8 Tips to Present Complex Topics with Clarity

Does understanding complex topics come easy to you, yet you struggle to put the knowledge forward? Learning how to engage with and enlighten minds that aren’t on your level yet is a skill like any other. Here are eight indispensable pieces of advice that will help you master it!

Image: Yay Images

1. Tailor the Presentation to Your Audience

Knowing what kind of audience you're dealing with impacts your approach to the presentation. You should assess your audience's general age, education level, and familiarity with the topic before crafting your presentation.

We’ll be using cybersecurity as an example topic throughout the list. So, introducing a new type of encryption algorithm to a room of specialists will be considerably different than explaining the need for cybersecurity awareness to the general public.

2. Keep It Simple

The last thing you want is for the audience to feel stupid or inadequate for not being able to grasp a concept. Instead, focus on creating an atmosphere where the audience becomes confident it can overcome its current lack of understanding and gain new insights.

You can do this by keeping things simple. Don’t introduce too many jargon words like endpoints or penetration testing; stick to alternatives the audience is familiar with. Keep in mind that simplifying things isn’t the same as dumbing them down. Respect your audience’s intelligence while accounting for their (lack of) experience.

3. Be a Storyteller

Audiences quickly lose interest if they feel the topic isn’t relevant. A successful presenter should always be able to answer a skeptical “So?” with information or arguments that support the topic’s practical importance.

Stories are compelling because they allow us to identify with their protagonists. It’s one thing to drone on about the need to use complex passwords and another to share a story of a friend whose entire online photo album was leaked on social media because her cloud storage password was "QWERTY."

4. Use Metaphors and Analogies Liberally

While stories are great for general explanations, you’ll still need to introduce specific terms and concepts to support the overarching topic. Analogies and metaphors are essential for providing the audience with a frame of reference for a previously unknown concept.

For example, when introducing two-factor authentication, you can compare it to a door with an ordinary lock and a deadbolt. The lock (password) is easier to pick with the right tools, while the deadbolt (authentication code) is more challenging to break and not worth the hassle.

5. Control Your Pacing

A presentation is a type of performance. You can follow all the other tips on the list and still end up with a snoozing or confused audience if your delivery is monotone or you rush through everything.

Keep a steady, measured pace throughout. Slow down when you come to parts that are harder to understand, and carefully enunciate any new words. Speak about the topic with measured enthusiasm to get everyone else interested, too!

6. Use Visual Aids

Talking about something for 15+ minutes won't cut it nowadays, especially if you’re presenting in front of a younger audience. Supplement your speech with appropriate visual aids, like a graph showing the rise in data breaches in the last 20 years.

If you’re using a presentation aid, keep it to one topic per slide. Use the bullet points as punchy references that support your narrative, not as a substitute for it.

You’ll also want to practice what you preach when it comes to securing any documents related to the presentation. Using a password manager like NordPass will ensure that all accounts related to creating and storing these materials have unique logins and enjoy state-of-the-art protection.

7. Engage with the Audience

Standing on a podium and sharing your hard-earned wisdom may not be enough to reach some audience members. Part of being an accomplished presenter is being able to read the room and pick up on cues that suggest the audience might be bored or confused.

Mitigate this by involving them in the presentation. Ask them to contribute their own examples of cybersecurity threats or engage in a QA session at the end to address any outstanding concerns. Being open to questions will improve future presentations while allowing the audience to learn actively.

8. Practice Makes Perfect

The fact that you have a firm grasp on a topic doesn’t mean you’ll be as successful at teaching it, at least not right away. It’s imperative to create a structured, appropriate presentation and then practice various aspects we covered already like the stories you’ll use, delivery, etc. A mirror will do, but you might want to run through your presentation with someone roughly at the future audience's level to iron out any kinks.

The views and opinions expressed in this blog post or content are those of the authors or the interviewees and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer, or company.