Presentation skills are as fundamental a communication skill as writing for many careers. They include a combination of visual, verbal, and written communications skills that are used to inform, persuade, and even inspire your audience.

Presentation skills are important because presentations enable high-impact communication of information in multiple formats to your audience. At the core of your presentation skill set, storytelling in your scriptwriting allows you to capture the imaginations of your listeners with vivid verbal imagery. The use of data visualizations and graphics in your presentation design can drive home your points with additional clarity. Add to this a poised delivery and confident body language honed through public speaking practice, and you can multiply the impact on your audience even further.

The need for powerful, data-driven presentation skills is growing particularly rapidly. The digital era offers opportunities to harness data to communicate insights in ever more, and ever more complex, ways. The sheer volume of data available today combined with new demands for data-informed decision-making make the need to convey this information clearly within a narrative that makes them actionable more important than ever.

Presentations skills are important in any field, whether you are a scientist delivering research results, a public policy specialist proposing funding priorities, or a startup founder telling the story of your company’s newest innovative technology. They are especially critical for careers in business, where the ability to effective presentations can make or break your bottom line.

Management analysts and consultants are an example of a business career that utilizes presentations extensively. As business efficiency experts, they gather and analyze data about a company’s operations on all levels and then extend possible solutions and recommendations through presentations as well as written reports. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there is a projected employment growth of 14% over next decade in this field, much faster than average, driven in part by organizations’ continued needs to improve efficiency and control costs in competitive markets.

Yes! Coursera offers a wide range of courses and Specializations that can enhance your presentation skills. Whether you are looking to refine your presentation design, hone your storytelling and public speaking, or master your data analysis and presentation with Excel and PowerPoint, Coursera has choices from leading schools and companies like the University of Colorado, the University of Washington, as well as PwC - one of the leading management consulting firms in the world.

And, thanks to the power of Coursera’s video-friendly platform, you’ll be able to practice your presentation skills remotely through collaborative group projects and in live office hour sessions with experienced professionals.