The Pitch Avatar team explores the various options and differences in a popular method of corporate communication.
What do we mean by a corporate presentation, and how does it differ from other presentations? The key distinction is that corporate presentations are designed for interaction between employees and departments within a company. Many people mistakenly believe that corporate presentations should be purely informational. Since the goal isn’t to sell or promote anything, they assume that creative design and engaging presentation styles aren’t necessary.
This approach is a significant mistake. Like any other type of presentation, a corporate presentation should aim to promote and sell—whether it’s ideas, information, skills, or anything else its creator wants to communicate. The difference lies in the fact that, in this context, colleagues and employees “pay” with their time and attention, not with money. If a presentation is purely formal and boring, there’s a strong likelihood that it won’t be watched attentively enough, causing key points to be missed. This will happen unconsciously and instinctively, even if viewers don’t intend to ignore it. Thus, corporate presentations should be as interesting and compelling as marketing ones.
Now, let’s explore the main types of corporate presentations. We believe they can be divided into five primary categories:
Onboarding
This type of presentation is designed to help a new employee get up to speed and adapt to the company’s workflow. It’s a mix of a business card, a guidebook, and a manual. Unlike a typical presentation, employee onboarding doesn’t have a strict time limit. The goal is simply to communicate everything the new employee needs to know. Whether it takes 10 minutes or 20 minutes doesn’t matter. What matters is that the newcomer receives a comprehensive resource where they can find answers to most of their questions. Having a flexible template for an onboarding presentation is important, as it should be customized based on the role and tasks of the new employee. Here’s what an onboarding presentation should definitely include:
- Information about the company’s areas of activity and structure;
- Information about the company’s key persons;
- Information about the work schedule and internal rules;
- Information about the corporate culture and values;
- Information about job responsibilities;
- Information about the principles of formation and the procedure for paying salaries, bonuses, premiums, and fees;
- Information about where, to whom, and through what channels to contact on certain practical issues, for example, regarding salaries, safety, conflict situations, provision of time off/sick leave/vacation, etc.;
- Information about training and career growth opportunities.
Please don’t confuse an onboarding presentation with a presentation for job seekers. What can be shared with someone who has signed a contract and a non-disclosure agreement should not be disclosed to someone who hasn’t yet accepted a job offer. Furthermore, practical information intended for employees is usually irrelevant and uninteresting to job seekers. It’s also important to remember that onboarding presentations could potentially “leak” beyond the company. For this reason, no information classified as a corporate secret should be included.
Informative and/or educational presentation
We have combined these two types of presentations into one because, at their core, they serve the same purpose: to provide employees with new information they can apply in their work. Here’s what an informative/educational presentation must include:
- A story illustrating how the new skill or information is useful in practice;
- A concise summary highlighting the key points of the presentation;
- A test to assess how well the new skill or information has been understood;
- A feedback channel (ideally built-in) where employees can ask any questions they might have.
Please don’t turn this type of presentation into a traditional lesson or lecture format. It risks being dull and disengaging for many people. Instead, aim for a light, entertaining approach that captures attention and keeps the audience engaged. A helpful tip: incorporating a game or competition, with prizes (even symbolic ones), can make the presentation far more effective and enjoyable.
Presentation for investors and/or shareholders
Such presentations are not prepared often, only a few times a year. Their main purpose is to inform those who invest their money in the company about its current state of affairs. As a rule, such presentations should include:
- Information about the current state of the market in which the company operates, along with future forecasts;
- Details about the company’s plans, strategy, and their implementation progress;
- Highlights of the company’s key achievements;
- Information about the company’s current financial position, a comparison with previous performance, and expectations for the future.
Please don’t do this. It can be tempting to create regular presentations for investors and shareholders using a formal, repetitive template, simply updating the data and indicators each time. This is a major mistake. A dry, formal presentation that feels indistinguishable from the previous one risks giving investors and shareholders the impression that they are being dismissed. Ensure that every presentation for investors and shareholders stands out as a unique piece of work. It should remain consistent with the corporate style but no more than that.
Presentation-report
There are different types of reports: development reports, financial reports, periodic reports (monthly, quarterly, half-yearly, annual), reports on completed work, or the completion of specific tasks, and so on. What unites them all is the large amount of numbers and other data. These can quickly become overwhelming and confusing. Given this, a presentation-report must necessarily include:
- A comparison with previous reporting periods;
- Breakdown into sections with conclusions after each;
- Presentation of data and indicators using color infographics, graphs, and dynamic slides;
- A brief summary that wraps up the key points of the presentation.
Please don’t do this. Avoid turning your presentation-report into an endless parade of numbers and formulas. While you might believe the numbers speak for themselves, it’s much clearer if you complement them with visual solutions that illustrate and support the information. Most importantly, pictures, gifs, and videos will help the audience remember the key takeaways (primarily the conclusions) you want to convey.
Brand book
Although this type of presentation is the last one on our list, many companies start their work with it. In essence, a brand book is a systematized idea of the company’s image. First of all, how the company will look on the market in general and in the eyes of customers in particular. A brand book helps, when developing and making certain decisions, at all levels, to check how much they correspond to this image. Therefore, a brand book should always be at hand for managers at all levels of the company. Consequently, such a presentation should include:
- Information about the company’s mission;
- Information about the company’s values;
- Information about the company’s goals and strategy;
- Information about the company’s main products, services, and offerings;
- Information about brand positioning;
- Information about standards for interaction with customers, competitors, and employees;
- Information about the brand’s image, including its visual embodiment.
Please don’t do this. When working on a brand book, it’s easy to fall into the trap of general, lofty phrases like “We are for peace throughout the world” or “We support everything good and oppose everything bad.” Instead, make sure your brand book is as specific and factual as possible. The presentation format offers a great opportunity to visually enhance the information you’re conveying.
Summary
The key takeaway here is that a corporate presentation should be designed in a consistent style unique to the company. Using logos, corporate colors, and corporate music helps employees and colleagues maintain a working mindset, even in remote or outside-the-office situations. After all, we live in the era of remote work, and this should be taken into account.
Lastly, no matter what type of presentation you’re creating, our AI assistant, Pitch Avatar, will streamline your process and improve the quality and efficiency of the final product.
Give it a try and see for yourself.
