The Ultimate Guide to Outstanding Business Presentations
November 14, 2025
A practical guide to help you present confidently, clearly and with impact.
Business presentations influence decisions, shape reputations and drive work forward. Yet many presentations fall flat: the message is unclear, the slides overwhelm or the delivery feels uncertain.
From now on, you can become a powerful, effective presenter, just by learning a few core skills and avoiding common mistakes.
Meet the Author: Benjamin Ball
Ben is the founder of Benjamin Ball Associates and leads the presentation coaching and pitch deck creation teams. Formerly a corporate financier in the City of London, for 20+ years he’s helped businesses win with better pitches and presentations, particularly investor pitches. He is a regular speaker and a guest lecturer at Columbia Business School and UCL London. Follow Ben on LinkedIn or visit the contact page.
This guide pulls together best practices and the most useful advice on improving your business presentation skills from Benjamin Ball Associates. Along the way, you’ll find short section intros, powerful tools, recommended reading and video links so you can go deeper into any topic.
If you want personal support with an upcoming business presentation, our presentation skills coaching can help you prepare with confidence.
Ultimate Guide to Business Presentations
1. Understand Your Audience
Powerful business presentations start with your audience. People listen more closely when they feel your message speaks to their needs. You need to write your persuasive presentation so it’s targeting your specific audience members
As a starting point, remember: different groups want different things:
- Senior leaders want clarity, brevity and decisions.
- Boards want balanced recommendations and well-managed risk.
- Investors want commercial logic, traction and believable numbers.
- Clients want to know how you’ll solve their problem.
- Technical groups want evidence, not hype.
Once you know what they care about, you can shape your message, examples and structure around their expectations. That way you’ll maintain your audience’s attention.
If you want help preparing persuasive business presentations for a demanding audience, our communication skills coaching is designed for senior professionals.
Recommended links: Understanding Your Audience
Introduction to Connecting With Your Audience
These guides help you make your message relevant and engaging.
- How to connect with your audience
- How leaders give engaging presentations
- How to make a dull presentation more interesting
- Top business presentation skills
- Video: Engaging your audience
2. Build a Clear Structure
A clean structure makes your business presentation easier to follow and easier to deliver. It also makes you sound more confident.
One simple approach is to lead with your main point. For example:
“Margins are under pressure for two reasons. Here’s what we should do.”
Other strong structures include:
- Problem – Insight – Recommendation
- Situation – Complication – Solution
- Context – Insight – Implication – Action
Choose one structure and stick to it. A consistent shape helps your audience stay with you.
If you want support shaping your ideas, our presentation skills training can help you build a strong storyline.
Recommended links: Structuring Your Presentation
Introduction to Structuring Your Business Presentations
These guides help you organise your message so it’s easy to follow.
- How to structure your presentation
- Powerful presentation frameworks
- Video: How to structure your talk
- The rules of presentation
3. Craft a Message People Remember
Your main points in your presentation should be clear an unambiguous. Clear language helps your audience understand and remember your message.
In business presentations you should: Use short sentences. Choose simple words. Explain main ideas through examples. And keep your message targeted on what matters most to your audience.
Short stories, brief scenarios and clean examples will bring your good ideas to life.
Recommended links: Creating Your Message
Introduction to Creating Your Message
These guides help you sharpen what you want to say.
- How to write a presentation
- Simple rhetorical devices for presentations
- Business presentation tips
- Video: Creating a compelling presentation
4. Build Slides That Support Your Story
Slides in business presentations should support what you say, not replace it. PowerPoint presentations or Google slides may be the default in some companies, but better slide decks alone are rarely the answer in improving presentation. A common mistake is starting to plan your presentation using Microsoft PowerPoint. See the article below about presenting without PowerPoint.
Where you do use a slide deck, keep your slides simple
- one message per slide
- a clear headline
- minimal text
- clean charts
- visual elements that add value
Avoid clutter, decorative elements or long text blocks. A simple slide strengthens your delivery and helps your audience stay with you.
If you want support improving your slides, our presentation coaching includes practical help with visual storytelling.
Recommended links: PowerPoint & Visual Storytelling in Business Presentations
Introduction to Creating and Improving Slides
These resources help you design simple, clear visuals.
- How to present without PowerPoint
- How to start a PowerPoint presentation
- How to use AI to prepare presentations
- How to prepare strong slides
- How to avoid “Death by PowerPoint”
- Video: Using visual aids well
- Video: Improving your visual aids
5. Deliver Your Presentation With Confidence
Confident delivery and public speaking doesn’t rely on charisma. It comes from being clear, practice and good habits.
Use a calm, steady pace. Keep your body language open and natural. Make eye contact with different parts of the room. And use short pauses to help your audience absorb your message.
If you want to improve quickly, our presentation skills coaching can help you sound more confident and polished.
Recommended links: Confidence & Delivery of Business Presentations
Introduction to Confidence and Presentation Delivery Skills
These guides help you speak with more confidence.
- How to become a confident presenter
- Mastering presentation delivery
- Presentation skills training for business leaders
- How to use pauses in presentations
- Reducing filler words
- Video: Using eye contact
- Video: Managing your pace
- How to make a stand out business presentation (video)
6. Present Complex or Technical Information Clearly
Many business presentations involve complex or technical content. The art of great presenting is to translate complex ideas into simple communication. You can make complexity simple by:
- stating the headline first
- breaking information into small chunks
- translating numbers into meaning
- keeping charts simple
- avoiding unnecessary detail
If you present financial or technical content regularly, our specialist financial presentation training can help you achieve clarity without oversimplifying.
Recommended links: Complex or Technical Presentations
Introduction to Presenting Complex or Technical Information
These guides help you simplify data-heavy content.
- How to give compelling financial presentations
- Presenting to international audiences
- Better online presentations
- Video: Telling complex stories
7. Handle Questions With Confidence
A confident Q&A session reinforces your credibility. A weak Q&A can undo your work.
Use a simple approach to answering questions:
- Acknowledge the question
- Answer briefly
- Add context only if needed
- Finish strong
If you prepare likely questions beforehand, and rehearse them, you’ll sound more confident and composed.
Recommended links: Handling Questions in Business Presentations
Introduction to Handling Questions (Q&A)
These links help you prepare for tough questions.
- How to answer questions after a presentation
- How to deal with tough investor questions
- Questions about presentation coaching
8. Rehearse the Right Way
Rehearsal is often the quickest way to improve your performance and become a better public speaker.
Practise your presentation out loud, ideally on your feet, using your slides. Start with your opening. Rehearse short sections instead of running everything from the top each time. You’ll learn how to rehearse in our training sessions.
A short rehearsal on the day can make a big difference.
Recommended links: Rehearsal & Practice
Introduction to Rehearsal and Practice of Business Presentations
These guides help you prepare efficiently.
- How to rehearse an important presentation
- Video: Rehearsing a presentation – tips
- Video: How to rehearse your presentation
- Test your presentation skills
9. Presenting in High-Stakes Situations
Some presentations matter more than others. Boards, investors, committees and senior leaders expect a structured argument, clear decisions and confident delivery.
Boards want concise recommendations. Investors want numbers they can trust. Committees want evidence and risk clarity. Charity audiences want emotion and impact. Sales audiences want relevance.
If you’re preparing for a critical meeting, our specialist presentation training can help you get ready.
Recommended links: Business Presentations, Specialist Situations
Senior-Level and Board Presentations
Fundraising and Charity Presentations
Sales Presentations
International Presenting
10. Business Presenting Online and Hybrid
Online and hybrid audiences absorb information differently. They need:
- simpler slides
- slightly higher energy
- short explanations
- clear signposting
- regular interaction
These small changes keep people engaged in remote environments. You should aim to make a lasting impression in your next business presentation.
Read more about presenting effectively online
Recommended links: Online & Hybrid Presenting
Introduction to Online and Hybrid Presenting
- Better online presentation skills
- How to deliver hybrid presentations
- Video: Transforming your presentation
- Video: Keeping your presentation fresh
11. End Strongly
A clear ending to your business presentations brings everything together.
Use a simple formula:
- Restate your main message
- Summarise your key points
- Say what happens next
Never drift to the end. A clean finish shows confidence.
Recommended links: Ending Strongly
Introduction to Ending Your Presentation
Want Support With Your Next Business Presentations?
If you want help sharpening your message, improving your slides or preparing for a high-stakes meeting, our presentation skills coaching and communication skills training give you clear, practical support.
Explore your options:
- Presentation skills coaching
- Communication skills training
- Business Presentation Skills Training
- Presentation skills training programmes
- Financial presentation training
To learn more about how we can help you become a powerful presenter, speak to Louise Angus, client services director about our tailored presentation coaching services.
Speak to an expert. Get a free consultation
Why Choose Us:
Transform your pitches and presentations with tailored coaching
We can help you present brilliantly. Thousands of people have benefitted from our tailored in-house coaching and advice – and we can help you too.
“I honestly thought it was the most valuable 3 hours I’ve spent with anyone in a long time.”
Mick May, CEO, Blue Sky
For 15+ years we’ve been the trusted choice for leading businesses and executives throughout the UK, Europe and the Middle East. We’ll help you improve corporate presentations through presentation coaching, public speaking training and expert advice on pitching to investors.
Some recent clients
Unlock your full potential and take your presentations to the next level.
Speak to Louise on +44 20 7018 0922 or email info@benjaminball.com to transform your speeches, pitches and presentations.
Speak to an expert. Get a free consultation
Contact us now for free consultation
Start improving your pitches and presentations now
Contact us now and speak to an expert about getting award-winning coaching, training and advice