Advanced Presentation Skills Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Advanced Certificate on completion
Who attends Senior Managers, Project and Programme Managers and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 9 Nov 2026 Course code SD-CS-114

Before you join: Participants should have experience delivering workplace presentations and be prepared to present short sections of material during the course.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Senior professionals are often judged on more than the quality of their analysis. A board recommendation, investment proposal, policy briefing, transformation update or client pitch can fail when the message is unclear, evidence is poorly prioritised, slides distract from the decision, or delivery loses the room. Advanced presenters must diagnose audience expectations, shape a persuasive argument, handle challenge calmly and adapt in real time without losing authority.

This course develops the planning, design and delivery skills required for high-stakes presentations. Participants use stakeholder analysis, SCQA, the Pyramid Principle, Monroe’s Motivated Sequence and rhetorical techniques to build clear messages for executives, clients, regulators and internal teams. They learn to turn complex information into decision-focused narratives, design purposeful visuals, use voice and body language with control, answer difficult questions and manage objections. The course also addresses virtual and hybrid delivery, including camera presence, audience interaction and technical contingency planning.

Teaching combines short instructor briefings, analysis of realistic business cases, individual presentation practice, peer observation, coached simulations and structured feedback. Participants prepare and refine material relevant to their own role, such as a strategic recommendation, project update, investment case or stakeholder briefing. They leave with a presentation planning pack containing an audience analysis, message architecture, slide-design checklist, delivery feedback record, question-handling plan and personal application plan. A certificate of completion is awarded to participants who complete the five-day course.

The course is suited to experienced managers, specialists and leaders whose presentations influence decisions, funding, priorities, policy or client relationships. It is particularly relevant where audiences are senior, sceptical, time-constrained or technically diverse.

What you will be able to do

  • Diagnose audience needs, decision criteria and stakeholder concerns before planning a presentation
  • Construct persuasive presentation architectures using SCQA, the Pyramid Principle and Monroe’s Motivated Sequence
  • Convert complex analysis into clear executive messages, evidence hierarchies and decision-focused recommendations
  • Design slides, charts and visual evidence that support rather than compete with spoken messages
  • Deliver high-stakes presentations using purposeful voice, body language, pacing and audience interaction
  • Handle challenging questions, objections and interruptions with structured response techniques
  • Adapt presentation delivery for virtual, hybrid and in-room audiences using contingency plans
  • Create a personal presentation improvement plan based on recorded feedback and performance criteria

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Greater authority when presenting recommendations to senior decision-makers
  • A repeatable method for structuring complex presentations under time pressure
  • Clearer delivery habits identified through observation and coached feedback
  • Increased confidence answering hostile, unexpected or technically difficult questions
  • A practical improvement plan for future board, client and team presentations

For your organisation

  • More concise executive briefings focused on decisions, actions and accountable owners
  • Stronger client and stakeholder presentations supporting commercial and relationship outcomes
  • Reduced time spent clarifying unclear proposals, project updates and technical findings
  • More consistent standards for slide design, evidence selection and presentation preparation
  • Better preparedness for difficult questions during governance, audit and review meetings

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can define the decision, audience needs and presentation risks before creating content.

  • Presentation audits identify credibility gaps, message drift and audience risk
  • Stakeholder mapping distinguishes decision-makers, influencers, sceptics and technical reviewers
  • Purpose statements define required decisions, actions or behavioural changes
  • Rhetorical situation analysis tests speaker, audience, occasion, purpose and constraints
  • Communication objectives separate informing, persuading, briefing and recommendation purposes
  • Baseline recordings reveal verbal, vocal and non-verbal presentation habits

Participants can organise a presentation around a clear central message and logical argument.

  • The Pyramid Principle places the governing thought before supporting detail
  • SCQA structures context, complication, question and answer for executive audiences
  • Message maps connect headline recommendations with evidence and supporting detail
  • Top-down sequencing prevents data dumps and unnecessary background explanation
  • Signposting language guides audiences through transitions, priorities and decisions
  • Opening statements establish relevance, authority and the required audience response

Participants can use persuasive techniques to gain attention, build credibility and prompt action.

  • Ethos, logos and pathos balance credibility, evidence and emotional relevance
  • Monroe’s Motivated Sequence creates urgency around a defined audience need
  • Contrast framing clarifies consequences of action, delay and inaction
  • Case evidence uses situation, intervention, result and transferable implication
  • Strategic repetition reinforces key messages without sounding scripted or repetitive
  • Calls to action specify decisions, owners, deadlines and next steps

Participants can convert technical, financial and operational detail into accessible decision evidence.

  • Evidence hierarchies distinguish essential proof from supporting reference material
  • MECE grouping separates mutually exclusive issues and collectively exhaustive categories
  • Data interpretation links findings directly to business implications and decisions
  • Technical translation replaces specialist language with audience-relevant explanations
  • Risk framing presents probability, impact, controls and residual exposure clearly
  • Recommendation logic connects evidence, options, trade-offs and preferred action

Participants can create slides and visual aids that clarify rather than overwhelm the message.

  • Assertion-evidence slide titles state conclusions rather than topic labels
  • One-message-per-slide discipline reduces cognitive load and visual competition
  • Chart selection matches comparisons, trends, distributions, relationships and composition
  • Data-ink principles remove decorative elements that do not aid interpretation
  • Visual hierarchy directs attention through contrast, alignment, spacing and scale
  • Appendix design preserves supporting detail without interrupting the main argument

Participants can deliver presentations with credible physical presence, vocal variety and purposeful pacing.

  • Grounded posture establishes stability, openness and professional presence
  • Eye-contact patterns include individuals without excluding wider audience groups
  • Vocal emphasis uses pace, pause, pitch and volume deliberately
  • Gesture discipline supports meaning without distracting repetitive movement
  • Strategic pauses give audiences time to absorb critical information
  • Breathing techniques manage physical stress before and during delivery

Participants can respond to challenge while maintaining clarity, credibility and control of the meeting.

  • The Acknowledge-Bridge-Answer method handles hostile or disruptive questions
  • Question classification separates requests for facts, concerns, challenges and traps
  • Objection handling identifies underlying interests before offering a response
  • Parking-lot techniques defer nonessential issues while protecting meeting momentum
  • Bridging statements return discussion to the central recommendation
  • Uncertainty language states limits without weakening professional credibility

Participants can plan and deliver engaging presentations across online, hybrid and in-room formats.

  • Camera framing, lighting and eye-line create credible virtual presence
  • Virtual agenda design alternates presentation, interaction and reflection periods
  • Polls, chat prompts and annotation create purposeful audience participation
  • Hybrid meeting protocols include remote participants in questions and discussion
  • Screen-sharing discipline controls pace, visibility and visual transitions
  • Technical contingency plans cover connection loss, audio failure and backup materials

Participants can rehearse systematically, use feedback constructively and improve presentation performance.

  • Timed rehearsal tests content priority, pacing and realistic audience attention
  • Recording review identifies verbal habits, visual distractions and delivery strengths
  • Feedback criteria assess message clarity, structure, evidence, delivery and engagement
  • Feedforward converts observations into specific actions for the next presentation
  • Red-team review anticipates stakeholder objections, weak assumptions and missing evidence
  • Version control distinguishes core messages from audience-specific presentation adaptations

Participants can prepare a structured plan for applying advanced presentation methods to upcoming work.

  • Upcoming presentation selection links course methods to immediate workplace responsibilities
  • Audience analysis records stakeholder priorities, concerns, authority and likely objections
  • Message architecture templates define headlines, evidence and decision requests
  • Rehearsal plans schedule timing, feedback sources and technical checks
  • Performance goals target measurable improvements in delivery and audience response
  • Personal application plans assign actions, dates, support and review points

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Stakeholder and audience analysis template
  2. SCQA and Pyramid Principle message map
  3. Executive presentation planning checklist
  4. Assertion-evidence slide design guide
  5. Question and objection response plan
  6. Personal presentation improvement plan

Who should attend

  • Senior Managers — present recommendations and performance updates to executive decision-makers
  • Project and Programme Managers — secure agreement on priorities, risks, resources and delivery decisions
  • Business Development Managers — strengthen client pitches, proposals and account presentations
  • Technical Specialists — explain complex findings to non-technical stakeholders with clarity
  • Policy and Public Affairs Professionals — brief leaders, regulators and stakeholder groups persuasively
  • Emerging Leaders — build credibility before boards, senior teams and cross-functional audiences

Skills and tools covered

Audience analysisMessage architectureExecutive storytellingVisual communicationQuestion handlingPresentation delivery

Tools and standards

SCQA, Pyramid Principle, Monroe’s Motivated Sequence, MECE

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings followed by case analysis, group work, presentation planning and coached delivery. Participants work with realistic scenarios such as executive investment decisions, client proposals, risk briefings and transformation updates. They analyse audience needs, build message structures, review visual evidence and practise responses to challenge. Individual and peer feedback uses clear performance criteria covering message, structure, credibility, delivery and audience engagement. Each participant develops material connected to their own presentation responsibilities and converts feedback into an application plan.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have experience delivering workplace presentations and be prepared to present short sections of material during the course. They should understand the subject matter they normally present, such as projects, financial results, technical findings, policy proposals or client recommendations. Familiarity with PowerPoint, Google Slides or a similar presentation tool is useful because participants will review slide choices and visual evidence. No public-speaking qualification, acting experience, design background or formal communications training is required. This course is not intended for participants with no prior presentation experience.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

You should already have some experience presenting at work and understand the subject matter you normally communicate. No formal public-speaking qualification or communications degree is required.

Bring a laptop if possible and an upcoming presentation, briefing, proposal or slide deck that you can improve during the course. Sensitive material can be anonymised or replaced with a realistic equivalent.

It is intended for experienced managers, specialists, project leaders and client-facing professionals who present to senior or demanding audiences. It is less suitable for people who have never delivered a workplace presentation.

This course assumes participants can already present and focuses on higher-stakes communication. It gives particular attention to executive message structure, evidence, difficult questions, objections, visual argument and hybrid delivery.

Participants apply the methods to presentations such as board papers, investment cases, project updates, client pitches and policy briefings. The planning tools can be reused before future high-consequence meetings.

The course runs from 08:30 to 16:30 each day, with approximately 6.5 contact hours daily. Time is divided between instructor input, case work, planning, delivery practice, feedback and application planning.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

Related courses in Communication Skills