harvard business school presentation skills

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Powerful and Effective Presentation Skills: More in Demand Now Than Ever

When we talk with our L&D colleagues from around the globe, we often hear that presentation skills training is one of the top opportunities they’re looking to provide their learners. And this holds true whether their learners are individual contributors, people managers, or senior leaders. This is not surprising.

Effective communications skills are a powerful career activator, and most of us are called upon to communicate in some type of formal presentation mode at some point along the way.

For instance, you might be asked to brief management on market research results, walk your team through a new process, lay out the new budget, or explain a new product to a client or prospect. Or you may want to build support for a new idea, bring a new employee into the fold, or even just present your achievements to your manager during your performance review.

And now, with so many employees working from home or in hybrid mode, and business travel in decline, there’s a growing need to find new ways to make effective presentations when the audience may be fully virtual or a combination of in person and remote attendees.

Whether you’re making a standup presentation to a large live audience, or a sit-down one-on-one, whether you’re delivering your presentation face to face or virtually, solid presentation skills matter.

Even the most seasoned and accomplished presenters may need to fine-tune or update their skills. Expectations have changed over the last decade or so. Yesterday’s PowerPoint which primarily relied on bulleted points, broken up by the occasional clip-art image, won’t cut it with today’s audience.

The digital revolution has revolutionized the way people want to receive information. People expect presentations that are more visually interesting. They expect to see data, metrics that support assertions. And now, with so many previously in-person meetings occurring virtually, there’s an entirely new level of technical preparedness required.

The leadership development tools and the individual learning opportunities you’re providing should include presentation skills training that covers both the evergreen fundamentals and the up-to-date capabilities that can make or break a presentation.

So, just what should be included in solid presentation skills training? Here’s what I think.

The fundamentals will always apply When it comes to making a powerful and effective presentation, the fundamentals will always apply. You need to understand your objective. Is it strictly to convey information, so that your audience’s knowledge is increased? Is it to persuade your audience to take some action? Is it to convince people to support your idea? Once you understand what your objective is, you need to define your central message. There may be a lot of things you want to share with your audience during your presentation, but find – and stick with – the core, the most important point you want them to walk away with. And make sure that your message is clear and compelling.

You also need to tailor your presentation to your audience. Who are they and what might they be expecting? Say you’re giving a product pitch to a client. A technical team may be interested in a lot of nitty-gritty product detail. The business side will no doubt be more interested in what returns they can expect on their investment.

Another consideration is the setting: is this a formal presentation to a large audience with questions reserved for the end, or a presentation in a smaller setting where there’s the possibility for conversation throughout? Is your presentation virtual or in-person? To be delivered individually or as a group? What time of the day will you be speaking? Will there be others speaking before you and might that impact how your message will be received?

Once these fundamentals are established, you’re in building mode. What are the specific points you want to share that will help you best meet your objective and get across your core message? Now figure out how to convey those points in the clearest, most straightforward, and succinct way. This doesn’t mean that your presentation has to be a series of clipped bullet points. No one wants to sit through a presentation in which the presenter reads through what’s on the slide. You can get your points across using stories, fact, diagrams, videos, props, and other types of media.

Visual design matters While you don’t want to clutter up your presentation with too many visual elements that don’t serve your objective and can be distracting, using a variety of visual formats to convey your core message will make your presentation more memorable than slides filled with text. A couple of tips: avoid images that are cliched and overdone. Be careful not to mix up too many different types of images. If you’re using photos, stick with photos. If you’re using drawn images, keep the style consistent. When data are presented, stay consistent with colors and fonts from one type of chart to the next. Keep things clear and simple, using data to support key points without overwhelming your audience with too much information. And don’t assume that your audience is composed of statisticians (unless, of course, it is).

When presenting qualitative data, brief videos provide a way to engage your audience and create emotional connection and impact. Word clouds are another way to get qualitative data across.

Practice makes perfect You’ve pulled together a perfect presentation. But it likely won’t be perfect unless it’s well delivered. So don’t forget to practice your presentation ahead of time. Pro tip: record yourself as you practice out loud. This will force you to think through what you’re going to say for each element of your presentation. And watching your recording will help you identify your mistakes—such as fidgeting, using too many fillers (such as “umm,” or “like”), or speaking too fast.

A key element of your preparation should involve anticipating any technical difficulties. If you’ve embedded videos, make sure they work. If you’re presenting virtually, make sure that the lighting is good, and that your speaker and camera are working. Whether presenting in person or virtually, get there early enough to work out any technical glitches before your presentation is scheduled to begin. Few things are a bigger audience turn-off than sitting there watching the presenter struggle with the delivery mechanisms!

Finally, be kind to yourself. Despite thorough preparation and practice, sometimes, things go wrong, and you need to recover in the moment, adapt, and carry on. It’s unlikely that you’ll have caused any lasting damage and the important thing is to learn from your experience, so your next presentation is stronger.

How are you providing presentation skills training for your learners?

Manika Gandhi is Senior Learning Design Manager at Harvard Business Publishing Corporate Learning. Email her at [email protected] .

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Presentation Skills: Harvard ManageMentor

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Product Description

Publication Date: October 01, 2017

This course will teach you to clarify your objective, identify your audience, and consider the setting for your presentation. It covers how to identify the single key point of your presentation, construct a presentation that hooks your audience and communicates your message, and use visuals and other media in a presentation to support and enhance your words. You'll also learn to create an engaging remote presentation, practice, refine, and prepare effectively for your presentation, keep your audience engaged, and objectively evaluate the style and substance of your presentation. You'll learn the key concepts with a mix of practical content, videos, infographics, and downloadable tools. You can then use the real-word scenarios, self-tests and assessments to measure your understanding. One-year single user license.

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Presenting With Confidence (In-Person Course)

Learn the unbreakable laws of communication that will make your next presentation engaging, attractive, and actionable.

Associated Schools

Harvard Graduate School of Design

What you'll learn.

Identify the most effective types of stories to connect with your audience.

Learn body language and vocal delivery techniques that will help you present authentically and confidently in front of any type of audience.

Build a message map to pitch your idea in as little as 15 seconds (elevator pitch), or create the outline for a longer, well-crafted presentation.

Explore methods for how to make data instantly memorable.

Explore tactics proven to make communication more persuasive and memorable.

Course description

Ideas are the currency of the 21st century. The ability to communicate your ideas persuasively is the single greatest skill you can learn to succeed in a globally competitive world. Through stories, videos and case examples, this program offers an actionable, step-by-step method anyone can adopt to create and deliver inspiring presentations that are engaging, persuasive and memorable. Key topics include: applying storytelling methods, creating presentation headlines, utilizing the rule of three, building multisensory experiences, making statistics instantly memorable, delivering authentic presentations with confidence, creating a message map around your story; learning practice methods for seamless delivery. 

This transformative program will set you apart from your peers and competitors, in a wide variety of professions. If you’re a designer or architect, this program will help you present to clients. If you’re a city planner, you’ll keep on message with poise at your next town hall meeting. If you’re a real estate developer, you’ll be able to pitch deals better. If you’re an entrepreneur, this program will improve your skills at courting investors and customers. If you’re a civic leader, you’ll be able to present more persuasively to constituents. The ability to craft and deliver world-class presentations is useful in every line of work, and this skill is becoming ever-more essential. Within the next few years, you will not thrive as a leader if you are not an excellent presenter, in person or to a virtual audience.

Instructors

Carmine Gallo

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Effective Organizational Communication

Through small group activities and real-time feedback, you will test out new approaches and learn to communicate to inspire action.

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What You'll Learn

As your responsibilities grow, effective organizational communication can help you succeed—or hold you back. In any business role or function, you must be able to convey your ideas in ways that drive thoughtful debate, consensus, decisions and action.

This program is designed for individuals interested in developing essential communication skills to become more persuasive and credible communicators within a variety of settings. You will learn strategies, practical tools, and proven techniques to sway a group to your point of view and help you project a more polished and professional image. From one-on-ones to large groups, and from informal settings to formal presentations, you will become a more confident communicator.

Through large and small group activities and real-time feedback, you will put these techniques into practice, test out new approaches, and learn to communicate with greater poise, clarity, and conviction. You’ll leave the program with the skills needed to successfully interact with others in professional settings.

Program Benefits

• Learn to influence and persuade others without formal authority, and increase your overall interpersonal and organizational effectiveness
• Develop communication strategies for different business situations and audiences
• Learn how to create a compelling structure for your messages that moves your audience to action
• Develop meaningful insights and convey recommendations more effectively
• Cultivate your personal leadership and communication style to connect authentically with your audience
• Practice how to deliver difficult messages and achieve desired results
• Learn skills to think on your feet when in a position to deliver impromptu messages
• Earn a Certificate of Participation from the Harvard Division of Continuing Education

Topics Covered

• Generating ideas for organizing, preparing, and delivering effective presentations
• Building trust and credibility quickly, and effectively handling resistance
• Learning and applying the principles of logical reasoning to lead your audience to action
• Using various communications strategies (e.g. body language, persuasion) to achieve desired outcomes
• Understanding the powerful impact of storytelling and learn how to incorporate stories in your communications
• Leading and communicating in a crisis

Who Should Enroll

This program is appropriate for business professionals at all levels of experience looking to improve their communication skills or deliver messages across diverse stakeholders, such as C-suite executives, cross-functional colleagues, employees, customers, and strategic partners.

Leaders and professionals who need to simplify complex content for their audience will find this program helpful.

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November schedule, michelle ehrenreich, jill abruzese slye, certificates of leadership excellence.

The Certificates of Leadership Excellence (CLE) are designed for leaders with the desire to enhance their business acumen, challenge current thinking, and expand their leadership skills.

This program is one of several CLE qualifying programs. Register today and get started earning your certificate.

Notes For This Program

Participants must be fluent in English to participate fully in individual, small group, and large group discussions and exercises.

Note: This program focuses on organizational communications across key stakeholders. It is not suitable for politicians looking to communicate to their constituents or for those looking for media training.

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Countway Practical Presentation Skills

Presentation Slides

Story Telling

Presentation Software

Body Language

• Showtime! (Tips when "on stage")
• Upcoming Classes & Registration

On this page you will find many of the tips and common advice that we cover within our Practical Presentation Skills Workshop.

If you are hoping to attend a workshop in the future, please check the schedule of upcoming classes, and reserve your spot. Space does fill up each week, so please register early!

Creating slides to accompany your presentation can be a great way to provide complimentary visual representation of your topic. Slides are used to fill in the gaps while you tell the story.

Start your presentation with a brief introduction- who you are and what you are going to talk about. 

Think about your presentation as a story with an organized beginning (why this topic), middle (how you did the research) and end (your summary findings and how it may be applicable or inform future research). You can provide a brief outline in the introduction so the audience may follow along. 

Keep it simple with a few key concepts, examples and ideas.

Make sure your audience knows the key takeaway points you wish to get across.

A good way to practice this is to try and condense your presentation into an elevator pitch- what do you want the audience to walk away know? 

Show your enthusiasm!

If you don’t think it is interesting- why should your audience?

Some Good Alternatives to PowerPoint:

• Google Slides
• Keynote (Mac)  
• Prezi  
• Zoho Show  
• PowToon  
• CustomShow  
• Slidebean  
• Haiku Deck  
• Visme  
• Emaze  
• and more…  

Your body language speaks volumes to how confident you are on the topic, how you are feeling up on stage and how receptive you are to your audience. Confident body language, such as smiling, maintaining eye contact, and persuasive gesturing all serve to engage your audience.

• Make eye contact with those in the audience that are paying attention and ignore the rest!
• Speak slower than what you would normally, take a moment to smile at your audience, and project your voice. Don’t rush, what you have to say is important!
• Don’t’ forget to breathe. Deep breaths and positive visualization can helps slow that pounding heart.
• Work on making pauses where you can catch your breath, take a sip of water, stand up straight, and continue at your practiced pace.
• Sweaty palms and pre-presentation jitters are no fun. Harness that nervous energy and turn it into enthusiasm! Exercising earlier in the day can help release endorphins and help relieve anxiety.
• Feeling shaky? Practicing confident body language is one way to boost your pre-presentation jitters. When your body is physically demonstrating confidence, your mind will follow suit. Standing or walking a bit will help you calm those butterflies before you go on stage.
• Don’t be afraid to move around and use the physical space you have available but keep your voice projected towards your audience.
• Practice, practice, practice! Get to the next Practical Presentation Skills workshop in Countway Library http://bit.ly/countwaypresent and practice your talk in front of a supportive and friendly group!

• Excessive bullet points
• Reading your slides instead of telling your story
• Avoid excessive transitions and gimmick
• Numerous charts (especially all on the same slide)
• Lack of enthusiasm and engagement from you
• Too much information and data dump
• Clutter and busy design
• Lack of design consistency 

Now you are on stage!

When delivering the talk, watch out for these bad habits:

•  Avoiding eye-contact
• Slouching or bad posture
• Crossed arms
• Non-purposeful movement
• Not projecting your voice
• Speaking away from the microphone
• Speaking with your back to the audience (often happens when reading slides)
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10 Important Business Skills Every Professional Needs

• 23 May 2019

Understanding essential business concepts and tools can benefit all professionals.

For example, it’s critical for business owners to ensure all members of their organizations are equipped with skills like critical thinking, time management, and effective communication to ensure daily operations run smoothly and reach business goals.

Here’s an overview of why it’s important to improve your business skills and ten you should prioritize to advance your career.

Access your free e-book today.

Why Is It Important to Improve Your Business Skills?

A foundation in business can not only lead to greater confidence in the workplace but open the door to a myriad of career opportunities. For those who've broadened their knowledge by taking a Harvard Business School Online course , the experience has led to such outcomes as:

• More responsibility at work
• A promotion or title change
• Greater attention from recruiters
• The ability to transition into a new field

If you want to achieve similar objectives in your career, here are ten business skills you should develop.

Business Skills Every Professional Needs

1. an understanding of economics.

A baseline knowledge of economics can be valuable in any industry. In addition to an in-depth understanding of pricing strategies and market demand, studying economics can provide a toolkit for making key decisions at your company.

For Nicholas Grecco , a former CORe participant who works as an educator and healthcare administrator, the lessons learned in Economics for Managers were instrumental in helping his organization invest in solar energy.

“I knew investment in solar was a good opportunity, but the concept of willingness to sell (WTS) helped me to understand and explain why,” Grecco says. “Because of extra incentives from the city program and group purchasing power, the electrical contractors were willing to sell solar energy systems for a much lower price than usual, thereby increasing our consumer surplus. By explaining WTS, I was able to convince the owner to move forward with this project.”

Related: A Beginner’s Guide to Value-Based Strategy

2. Data Analysis Skills

Research shows that an increasing share of firms—including Microsoft, Uber, and Blue Apron —use analytics to generate growth and improve their services and operations.

According to LinkedIn, analytical reasoning is one of the most sought-after hard skills in today’s job market. Knowing how to summarize datasets , recognize trends, and test hypotheses can provide an analytical framework for approaching complex business problems and help you make informed decisions that benefit your firm.

“Using data analytics is a very effective way to have influence in an organization,” says HBS Professor Jan Hammond , who teaches the online course Business Analytics . “If you’re able to go into a meeting, and other people have opinions, but you have data to support your arguments and recommendations, you’re going to be influential.”

3. Financial Accounting Skills

Accounting know-how can be beneficial to your career, even if you’re not in a numbers-focused role. While it can seem like an intimidating subject, it’s far more approachable than you might think.

Concepts such as cash flow and profitability are useful for understanding your organization’s performance and potential, while knowing how to read and interpret a balance sheet is critical for communicating financial results .

Pankaj Prashant , an engineer who took CORe, says the principles he learned in Financial Accounting helped him build on his technical background and advance his career.

“I’ve been keeping track of my company’s annual reports, and the accounting that I learned helps me in understanding where the business may head in the future,” Prashant says. “I’ve also been tracking a few other companies for investment purposes, and I’ve realized I can make more informed decisions with my improved knowledge of company financials.”

Related: 7 Business Skills Every Engineer Needs

4. Negotiation Skills

Whether you’re just beginning your professional journey or operating at a senior level, it pays to be an effective negotiator. In a report by the World Economic Forum , negotiation was identified as one of the top 10 people skills needed to thrive in the future workforce.

Honing your deal-making skills can not only help secure value for your organization at the bargaining table but for yourself when advocating for a higher starting salary or raise .

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to crafting a successful negotiation strategy . The key, according to HBS Professor Mike Wheeler , who teaches Negotiation Mastery , is to be open to improvisation and plan to think on your feet.

“However you happen to see yourself as a negotiator, most people you deal with likely have a different style, at least to some degree,” Wheeler says. “To succeed, therefore, you must be agile. That means flexing yourself so that you deploy different skills depending on the situation and whom you’re dealing with.”

Related: What’s Your Negotiation Style?

5. Business Management Skills

Strong managerial skills are intrinsically linked to organizational performance. A study by Gallup found that managers account for 70 percent of variance in employee engagement, underscoring the need for companies to develop leaders who drive team productivity and morale.

For seasoned and aspiring managers alike, it’s valuable to know how to lead meetings and communicate organizational change . Equally important is being aware of the common missteps team leaders make.

In the case of Monica Higgins , a public relations account director, taking the online course Management Essentials was a way to augment her managerial knowledge and develop a fresh outlook in her role.

“I'm more aware of looking at things through a larger lens, from a variety of perspectives,” Higgins says. “I've always been a fan of asking thoughtful, learning questions—as opposed to making declarations—and I'm now a big fan of playing devil's advocate.”

Related: 7 Effective Ways to Become a Better Manager

6. Leadership Skills

Whether you hold a management position or not, leadership skills are vital to workplace success. While some people think of leadership and management as one and the same, there are differences between the two . Whereas management is centered on implementing processes, leadership is more focused on the people and vision that guide change.

In addition to honing your management skills, building your leadership skills can be beneficial in any profession. From learning to keep calm during times of pressure to developing your own leadership style , these skills can help you understand how to bring your vision to life and position your team for success.

7. Effective Communication

In any business setting, professionals rely on communication to coordinate efforts and accomplish organizational goals. Ineffective communication—or a lack of communication altogether—can prove catastrophic.

Along with developing your skills, a large contributor to success is understanding and adapting to others' communication styles. Other key communication skills include active listening, empathy, and reading body language.

8. Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence is another essential business skill, and research shows it’s a leading indicator of performance in the workplace. According to a study by TalentSmart , 90 percent of top performers have a high degree of emotional intelligence.

Emotional intelligence is commonly broken down into four concepts: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management. In short, this skill refers to your ability to understand your emotions and recognize and influence those of others.

No matter your industry or position, having awareness of yourself and those around you can enable you to have more control over your interactions and effectively accomplish goals.

9. Decision-Making Skills

All professionals need strong decision-making skills to navigate complex workplace challenges. For those specifically working in business or management, the need for such skills is even greater.

Determining how to allocate resources, which employees comprise a team, and how to implement a new organizational initiative are all decisions that need careful consideration. With the growing number of tools and resources that can be used to capture data, managers can fuel their processes with valuable insights to make data-driven decisions and generate better outcomes.

Related: 8 Steps in the Decision-Making Process

10. Networking

Networking is another critical business skill that all professionals should exercise.

Whether you want ideas or advice on a specific challenge or are preparing for a career change, the people who make up your professional network can be valuable resources.

Related: How Leaders Develop and Use Their Network

To make the most of your network, be open to opportunities to step out of your comfort zone and build new relationships. Once you have your network in place, it’s important to maintain relationships you’ve formed and find new ways to expand your web of contacts.

How to Improve Your Business Knowledge

If you aim to advance your career, the value of business skills can’t be overstated. In addition to hard skills (such as financial accounting and an understanding of economics), you need soft skills (such as emotional intelligence and leadership) as your organization grows.

No matter your industry, knowledge of essential business concepts can help you better understand your organization’s performance and acquire the tools needed to spearhead initiatives and drive strategic decision-making.

Do you want to take your career to the next level? Explore our online business essentials courses . Download our free flowchart to choose the right course for you.

This post was updated on August 19, 2022. It was originally published on May 23, 2019.

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Presentations 101

By: John Clayton

Inexperienced presenters make two kinds of mistakes: the intelligent kind that all of us must work through, and the kind that is so obvious that you just shake your head in disbelief. Herewith a…

• Length: 2 page(s)
• Publication Date: Nov 1, 2000
• Discipline: Organizational Behavior
• Product #: C0011B-PDF-ENG

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Inexperienced presenters make two kinds of mistakes: the intelligent kind that all of us must work through, and the kind that is so obvious that you just shake your head in disbelief. Herewith a guide for navigating those presentation pitfalls.

Nov 1, 2000

Discipline:

Organizational Behavior

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