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Harvard Online
Harvard Online · delivered by SkillsPro360

Certificate in
Storytelling as Strategy

Shape stories that move people — using classic narrative frameworks, with AI as a creative partner.
  • What you study: The five foundational story archetypes, how to detect and diagnose the right story for each audience, how to design and pace a narrative, and how to deliver it with confidence — using AI to brainstorm, test and refine.
  • Who it is for: Ambitious professionals who communicate complex ideas in high-stakes settings, across marketing, technology, financial services, legal, government and consumer products.
  • Also included: Three months of Voca — AI-powered practice for interviews, presentations and CV review.
Course fee
USD 595
Single course enrollment
Duration
4 weeks
2–3 hrs/week
Certificate of Completion fromHarvard Online
Duration
4 weeks
Six topics
Effort
2–3 hrs/week
Self-paced within deadlines
Format
Cohort-based online
New cohorts start regularly
Prerequisites
None
No AI experience required
Credential
Harvard Online
Certificate of Completion
How you learn

Study with a global cohort.

Work through the Harvard Online course on your own schedule within weekly deadlines, alongside professionals from around the world, with three months of Voca practice to rehearse the stories you build.

A professional sharing ideas with her team
What you receive

Earn a Certificate of Completion from Harvard Online.

Complete the course and Harvard Online issues your Certificate of Completion.

✓

Designed and taught by Harvard faculty

Curriculum developed and delivered by Professor Martin Puchner of Harvard University and Christina Wallace of Harvard Business School, with industry experts Esi Seng and Lou Shipley.

✓

A credential you can verify and share

Issued in your legal name as a Certified Electronic Credential you can add to your resume and LinkedIn profile.

✓

Part of the AI Leadership Series

One of Harvard Online’s AI Leadership Series courses, alongside Agentic AI Foundations and Reinventing the Organization with AI.

Sample Harvard Online Certificate of Completion
Sample certificate issued by Harvard Online. Certificate design subject to change by Harvard Online.
Course syllabus

What you study.

Six topics that take you from why stories work to detecting, designing and delivering them, with AI as a tool for brainstorming and testing.

Topics covered
  1. Storytelling in the Professional World — why stories prove more salient than isolated facts or data, where storytelling is useful at work, and which elements AI can enhance versus those that should stay human-centered.
  2. The Foundational Story Archetypes — the five universal story archetypes and how to apply them to common workplace scenarios. Expert insight: Esi Seng
  3. Detecting Stories — using the archetypes as lenses to interpret conflict, characters and tensions in professional situations, and using AI to brainstorm and test them. Expert insight: Esi Seng
  4. Diagnosing Stories — story listening, audience analysis and intended purpose to choose the right archetype for a specific audience. Expert insights: Esi Seng and Lou Shipley
  5. Designing and Drafting Stories — emphasizing beginning, middle or end, non-chronological and future-state storytelling, Kurt Vonnegut’s “shapes of stories,” and pacing for time and audience. Expert insights: Esi Seng and Lou Shipley
  6. Delivering Stories — using voice, body and visuals to show confidence, conviction and openness, keeping a consistent throughline from the story’s archetype. Expert insight: Lou Shipley
Learning outcomes

Use storytelling as a strategic communication tool

  • Identify when and how narrative can clarify business challenges, opportunities and ideas
  • Apply classic storytelling structures and archetypes to workplace communication scenarios

Develop stronger narratives with support from AI

  • Use AI to generate, refine and test storylines for different audiences and objectives
  • Evaluate AI-generated content with human judgment to ensure clarity, credibility and emotional resonance

Communicate stories with influence and impact

  • Adapt tone, framing and delivery to make messages more persuasive across organizational contexts
  • Strengthen the human elements of communication — presence, empathy and judgment — that help stories inspire action
Format: self-paced within cohort deadlinesAssessment: topics with quizzes

Syllabus topics are set by Harvard Online and may be revised between cohorts.

Who it is for

Built for people who have to win the room.

This course is designed for professionals who communicate complex ideas in high-stakes settings and need people to understand, remember and act.

No AI or technical background required. Taught in English; participants should be 18 or over.

At work

Turn updates, pitches and plans into stories people act on.

Leaders spend much of their week persuading: boards, clients, teams and partners. This course shows you how to build that persuasion on story rather than slides alone.

Who teaches you

Learn from Harvard faculty.

Your coursework is designed and delivered by Harvard faculty, with industry experts Esi Seng (CEO of Truff) and Lou Shipley (Harvard Business School) sharing how they use stories at work.

Martin Puchner

Martin Puchner

Byron and Anita Wien Professor of Drama, English and Comparative Literature, Harvard University

An award-winning author whose books span philosophy, the arts and technology, including Culture: The Story of Us, from Cave Art to K-Pop. A Guggenheim Fellow and recipient of multiple international prizes.

Christina Wallace

Christina Wallace

Senior Lecturer of Business Administration, Harvard Business School

Teaches entrepreneurship and marketing in the MBA and Executive Education programs. A five-time Tony-nominated Broadway producer and author of The Portfolio Life.

Executive Program in Innovation Leadership

Three Harvard Online modules on innovation strategy, open innovation and adaptive leadership — with live sessions, app access and Voca practice.

★
A related Executive Program
If you lead change, this course sits well alongside our Executive Program in Innovation Leadership — three Harvard Online modules that add 36 hours of live sessions with industry experts, twelve months of app access and Voca practice, earning a Certificate of Specialization from Harvard Online.
Three Harvard Online modules
Innovation strategy, open innovation, adaptive leadership
36 hours of live sessions
Fortnightly, with industry experts
App access and Voca practice
Included throughout
View the Executive Program
Course fee

What is included.

One fee covering the full Harvard Online course, your Certificate of Completion, and three months of Voca practice access.

USD595
per participant · complete course
  • The complete Harvard Online course, all six topics
  • Certificate of Completion from Harvard Online
  • A Certified Electronic Credential for LinkedIn
  • Three months of Voca — AI-powered practice for interviews, presentations and CV review
  • Cohort-based study with a global peer group
  • Advisor support from enrollment to completion
Reserve your seat

Enrolling a team?

Organizations are invoiced directly, and multi-seat rates apply from ten participants.
Fees are quoted in US dollars and paid by international card or bank transfer; your bank applies its own conversion rate. We can also provide a scope document for employer-funded participants.
Request a proposal
Enrollment

From inquiry to first day.

Four steps, usually completed within a week.

Step one

Book a call

A twenty-minute conversation with an advisor to check the course fits your role and goals. No obligation.

Step two

Choose your cohort

We confirm the upcoming start dates that suit your schedule.

Step three

Reserve your seat

Confirm your place, then complete payment by international card or bank transfer.

Step four

Begin

We enroll you directly with Harvard Online. Your access details arrive by email before your start date.

Common questions

Everything you might be wondering.

The course mentions AI — do I need AI experience?

No. The course is designed for professionals from any background. AI is used as a practical tool for brainstorming and testing stories, and no technical skills are needed.

Will I practice delivering my stories?

Yes. The final topic covers delivering stories, and your three months of Voca access let you rehearse them privately as many times as you like.

How much time will it take?

The course runs four weeks at roughly two to three hours a week, completed on your own schedule within weekly deadlines.

What does it cost?

USD 595 for the complete course, covering the full Harvard Online course, your Certificate of Completion and three months of Voca practice access.

What is Voca, and how do I use it?

Voca is SkillsPro360's AI-powered practice tool. You can rehearse a presentation, run a mock interview, or have your CV reviewed — privately, on demand, as many times as you like. It is an ideal place to practice delivering the stories you build in this course.

Who awards the certificate?

Harvard Online. On successful completion you receive a Certificate of Completion issued directly by Harvard Online. SkillsPro360 is an authorized delivery partner — we are not Harvard University.

How is the course assessed?

You complete all topics and their quizzes by the stated deadlines, give feedback on peers’ work and take part in discussions. Grading is complete or incomplete, with no letter grades.

Does this course count toward an Executive Program?

Yes. It is one of the five courses in our Executive Program in AI Leadership, which is coming soon. Speak to an advisor so we can plan the route with you.

Tell stories that move people. Prove it with Harvard Online.

Reserve your seat in the next cohort, or book a call to check the course fits your role.

Reserve your seat