Simple Group Presentation Tips for Maximum Teamwork Magic

There’s nothing quite like working in a team. The benefits of it are undeniable, and you shouldn’t be surprised. When there’s creativity involved, what’s better than an inspired mind intensely focused on an idea? Why more minds doing the exact same thing of course! Experts keep blabbing about how teamwork improves productivity, quality of ideas, and job satisfaction level, so why not give it a try?

But, as beneficial as it is, working with others has its own set of unique challenges. The communication has to be immaculate. The job division must be fair. There is a whole system you should set up before you embark on this journey. But don’t worry! In this article, I’m going to walk you through some simple group presentation tips that ensure productivity. Just follow the advice and you’ll have your team working as one.

What is a Group Presentation?

A group presentation is a collaborative presenting effort with you and a team of people involved in a subject together. This can either be with your colleagues, start-up partners, classmates, etc. It’s the process of crafting a PowerPoint presentation from scratch and presenting it together. It’s a great way to tell everything you were about to tell anyway, but better.

How to Know if Group Presentation is for You?

Before we get into group presentation tips, you’ll have to decide whether it’s the right thing for you. If you’re working with a team of people on something and are about to share it with the world, a group presentation is probably for you. If you started a company with a friend, you can get a lot from a mutual dynamic when presenting. If you’re working on a project with a team of people, it’s always wise to have a few other team members be included in the process. So the answer is simple: If you have a great team you can bounce ideas of off and create a unique presenting dynamic, group presentation is the right choice for you.

Group Presentation Tips

1) Create a System

One of the first group presentation tips you should start practicing straight away is creating a system with your teammates. A set system, which you all agreed upon, is crucial for team management.

Think about it. When there’s a disagreement, and everyone has a different idea of where the project should go, you have to have a way to resolve that. If no-one can agree on a solution, it could turn into a disaster. Whatever you suggest – someone can always say something against it. This can even create a hostile environment if you’re not careful.

The only fair solution is, of course, to set some rules before you even begin working together. Set clear rules, boundaries and project goals together, as a council. Make a point to follow those rules. That way, when disagreement occurs, you can refer back to mutually set parameters for a solution. That way, even if there’s mistrust and hostility in the room and people don’t want to listen to each other’s suggestions, they will have to listen to the system that was meant to keep the project going in cases of emergency.

2) What’s the Big Picture?

Another group presentation tip of utmost importance is to agree on the highest goal of your PowerPoint presentation. Ideally – you won’t have to do much agreeing. If your team is united, you already have the same goal in mind and are ready to get into the details.

But if you need some help understanding what the big picture is, or you and your teammates have a difference of opinion on it, there’s an easy fix to that as well. Whatever you happen to oppose in your teammates’ approach, chances are you can probably agree on one thing: You all want the PowerPoint presentation to go well. You all want to look good in front of an audience. You all want to sell your product or idea.

3) Come Back to the Same Page

The differences actually don’t arise from these collective higher desires. That’s the part you all agree on. The differences always arise when you can’t agree on the execution of that higher need.

So when in doubt, come back to that basic, higher plan. Try to approach the disagreement from that perspective. Once you realize you’re all actually on the same page, you’ll know that no one’s idea is a threat to someone else’s. You all want the same thing, so calm down and brainstorm together.

Going back to your higher plan means coming back to the higher perspective. That completely changes how your cooperation will precede should disagreements arise.

4) What are the Details?

Now that you know you’re all on the same page, it’s time to start planning. You have the big picture – what are its components? What is the step-by-step strategy of painting it?

There are a few basic things you must consider in your planning stage. One of the critical group presentation tips that all the experts swear by is outlining. However, since you’re working as a team, your best course of action would be to research the data first and agree on it before the outline.

Once you’re done with that, agree on the organization of the segments. Create a clear plan of the introduction, body, and concluding parts of your PowerPoint presentation.

5) Split the Details

One of the greatest group presentation tips comes from one of the greatest group presentation benefits: Diverse perspectives on one subject. This means that each person in your team has their own area of expertise. Everyone will naturally want to cover the part that interests them most. When every person gets complete authority over something they know best how to talk about, the result is magic. Cultivate that.

6) How to Brainstorm Together

Now, the general rule of thumb with brainstorming is that there are no bad ideas. But when you’re doing it in a team, it’s a little different. To break that and many other misconceptions read this article about how your team is brainstorming all wrong. Once you’ve all created a system, don’t stray too far from it. When someone says something that’s obviously a bad idea, don’t save it for later. Be very clear that the idea isn’t appropriate because it strays away from the clear plan you all agreed upon.

This is important because the group dynamic makes the presence of bad ideas a little awkward. Everyone feels bad telling others their ideas suck. But it’s crucial to approach it in a way that validates their frame of thinking, and their logic and makes sure to thank everyone for sharing, no matter how bad their idea is.

One of the most important group presentation tips is to cultivate a supportive environment.

7) How to Include Everyone

The best way to achieve the highest potential of a group presentation is to make absolutely sure everyone’s voice is heard. Everyone should get to take equal part in brainstorming, creating the system, outlining, and every other segment of your PowerPoint presentation.

One of the best group presentation tips that helps with this is to constantly ask for feedback. If there’s someone who doesn’t contribute much, try to ask them directly for their input. But don’t intimidate them. Remember, they might be shy. So try not to bring attention to them in an uncomfortable way, because we all remember that awkward classroom feeling.

One thing you could do to cultivate a sharing environment is to share yourself. Be brave, and throw out a few of your bad ideas and make fun of them. This will make it more comfortable for everyone to open up and give their input.

8) Know Everyone’s Bit by Heart

One of the greatest benefits of working in a team is having your teammates to lean on. So, ensure that every link in your team is strong so that the foundation you rely on is solid.

The best group presentation tip that ensures smooth public performance is to learn the whole presentation by heart. Even the parts that aren’t your own. And it would be best if the entire team memorized the entire presentation as well.

That way, you’ll be able to help out if one of the members gets nervous and forgets their bit, or if someone loses track and you can return the momentum.

9) Agree on Design

One of the areas you don’t want problems is the PowerPoint presentation design. The greatest group presentation tip to help with this is to give the whole job to a designer in the team if there is one. If not, it all comes back to the core idea. In order to agree on anything, you must be synchronized.

The thing is, there are plenty of disagreements in the design field as well. But there are far too many free PowerPoint templates and designs for you to fight over this, so don’t make it harder than it should be. Set some ground rules at the very beginning about the basics of what you want from the template. Whether it should be subtle, professional, eye-catching, what color schemes fit the subject best, how much you want to pay for it etc. That way, when it comes to the decision, you can all easily narrow down the few options that check out completely.

10) Practice Together

Rehearsing is by far the most obvious group presentation tip you could ever follow, but its importance cannot be overstated. The same way a band needs to practice to ensure harmony, your team should come together a few times before the due date and synchronize.

Agree on some breakpoints where you might want to insert a story or an anecdote. Make sure everyone knows when it’s coming. Make sure you all rehearse with a slideshow so you can be aware of the timing. Banding together to practice is also a great way to see how much time each individual segment takes, and if someone needs to either add or take something away from their bit. It will also help you memorize the presentation so you know how to navigate it better.

And while you practice, make sure to relax and have fun. Try to figure out how your group dynamic can aid the presentation once you’re in front of the crowd. If you go well together, utilize that. It’s really one of the single greatest group presentation tips you can think of. It summarizes everything teamwork is really about in its core so play around and have fun.

11) Foster Individual Approach

Now, as beneficial and productive as teamwork can be, many people find it uncomfortable. And this isn’t only reserved for introverts. Everyone has their own internal system and strategy for approaching their projects. Often times, working in a team can seem like a threat to that system. In order to prevent that, we can use one of the wisest group presentation tips and foster the individual approach of each team member, yourself included. Everyone gets to work on their own terms, before presenting it to the group.

12) Ensure Constant Communication

Make sure to have decent communication channels for the duration of the project. Use cloud-sharing services to keep track of research, tasks, and content. Have a group chat and pay attention to it if someone pops up with questions. You’ll be working on the presentation separately as well, you won’t all be focusing on it during some parts of the day. So keep the chat nearby to know what’s going on, and what to focus on next time you’re sitting down to work.

Now you know some of the best group presentation tips that ensure smooth teamwork. Make sure to keep in touch, foster individuality and cultivate an open environment. Speak up about bad ideas, and have a system to refer to so that your criticism is constructive. Practice together and know every part of the collaborative effort. That way, you can help your teammates if they get lost. And remember: if you don’t have fun making the presentation, the audience won’t have much fun listening. So make sure to be loose and use the group dynamic to your advantage. That way, you will truly create team magic on stage.