How to Choose Presentation Skills Training: A Buyer’s Guide for Leaders and L&D Teams
October 19, 2026
Most presentation training doesn’t change how people present. Ouch.
What really happens? People enjoy the day. The feedback looks excellent. Yet a month later, slides are still overloaded, delivery is still rushed and presentations still lack focus.
In my experience, that is rarely the delegates’ fault. More often, the training didn’t match what the business needed.
This guide will help leaders and L&D teams work out what’s going wrong, choose the right format, test providers properly and judge whether performance improves.
It draws on more than 15 years of Benjamin Ball Associates coaching executives and running presentation skills programmes in the UK and beyond.
Meet the Author: Benjamin Ball
Ben is the founder of London-based Benjamin Ball Associates. He leads the presentation coaching and pitch deck creation teams. Formerly a corporate financier, for 20+ years he’s helped businesses pitch, present & persuade. He is a guest lecturer at Columbia Business School, Imperial College and UCL London. Follow Ben on LinkedIn or visit the contact page.
Quick answer: how do you choose presentation skills training?
- Pin down the problem. Who needs to improve, who they present to, where things go wrong and what better looks like.
- Choose a format that fits. Match it to the delegates’ seniority, numbers and the occasions that matter.
- Pick a provider who makes people practise. Look for precise expert feedback, work on real presentations and support after the course.
- Judge the result in real meetings. Not on the feedback form.
Case study: a ten-year coaching programme at a UK financial regulator
Their challenge: A UK financial regulator wanted better presentation and public speaking skills at every level. Teams were spending too long building slides, a “death by PowerPoint” culture had taken hold, and external speeches weren’t landing.
What we did:
- Reviewed what each department needed.
- Designed a tailored programme for each group.
- Ran online seminars and data storytelling workshops.
- Coached small groups in person, department by department.
- Gave senior executives one-to-one remote coaching.
The result: Sessions averaged 4.9 out of 5 in participant feedback. They received great feedback from external audiences and saved hundreds of hours not creating poor slides. The regulator has expanded the programme to more people and departments and has retained us for ten years.
“This was the most practical and valuable coaching I have ever received. I wish I’d done this years ago.”
Senior manager, UK financial regulator
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Step 1: work out what problem you’re solving
Don’t start by asking for “presentation training”. Start with the moments when weak presentations cost the organisation time, reputation or business.
A sales team losing competitive pitches needs something very different from fund managers struggling to persuade an investment committee. New managers dreading a town hall need something different again.
I recently worked with a client who asked for presentation training “to improve presentation delivery skills” for their asset management team. When I asked to see examples of the materials they were using, it turned out the real problem was the presentation material that they were using was terrible. So, we started our work with them by helping them create powerful materials. As a result, it was much easier to polish their presentation delivery skills.
Before speaking to a provider, answer four questions:
- Who needs to present better? Senior leaders, client-facing teams, technical experts, high-potentials or a wide group of staff. Their seniority shapes everything, from group size to the kind of trainer they’ll respect.
- Who are they presenting to? Boards, clients, investors, executive committees, all-hands meetings, conferences or video calls. A three-minute board update and a 45-minute keynote call for different skills.
- What’s going wrong today? Be specific. “Too much detail and no clear ask” is a structure and messaging problem. “Good content but visibly nervous” is about delivery and confidence. “Great in the room, flat on Zoom” points to online presentation skills.
- What will success look like in six months? More pitches won, quicker decisions in leadership meetings, more proposals approved, or a particular leader ready for an external stage.
For honest answers, ask three or four people who regularly sit through these presentations. Audiences usually know exactly where the trouble lies.
This may also show that training isn’t the answer. If meetings lack a clear purpose or nobody knows who makes the decision, a presentation workshop won’t fix it.
Step 2: choose the right format for your people
There is no single best format. The right choice depends on seniority, numbers and what is at stake.
We use a simple rule. The higher the stakes, the smaller the group, the more realistic the practice and the more experienced the coach should be.
| Format | Best for | Strengths | Watch out for |
| In-person group workshop (half-day to one day; 3 to 8 people) | Teams who need shared standards; mid-level professionals | Lots of live practice, peer feedback, video playback | Big groups mean less practice each; skills fade without follow-up |
| One-to-one executive coaching | Senior leaders and high-stakes events (board, IPO roadshow, keynote) | Fully tailored, confidential, built around real presentations | Higher cost per person; quality depends on the coach |
| Live online workshop | Teams spread across locations; presenting on video | Practise in the format people actually use; no travel | Keep the groups small for personal feedback |
| Programme over several weeks | Leadership pipelines; lasting change in behaviour | Spaced practice, real work assignments, accountability | Needs diary discipline and managers’ backing |
| Preparing for a specific event | An upcoming pitch, results presentation or conference | Tied directly to a business outcome | Needs close work with an experienced coach |
| AI-powered tools | Drafting, editing and private rehearsal | Fast, cheap support on demand | Quality varies; AI can’t read context, coach live behaviour or hold anyone to account |
For larger groups, teach the core principles in group sessions, then add smaller live-practice sessions. Digital resources and AI tools can help people prepare. They can’t replace realistic practice, expert feedback and follow-up.
If your audience is finance professionals, see our guide to presentation skills training for accountants and CFOs.
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Step 3: look for the things that make training work
Most providers’ brochures make the same promises. So, look past the claims and test five things.
1. How much time do people spend presenting?
Presenting is a performance skill. You get better by trying, getting useful feedback and trying again.
Ask how much of the session people will spend on their feet. On a worthwhile programme, practice takes up most of the time. If the trainer spends the day presenting about presenting, you’ve paid for a lecture.
For more on this, see our guide on how to practise a presentation.
2. How good is the feedback?
Look for recording and playback, clear criteria and a coach who picks out one or two practical changes at a time.
“Great energy, just try to be more confident” isn’t feedback. “Pause after your key number and look at the chair” is.
3. Who will actually deliver it?
Find out who will run the sessions. It isn’t always the person who led the pitch.
The best coaches combine coaching skills with business experience that earns the room’s respect. A former senior manager may be excellent at sharpening messages. A former corporate financier may connect better with executives presenting to boards and investors.
At BBA, our coaches include former corporate financiers and investors. We’ve sat on both sides of the boardroom table. That’s why we are trusted advisors to so many blue-chip businesses.
4. Will they tailor it to your world?
People should practise with their own material, their own data and the audiences they really need to influence.
Ask whether the provider will interview stakeholders, review sample decks and adapt the exercises. “Tell us about your favourite holiday” won’t help someone who needs to win a mandate or get board approval.
5. What happens after the course?
When unused, presentation skills fade. Ask what follows: coaching, practice assignments, guidance for managers or another session a few weeks later.
If support stops when everyone leaves the room, the improvement won’t last long.
Finally, match the provider’s strengths to your problem. Some specialise in storytelling. Others in structure and messaging, such as putting the key point first and passing the So What test. Others focus on voice, body language or executive presence. Choose according to what you found in Step 1.
Step 4: ask every provider the same questions
Ask every provider the same core questions. It makes proposals easier to compare. It also shows quickly who is better at selling training than delivering it.
About the programme
- How much of the time will our people spend presenting and getting feedback?
- How many people will there be per coach?
- How will you find out what we need and tailor the content?
- Can our people work on their own real presentations?
About the coaches
- Who exactly will run our sessions? Can we speak to them before we sign?
- What is their background, and what similar people have they coached?
About results
- How will you measure changed performance after the programme, not just satisfaction on the day?
- Can you show us evidence of changed behaviour or business results?
- May we speak to current clients in our sector?
About follow-up and costs
- What happens after the course to make the skills stick?
- What will our managers need to do, and how will you help them?
- What’s included in the fee, and what costs extra?
For a large programme, run a small pilot first. Watching a coach work with three colleagues tells you far more than a polished proposal.
Warning signs to watch out for
One of these deserves a follow-up question. Two or more should make you pause.
- The same course for everyone. The proposal could have gone to any company, and nobody has asked about your people or goals.
- Large groups with one trainer. Put 20 people in a room and most will present once, briefly, if at all.
- Happy sheets as the only evidence. A happy sheet measures lunch, not learning. High scores show people enjoyed the day, not that they now present better.
- A different trainer on the day. The senior name appears in the pitch. Somebody much more junior turns up to deliver.
- Rigid rules. “Never use more than three bullet points” and “always open with a joke” replace judgement. Good coaching teaches people to read the audience.
- No plan for afterwards. No manager involvement, no follow-up and no built-in practice.
- Big promises. Be wary of anyone claiming to create world-class speakers in a day.
Step 5: decide how you’ll measure success
Agree how you’ll judge the training before it starts. An end-of-day survey tells you how people felt. It doesn’t tell you how they perform.
Use three levels of evidence:
- Starting point. Record a short presentation before training, or ask several stakeholders to score message clarity, structure, audience focus, delivery and handling questions.
- Behaviour after one to three months. Repeat the recording or scoring. Ask managers and regular audiences what has changed in real meetings.
- Business effects. Where you can, link the results to the goals from Step 1: pitch win rates, speed of decisions, proposals approved or staff response after town halls.
Many things decide whether a pitch is won. But clearly stronger presentations, confirmed by the people who sit through them, are good evidence the training worked.
Nobody ever lost a pitch because the feedback form scored 4.2.
Your checklist for choosing presentation training
Use this checklist to keep your decision on choosing a presentation training provider on track:
| Factor | YES/NO |
|---|---|
| We know who needs to present better, to whom, what’s going wrong and what success looks like | |
| We’ve chosen a format that suits their seniority, numbers and the stakes | |
| Most of the time will be spent practising with expert feedback | |
| We’ve met the coaches who will run the sessions | |
| Our people will work on their own presentations | |
| There’s a plan for follow-up, including what managers will do | |
| We’ve spoken to the provider’s clients | |
| (For large programmes) we’ve run a pilot before the full rollout | |
| We’ve recorded a starting point and planned how to measure change |
The question isn’t whether people enjoyed the training. It’s whether their next important presentation is clearly better.
At Benjamin Ball Associates, we design presentation coaching around the meetings, audiences and business results that matter to each client. Not around an off-the-shelf course. See how our business presentation skills training works.
What you should do next
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- Download some of our free expert guides
- Get in touch and discuss how our intensive presentation coaching and public speaking training courses can help you.
Call our client services director Louise Angus on + 44 20 7018 0922 or email info@benjaminball.com
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