AI-Assisted Storytelling: Craft Clearer, More Persuasive Presentations

Great presentations do more than inform -- they move people to act. This hands-on workshop explores how AI tools can help you shape raw ideas, data, and recommendations into compelling narratives that resonate with your audience. Whether you're preparing a business case, a project update, or an executive briefing, you'll practice using AI to sharpen your message, structure your story, and communicate with greater clarity and confidence.

AI Tools used:
- Stanford AI Playground
- Free versions of ChatGPT or Claude

Audience:
Professionals who regularly present to colleagues, leadership, or stakeholders and want to communicate more effectively
Professionals who want to explore how AI tools can strengthen their storytelling and presentation skills

About This Course
Human brains are wired to remember stories. But persuasion happens at the intersection of narrative, logic, and emotion -- and AI can assist. In this interactive workshop, you'll experiment with AI-assisted techniques to build audience-centered stories, organize complex information, and refine the language and structure of your data storytelling.

You'll work with AI tools as a thinking partner to move from a rough idea or dataset to a clear narrative arc, and practice applying frameworks that help audiences understand what matters most and why they should care.
 

Learners will have the opportunity to:
1. Explore a practical framework for building audience-centered presentation narratives
2. Use AI tools to develop and refine story structure, messaging, and key takeaways
3. Practice techniques for making complex information accessible and memorable
4. Experiment with AI-assisted approaches to drafting, editing, and strengthening persuasive language
5. Evaluate AI-generated drafts and story structures critically, identifying where data evidence, human judgment, or audience knowledge should take precedence
6. Apply storytelling principles to a sample scenario and develop a presentation outline
 

Topic Outline

Foundations of Persuasive Storytelling
- Why stories persuade: the role of narrative, emotion, and logic
- Understanding your audience and what they need from you
- Defining your core message before you build

AI as a Storytelling Partner
- Where AI fits in the presentation development process
- Using AI to brainstorm, outline, and pressure-test your narrative
- Prompting strategies for clearer structure and stronger messaging
- Iterating with AI feedback to sharpen your argument
- Recognizing when AI gets it wrong, flat narratives, overconfident logic, and missed  audience cues

Structuring Your Story
- Frameworks for organizing complex information
- Information hierarchy: leading with what matters most
- Building tension, context, and resolution into your narrative
- Matching your structure to your audience: technical, executive, and general readers

Language and Delivery
- Writing for a listening audience, not a reading one
- Using AI to refine word choice, tone, and concision
- Weaving data and evidence into a narrative structure
- Anticipating questions and objections

Putting It Together
- Applying the workshop frameworks to a sample scenario
- Developing a presentation outline with AI assistance
- Peer review and reflection
 

Prerequisites
No prior experience with AI tools is required. Participants should be comfortable creating and delivering presentations in a professional setting.