What people actually remember from your presentation

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Let’s be honest: how much do you remember from the presentations you saw a week ago?

Probably not that much. Maybe even nothing at all. Educational theorist Edgar Dale tried to capture this effect with the cone of learning: the more concrete and active the learning experience, the higher the chance something sticks.

Conclusion of this theory: if you want your audience to remember something, simply reading or listening is less effective than watching a demo. And getting your audience to actively do something works even better.

So, what can you do with that?

The pyramid quickly shows that “learning” is more than passively looking at slides and hoping something seeps into your brain through osmosis.

When you present, you can push your talk one step deeper into the pyramid. Each next step is better than the previous: it increases engagement and improves retention.

For presentations, those steps look like this:

  1. Put your key message on your slide, so the audience can not only hear it, but also read it. Just be careful not to overload your slide. Otherwise people stop listening and you prevent them from going deeper into the pyramid.
  2. Use slides as support for your story. Design them to reinforce your message, not replace it. That way, people stay focused on you.
  3. Go one step deeper. Make things concrete with images and videos. A strong visual anchors an idea much faster than a paragraph of text.
  4. Show real objects. Are you talking about a plant, a material, a device, a law, a sport, a product? Bring it with you and show it on stage. Think of that classic example by Hans Rosling, where he visualized income using vehicles and IKEA boxes.
  1. Give a demo. Show what you’ve developed in action. If your setup is too large to bring along, use a short, clear video of it being tested or used.
  2. Let people do something. You can read twenty presentation tips, but only when you actually present do you feel what works and what doesn’t. Can your audience experience your project? Is there a short exercise they can do? Something they can try themselves?
  3. Let the audience think together. Give them a small challenge, let them work in pairs or small groups, and briefly discuss their insights.
  4. Let them explain or present it themselves. Anyone who has to explain your project in their own words immediately discovers what they truly understand, and what still needs work.

How many steps do you reach?

Many presentations get stuck at step one: text-heavy slides that are simply read out loud. That feels like a waste of time for everyone.

Some presenters make it to step three: a clear story with strong visuals. That’s already a big improvement.

But every step deeper makes your audience more active, more engaged, and more likely to remember what your talk was about afterwards.

So, here’s some concrete advice

Next time you build a presentation, ask yourself how far you can push it:

  • Can you reach step 4 by bringing something on stage?
  • Step 6 by letting your audience do something—choose, taste, smell, vote, estimate?
  • Step 7 with a short group exercise?

Not every presentation needs to cover all eight steps—you often won’t have the time. But remember: the deeper you go, the more you bring your audience along. And the more useful (and enjoyable) your talk will feel afterwards.

What we do at The Floor is Yours

Our approach is simple: you learn to present by doing it—in a safe environment, with a smart structure and clear, personal feedback. Theory helps, but it only sticks when you actually put it into practice. During our workshops, we guide participants through all eight steps.

Want to know more about our workshops? From Presenting with Impact to Getting started with science communication and more? Check out the rest of our website!