In our everyday lives, how we present ourselves—from how we dress to how we speak or share ideas—says a lot about us. Think about how, in front of family and friends, or during official gatherings, we often dress well and speak confidently. This helps us command attention, gain respect, and even feel a sense of pride. Our aim is usually to make an impression, share knowledge, and showcase who we are. A well-prepared speech or a visually engaging presentation can quickly capture people’s attention and let them see our creativity and ideas.
This focus on presentation—whether through speech, clothing, or visuals—plays a huge role in how others perceive us. The saying, "First impressions are the best impressions," highlights the importance of presenting ourselves thoughtfully. In today’s world, mastering this skill has become essential.
At Steam-A, we continuously encourage our team to apply a “design mindset” in everything they do. This year, we’ve seen our interns and new employees give amazing presentations, and they impressed us. Each presentation has been unique, from using real-time data in Excel and customer feedback to showcasing problem-solving skills, clean icon designs, and even creating “Steam-A Journey” videos that tell their story from day one to today.
We’re witnessing how everyone is growing, not just in their roles but in their style of presenting and storytelling. This approach to sharing facts, stories, and data has allowed each person to refine their design thinking and feel more comfortable expressing their individuality. And as a team, we’re thrilled because these presentations have become a source of learning and inspiration, helping us all improve and adapt to fresh, design approaches.
Here are some instances during self-assessments where our team did not limit their creativity:
Visual Explanations through Excel
A self-assessment presentation was delivered by someone on the works they've done and progresses made. Instead of a boring, filled-with-words presentation, the individual put together a visual presentation, graphing their progress and completion of specific tasks. The visuals provided a cohesive, easy-to-understand explanation of the individual's advancements and creativity.
Improvements in Customer Feedback
The use of customer feedback on a project you've worked on- such as initial rewards, specific comments, word-of-mouth mentions, or LinkedIn responses- adds great value to internal presentations. A few members of our team have showcased a clear view of customer satisfaction (CSAT) for products they've worked on, using a comparative analysis of the CSAT of clients before and after partnering with Steam-A.
To-the-Point Problem-Solving
Understandably, you would want to showcase every accomplishment during your self-assessment. At Steam-A, an individual accomplished this task by presenting a simple, to-the-point approach to various issues of his immensely impactful work.
Another used his own style of problem-solving to sort and manage massive amounts of real-time data from a product release. The data was organized in a way that anyone could understand and interpret the dataset.
Icon and Grahpics Usage
At Steam-A, we understand that visuals are more perceptive than written content alone. That's why our team uses eye-catching icons and graphics in every presentation. Using gradient-colored icons paired with concise descriptions and relevant examples makes our visuals both impactful and easy to understand. Adding subtle animations further enhances engagement, making each presentation memorable and inspiring others to elevate their own presentation skills.
Journey Video
A few team members created an AI-generated video that beautifully narrated their journey at Steam-A. These storytelling videos provide a clear and engaging visual representation of their experiences and also feature captivating background music and voiceovers that feel like watching a professional film.
My Feedback After Seeing all the Presentations was like
WOW! This level of creativity and design-based approach inspires others to think outside the box. Motivated by the works of our team, I've been inspired to incorporate these approaches in both internal and external presentations!
"Bring your unique touch to every task, no matter how small—it’s where creativity truly shines."
