate with him.

When the stakes are high, have a conceptual thinker help with diagrams and concepts. If you don’t have one on your team, and when it’s high stakes, find an internal designer to help you or hire one. You can’t afford to have the baby (your idea) thrown out with the bathwater (terrible slides).

Identify which details need spelling out. How well do the people you’re presenting to know the landscape and function of the company and products you’re talking about? For example, if your engineering team threw a slide into a deck about an issue that requires executive approval, do the execs all speak geek? Or do you need to explain the technology so that they will really understand the ask? Either eliminate internal jargon and acronyms or unpack those bits, especially if your proposal deeply involves expertise outside of the executives’ domain.

Ask whether appendices will be useful. When you’re organizing a presentation, you often troll data, read through complicated reports, and even hire external experts to figure out what’s best for the company. Do your execs want access to that supporting data? You can add a document to the end of the presentation as an appendix to show all of the data and source material. This allows the main content of the slides to remain focused and accessible while still providing comprehensive background information for those who want more.

Two Tips to Improve Your Presentation Skills

Getting materials in place is the biggest step. They will be your best tools for selling your ideas. But there are two extra areas to pay attention to as a presenter: how you handle questions and how you use every experience to improve.

Anticipate questions, and practice your answers. Before you have your meeting, gather a small team to challenge every point you make. Invite colleagues you trust to role-play as “a rapidly inquisitive exec” or “the doubting naysayer exec” so you are prepared to present your idea well. They’re gonna grill you, and practicing will help you remain unruffled when it happens.

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Ask for feedback after the presentation. Establish a feedback loop with those you presented to. Ask what worked well and how you can improve. If attendees don’t have the time, find people who have had their ideas funded and talk to them about what they did that worked. Advice and some perspective will help you nail your performance even better next time.

Empathetically understanding your audience members and how they process information, whether it’s executives or peers, sets up your ideas for success. Clarity creates efficiency. When a presentation fits just right, you’ve given your great thinking the best chance of moving through your organization and having maximum impact.

About the Author

Nancy Duarte is CEO of Duarte Inc. , a communication company in the Silicon Valley. She’s the author of six books, including DataStory: Explain Data and Inspire Action Through Story (Ideapress Publishing, 2019).

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• http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5643-7971 Lucia Maure Blesa 1 ,
• http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4165-5551 Daniel López de Mota Sánchez 1 ,
• http://orcid.org/0009-0001-4150-4665 Olalla Álvarez-Toledo 2 ,
• Elena Montes Fernandez 3 ,
• Montserrat Morales Conejo 4 ,
• http://orcid.org/0009-0007-7763-9434 Teresa Díaz-Cardona 5 ,
• http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5652-516X Laura Olivie Garcia 1 ,
• http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1108-2318 Ivana Zamarbide Capdepon 1 ,
• http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1625-055X Antonio Herranz Bárcenas 1
• 1 Neurology , Hospital Universitario Fundacion Jimenez Diaz , Madrid , Spain
• 2 Internal Medicine Department , Hospital FREMAP Majadahonda , Madrid , Spain
• 3 Neurophysiology Department , Hospital Universitario Fundación Jiménez Díaz , Madrid , Spain
• 4 Internal Medicine Department , Hospital Universitario Doce de Octubre , Madrid , Comunidad de Madrid , Spain
• 5 Rehabilitation Centre , Hospital FREMAP Majadahona , Madrid , Spain
• Correspondence to Dr Lucia Maure Blesa, Neurology, Fundación Jiménez Díaz, Madrid, Spain; luciamaure.lm{at}gmail.com

https://doi.org/10.1136/pn-2023-004082

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• GUILLAIN-BARRE SYNDROME

Case presentation

A man in his mid-50s was admitted to hospital after falling and fracturing his L2 and L4 vertebrae. He had a history of intestinal occlusion 20 years before that had resolved with conservative treatment in his country of origin, Peru. CT scan of head, abdomen and pelvis were normal.

He promptly became haemodynamically unstable, developing hypotension (blood pressure 70/40 mm Hg), tachycardia (pulse 134 bpm) and fever (38.7°C), requiring intensive care unit admission for 3 days. An exploratory laparotomy found nothing pathological. His hyponatraemia (119 mmol/L) continued.

Two weeks after discharge from the intensive care unit, he developed numbness of his proximal lower limbs and trunk, progressing after 2 days to proximal weakness of all four limbs, with loss of deep tendon reflexes. He had no sphincter disturbance, facial numbness or weakness, no diplopia or other cranial nerves abnormalities. There was no fever or other features of infection. MR scan of brain showed no acute intracranial pathology and MR scan of spine showed only a fracture of the upper plate of L2.

He was admitted into the neurology department. On examination, he had a tachycardia (100 bpm). There was proximal muscle weakness, with moderate resistance in both arms and only movement against gravity in both legs. Reflexes were reduced in the upper limbs but absent in the lower limbs. He had hypoaesthesia of the trunk and proximal limbs, but no sensory level.

Questions for consideration

What are the most likely diagnoses and what tests would you perform to confirm it?

Diagnostic assessment

With his progressive symptoms of ascending sensory and motor problems affecting the limbs and trunk, with lost tendon reflexes, normal neuroimaging, we suspected Guillain-Barré syndrome.

Table 1 shows his relevant investigation results.

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Table results

Given the EMG findings and the mild cerebrospinal fluid albuminocytological dissociation, we suspected an axonal form of Guillain-Barré syndrome, and planned his first plasma exchange session.

Only 48 hours after admission into neurology, he developed significant haemodynamic instability (tachycardia 120 bpm and hypotension of 90/60 mmHg) with respiratory distress manifesting as excessive inspiratory muscle use, marked paradoxical breathing and inability to handle secretions or to cough. He required orotracheal intubation and readmission to the intensive care unit. His motor symptoms worsened slowly such that his proximal muscles showed only visible contraction, his distal arms moved against gravity and his distal legs moved against moderate resistance. The sensory alteration and global areflexia persisted.

There was no clinical improvement despite four sessions of plasma exchange on alternate days.

Given his clinical evolution and lack of treatment response, what other diagnosis and/or clinical management would you consider?

Differential diagnosis

Given the lack of improvement and atypical features including proximal sensorimotor distribution and prominent dysautonomia, we considered other causes of weakness after discharge from the intensive care unit 1 and paralytic Guillain-Barré syndrome mimics 2 3 :

Other causes of acute neuropathy:

Thiamine deficiency : although typically with a distal impairment, and rarely causing respiratory muscle weakness (and despite no history of chronic alcohol use), this was possible given the perioperative fasting before clinical onset.

Vasculitic neuropathy : this typically presents with multifocal involvement and focal pain in the area of weakness, and so seemed unlikely. Nevertheless, an autoimmunity panel and chest X-ray were arranged and were normal. Nerve biopsy was considered but postponed.

Malignancy or oncological treatments such as immunotherapy : there was no history of these.

Autoimmune nodopathies , particularly the IgG1 or IgG3 pan-neurofascinopathy, were considered possible.

Toxic and metabolic causes. After excluding more prevalent causes, we considered mainly acute intermittent porphyria and toxic causes such as lead 4 and arsenic poisoning, especially given the prior gastrointestinal symptoms and multisystem involvement.

Refsum’s disease is rare and typically accompanied by cerebellar ataxia and retinitis pigmentosa but was also considered.

Other non-neuropathic causes: traumatic and vascular myelopathy were excluded out by MR scan and MR angiogram of spine. Acute anterior horn cell infections, neuromuscular-plaque disorders and muscle disorders seemed unlikely with this clinical presentation and laboratory results.

Given the prior symptoms of prodromal confusion, abdominal pain, dysautonomia with persistent hyponatraemia, predominant proximal motor involvement and the ‘bathing-suit’ distribution of sensory symptoms, we suspected acute intermittent porphyria.

Question for consideration

When should neurologists suspect acute intermittent porphyria?

How would you diagnose and treat this patient?

Treatment and follow up

Acute intermittent porphyria is a disorder of haem synthesis caused by an inherited partial deficiency in the third enzyme in this synthetic pathway, porphobilinogen deaminase, 5 also known as hydroxymethylbilane synthase ( figure 1 ). This autosomal dominant condition leads to the accumulation of certain precursor chemicals including porphobilinogen and delta-aminolevulinic acid (ALA), presumed to be neurotoxic. Acute attacks can be triggered by inducing ALA synthase-1, the rate-limiting enzyme step, thus causing hepatic overproduction of porphyrin precursors. The pathogenesis is probably mediated through both the neurotoxicity of these precursors and the neuronal reduction in haem proteins.

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Biochemical synthesis pathway of haem in the liver. A series of eight enzymatic processes lead to the intracellular haem synthesis. A main enzyme is ALA synthase-1, whose induction by different drugs or feeding states may lead to overproduction of haem precursors; in acute intermittent porphyria, given the defect in PBGD enzymatic function, these haem precursors may accumulate and cause a clinical attack. ALA synthase-1 is partly inhibited by negative feedback (in green) regulation by haem, and is the therapeutic target of girosivan (in green). Enzymes are in blue, haem precursors in black, AIP in red. AIP, acute intermittent porphyria; ALA, aminolevulinic acid. Created by L Maure with Biorender.com.

Inducers of ALA synthase-1 include certain medications 6 particularly those that induce the cytochrome P-450 enzyme system. Inducing these enzymes depletes haem by increasing its breakdown, diverting its precursors to enzyme synthesis and increasing metabolic demands for haem; the haem depletion in turn induces ALA synthase-1. Other common inducers are alcohol, hormonal imbalance (progesterone), other causes of iron deficiency and dieting, including most hypocaloric nutrition given at regular hospitalisation or, as in this case, peri-operative fasting.

The porphyrias comprise a group of eight disorders of haem synthesis ( figure 1 ), 5 each resulting from a specific enzyme defect in the biosynthesis pathway, and leading to the accumulation of haem intermediates. 7 Acute intermittent porphyria is the acute type most often encountered in clinical practice. While most commonly affecting young woman (80%–90%), it can males and females of all ages.

Neurological symptoms often involve direct central nervous system injury, manifesting as seizures (20%), encephalopathy or neuropsychiatric features, but can also present as a motor-predominant axonal neuropathy. 8 Acute intermittent porphyria should be considered in people with atypical Guillain-Barré syndrome.

Porphyric neuropathy predominantly affects the proximal limbs, especially the upper limbs and is often asymmetrical. Typically, there is associated pain or paraesthesia in a bathing suit distribution involving the torso and proximal limbs. Patients may have a history of abdominal disturbances with non-informative diagnostic workups, prodromal anxiety, confusion or psychosis, prominent dysautonomia and hyponatraemia. All these features again stress the importance of considering porphyria among the differential diagnosis of Guillain-Barré syndrome ( table 2 ).

Differences and similarities between Guillain-Barré syndrome and acute intermittent porphyria

Once clinically suspected, as in this case, acute intermittent porphyria is established from the presentation with a compatible acute clinical syndrome and elevated excretion of urinary porphobilinogen during the attack:

The Hoesch test is a qualitative test that is positive at urinary porphobilinogen concentrations of >9 mg/L. The test requires mixing Ehrlich’s reagent (20 g of p-dimethylaminobenzaldehyde in 1000 mL of 6N hydrochloric acid) with 2–3 drops of the patient’s urine. It is important to protect it from light as porphobilinogen exposed to light can oxidise into porphobilin, giving the urine a darker aspect. The reaction between Ehrlich’s reagent in acid solution and porphobilinogen forms a pink colour ( figure 2 ).

Positive Hoesch test (described in section 4). The pink colour of the urine is formed by the reaction of porphobilinogen and Erlich’s reagent.

Another recommended diagnostic tool is a quantified measure of porphobilinogen . Porphobilinogen increases substantially during an attack to 10–150 times the upper limit of the normal (or 20–300 mg per gram of creatine—normal 0–2). The test can be performed in a random sample with the result normalised per gram of urine creatine; a 24-hour urine collection is not required. Patients with increased urinary porphobilinogen then require further investigations. Note however, that porphobilinogen concentrations can normalise between attacks.

This patient’s porphyrins in a 24 hours urine sample, showed an elevated coproporphyrin 946.49 µg/24 hours (normal ≤150), uroporphyrin 426.60 µg/24 hours (normal ≤50). A spot urine sample showed a positive Hoesch test 9 ( figure 2 ), thus establishing elevated pathogenic concentrations of porphobilinogen in urine.

He had normal blood concentrations of fractionated porphyrins, protoporphyrin IX as well as faecal coproporphyrins, uroporphyrins and protoporphyrins. We excluded lead intoxication, 4 even though this was unlikely.

A suspected acute attack 10 should be treated immediately to prevent the hepatic overproduction of haem precursors. This includes infusing haem preparations, eliminating precipitating factors, high loading with carbohydrate—since dextrose inhibits ALA synthase-1—and giving supportive treatment. Also recommended are (if needed) antiemetics, analgesics and antiseizure medication (levetiracetam or gabapentin). There are promising results in preventing attacks and reducing the frequency and severity of symptoms using gyvosiran, a small interfering RNA therapy that specifically targets ALA synthase-1. 11 We started intravenous glucose and haemin infusions (4 mg/kg for 4 days), and stopped any potential precipitants.

The patient’s respiratory and dysautonomic symptoms gradually improved, and he was discharged from intensive care 10 days after starting specific treatment. His sensory symptoms quickly recovered; however, his motor improvement was slower, with persisting tetraparesis a month after discharge from the intensive care unit. He was admitted into a rehabilitation centre and re-evaluated 3 months later, at which time he could walk without assistance, but with residual upper limb weakness. With continued carbohydrate loading and avoiding porphyrinogenic triggers, he has had no new attacks since.

Acute intermittent porphyria has a variable prognosis. Although the weakness completely resolves in most patients over about 12 months, some do not fully recover. Potential issues (with screening implications) include hypertension, renal insufficiency, chronic pain, depression and an increased risk of hepatocellular carcinoma. It is also important to consider genetic assessment of family members at risk.

A genetic test finally confirmed that this patient had a known pathogenic heterozygotic mutation in hydroxymethylbilane synthase, also known as porphobilinogen deaminase ( figure 2 ), the c.331>A variant, causing his acute intermittent porphyria.

Some types of porphyria may have a higher prevalence than is generally assumed, and neurologists need to maintain a high index of clinical suspicion to diagnose this often treatable disease.

Common errors that might lead clinicians to miss the diagnosis include:

Ignoring clues in the history that may be key clinical information, such as previous gastrointestinal symptoms.

Dismissing symptoms at onset such as mild confusion or pain, and wrongly attributing this to medication side effects or psychosomatic causes.

Overlooking possible triggers before neurological symptom onset.

In this case, two additional unusual features delayed our diagnosis in the first few days, namely the patient’s age and sex, serving as a reminder that porphyria is not exclusive to one demographic. Another unusual feature was the prominent hypotension, given that acute intermittent porphyria more often leads to hypertension. 5

The diagnosis of acute intermittent porphyria is challenging and clinicians must be aware of its varied clinical presentations to avoid its fatal consequences. The prognosis correlates with the time to diagnosis of an acute attack and time to starting treatment. Clinicians clearly need to maintain a high threshold of suspicion, and to include porphyric neuropathy in the differential diagnosis of Guillain-Barré syndrome.

Acute Intermittent porphyria is a rare but treatable cause of predominantly axonal neuropathy; its diagnosis requires a high index of clinical suspicion.

In an acute neuropathy, key clinical information that might suggest acute intermittent porphyria includes abdominal pain (previous or present), mild-to-severe central nervous system involvement including altered affect, confusion and/or seizures, and a predominantly proximal motor neuropathy with bathing-suit distribution of sensory change.

Acute intermittent porphyria is confirmed with a quantified analysis of porphobilinogen, and managed by avoiding precipitant medications and starting intravenous haem as soon as possible.

Further reading

Bissell DM, Anderson KE, Bonkovsky HL. Porphyria. N Engl J Med. 31 de agosto de 2017;377(9):862–72.

Kazamel M, Desnick RJ, Quigley JG. Porphyric Neuropathy: Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, and Updated Management. Curr Neurol Neurosci Rep. 7 de octubre de 2020;20(12):56. 9.

Gandhi Mehta RK, Caress JB, Rudnick SR, Bonkovsky HL. Porphyric neuropathy. Muscle Nerve. agosto de 2021;64(2):140–52.

Data availability statement

All data relevant to the study are included in the article or uploaded as supplementary information.

Ethics statements

Patient consent for publication.

Consent obtained directly from patient(s).

Ethics approval

Not applicable.

• Wijdicks EFM ,
• Kravale I , et al
• Bissell DM ,
• Anderson KE ,
• Bonkovsky HL
• ↵ The drug database [ Internet ]. 2024 Available : https://www.drugs-porphyria.org/
• Kazamel M ,
• Desnick RJ ,
• Gandhi Mehta RK ,
• Caress JB ,
• Rudnick SR , et al
• Frykholm BC ,
• Pischik E ,
• Kauppinen R
• Balwani M ,
• Ventura P , et al

Contributors LMB attended clinically the patient, collected the data, wrote and edited the draft. DLdMS attended clinically to the patient and helped editing the draft. OA-T, EMF, TD-C, LOG, IZ helped collecting the data and editing the draft. MMC helped in genetic diagnosis. AH was in charge of the patient during hospitalisation and helped collect data and edit the draft.

Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

Competing interests None declared.

Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed by Jon Walters, Swansea, UK.

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• Diagnosis and management of porphyria Helen Thadani et al., BMJ, 2000
• Molecular characterisation of acute intermittent porphyria in a cohort of South African patients and kinetic analysis of two expressed mutants Philip Fortgens et al., Journal of Clinical Pathology, 2017
• Unexpected presentation of acute porphyria Chiun Khang Kiew et al., BMJ Case Reports, 2021
• ACP Best Practice No 165 A C Deacon et al., Journal of Clinical Pathology, 2001
• Cerebral vasospasm and anterior circulation stroke secondary to an exacerbation of hereditary corproporphyria Stephen Mullin et al., Practical Neurology, 2012
• Pure motor axonal neuropathy triggered by antituberculous therapy in an undiagnosed case of acute intermittent porphyria Masood Uz Zaman Babar et al., BMJ Case Reports, 2017
• Urinary excretion of porphyrins, porphobilinogen and δ-aminolaevulinic acid following an attack of acute intermittent porphyria Joanne T Marsden et al., Journal of Clinical Pathology, 2013
• Acute intermittent porphyria: analgesia can be dangerous Carlos Dias Silva et al., BMJ Case Reports, 2019