Presentation Style

Presentation • Storytelling • Design

May 27

Let’s continue deep diving into the art of presentations.

And the focus today?
Finding your personal style!
Let’s deliver the story you’ve so carefully crafted in the best way possible.

Giving a presentation is already a difficult task, making it memorable in a conference full of slide decks? That can feel almost impossible.

But be not afraid. I’ve collected my advice into 3 easy steps, and even enlisted the help of one of the best presenters I know to bring in some extra magic.

Focused and ready to help you find your style!

1) Knowing yourself

We’re going to start with a mini quiz: choose 3 words to describe yourself. Maybe ask a friend for help finding your 3 adjectives. Here are some sets for inspiration:

  • Reserved, calm, confident

  • Bubbly, fun, creative

  • Passionate, competent, smart

  • Charming, cool, interesting

  • Magnetic, curious, wise

Once you nail down your 3 main adjectives, you can think about how they guide the way you’ll deliver your slides. These can change over time as you gain more experience, but it’s good to find your essence. During your presentation, you can rely on different aspects of your personality to emphasize certain parts.

If your style is bubbly, fun, and creative, you can go through the presentation cracking jokes where appropriate and having fun. Say you have to share how a part of the project went wrong, you could do it like: “Did this work? Of course not.” Most likely, the audience will laugh along with you. But if you are delivering something serious and important, do it solemnly. Turning off the “bubbly fun” and being serious will emphasize it even more.

What if your style is the opposite of this? Let’s say reserved, calm, and confident. Your presentation can mostly progress at a calm pace, and if you need to lighten the mood, try a deadpan joke or a bit of sarcasm to show a shift.

Not everyone will deliver the same information in the same way. The key here is finding what makes you comfortable and the best way to share the information. Don’t force your personality onto the data - if something didn’t work, there’s no need to jump for joy. Save that energy for other slides.

You also need to consider your on the audience, it can be hard having people like you. Don’t worry if you don’t get it right the first time - this comes with practice. The more you’re on stage, the more you’ll learn how to react to your audience. With time, you’ll know when to speed through a section to save time and when to improvise an extra line to make a point crystal clear. Keep trying. Find what makes you, you.

Call back to the Developers x Designers meetup!
You can always identify my slides with a bit purple.

2) Your personality, visually

Your style can also be reflected in your visuals. This takes your presentation to the next level and makes it truly memorable.

When you're on stage, people might not know you or your story. Having cohesion between you and what they’re seeing adds credibility and professionalism. A presentation can be the first time you “meet” - make sure it leaves a great impression.

Let’s use myself as an example, I’ll be: charming, cool, interesting.
 I try to bring in charm with a few small details - a couple of emojis when I introduce myself instead of plain text, a little smile on the last slide, and always a thank you in my native Spanish: ¡gracias!

Cool means something different for everyone, but for me it’s a combination of being nice and knowledgeable. I show this by always including attributions. When I share who inspired an idea, I’m acknowledging the work of others and thanking them for their contribution. That’s always cool. I add small notes at the bottom of slides or include pictures or screenshots when applicable.

As for interesting, I want the work I present to speak for itself. Projects done with intention and purpose. Explaining why you did something and why it matters brings people in. How do I do this visually? I reveal information slowly, so we move through the story together. I highlight the parts that deserve attention - the right image, a standout quote, or a number in bold can do wonders.

Of course, colors and details will change depending on what I’m presenting, but my slides are always recognizable for their clean layout and strong contrast. This makes them easy to read and understand. And what colors feel charming, cool, and interesting to me? Grays and purples.

Want more examples?

  • If your style is reserved, calm, and confident, use slides that reflect this: clean layouts, simple text, and a subtle pop of color when you want to highlight something.

  • More bubbly, fun, and creative? Bring in color! Big fonts and bold numbers add the right kind of energy and contrast.

  • Feeling passionate, competent, and smart? Try collages or image-heavy slides to showcase how well you know your topic and what references you bring to the table.

Your personality shouldn't distract from your content or make you seem less professional – on the contrary, it should highlight what makes you, you.
Let it work to your advantage.

We have a special guest today!

3) You and your slides as one

How do you bring your personality and visuals together for the most memorable presentation? Well, I have one in mind from last year! My dear friend Liza made a presentation for a conference that I still think of to this day when I need inspiration.

Liza’s introduction slide

Hey there!
I’m Liza and I’m a Quality Assurance Engineer. Last November, I had an amazing opportunity to speak at Agile Testing Days conference with a 25-minute talk titled  “What’s left for a tester when team owns quality”. I was super excited to find out that I made it to the program but this excitement quickly turned into realization - I needed to roll up my sleeves and dive into preparation.

The main question I had to figure out was how do I make this presentation interesting for other people and myself? How do I turn the stressful prep phase into something fun and creative? I knew I wanted to draw a parallel between software development and a tester’s role, but I couldn’t quite land on the right metaphor. This is where my hobbies came to rescue me. Around that time, inspired by the Netflix series “Tour de France: Unchained”, I was getting more serious about cycling and I found myself riding more and more. And then it clicked: I’ll combine my two passions - testing and cycling - into one talk!

I ended up describing a tester’s role through different roles on a Tour de France team. Every slide was cycling-themed, and I blended in both my own cycling journey and a few stories from the pro cycling world. That helped me carry the metaphor naturally throughout the entire talk, making the presentation feel cohesive and personal.

Here are a few things I tried to stick to - maybe they’ll be helpful for you too:

  • Find your story/theme for the presentation

Maybe it’s something that drives you personally - like a new hobby or the aesthetics of your favorite city, movie or children’s book. Some of the most memorable talks I’ve seen were built around a strong theme. For example, an RPG-style talk with character builds and stats, or a career-change talk told like a fairy tale with unicorns and elves.

Not only will this help your presentation stand out, but it will also make the entire preparation process more enjoyable and engaging for you (and trust me - the audience will notice when you’re genuinely interested about your topic!)

  • Slides are there to support you, not the other way around

You are the star of the show. Don’t make your slides more important than you, they are just visual anchors. Imagine that your presentation setup broke and you ended up without slides - you should be still able to tell your story. 

  • Enjoy it

Think about what might bring you joy. Got a favorite cat meme that makes you smile and relax? Consider adding it to your slides! Or maybe you have a colleague who’s interested in the topic and you know it would be way more fun to prepare the talk together - invite them to join you! As Anita said, it’s all about knowing yourself and what makes the process enjoyable for you.

Liza during her presentation

That’s it!

Practice, play, and don’t be afraid to experiment.

Your voice matters. When your delivery feels natural, people remember what you said.

If you have a big talk coming up and want a second pair of eyes on your story, slides, or delivery, I’ve got freelance hours open and would love to help!

Let’s make your next presentation super fun.

That’s Enough About Me!

What do you think? What should I focus on next?

Let me know how your big presentation went! Did this spell help? Maybe it inspired you to try a different narrative for your next slide deck?

Let me know—shoot me an email! 😊
📩 sifuentesanita@gmail.com