Non-Profit Presentation Skills

Non-Profit presentations - there's a lot at stake...

I'm sitting on a train in India - traveling from Chadipury to Kolcata. I am here with a group of CARE supporters - looking at various health, education and economic development projects in rural villages around the country.

The work is stunning. The presentations are not. I am not tolerant of bad presentations with my technology clients, but for some reason, I am even less tolerant here. Perhaps because I feel that there is more at stake. The problem of poverty is enormous and stubborn. I don't know much about how to improve health in a rural village, but I do know how to craft a message that people will respond to.

So here are Bridget's Five Rules for a Non-Profit Presentation:

• Rule #1: Don't read your slides

Your slides are meant to serve as guideposts for what you want to talk about. DO NOT READ your slides. It is boring, insulting and a waste of time

• Rule #2: Choose three main points

Choose three things that you want the potential donor to remember (and no more!). Once you have identified the three most important things, build your PowerPoint presentation around those three points. Yes, it's true - that there is more to tell but you are more likely to lose your audience if you give them TOO much information vs. too little.

• Rule #3: Keep your slides uncluttered

Font size should be 20 points or greater.
Have no more than 4 bullet points per slide (and that's a LOT) with no more than two points under each bullet.
Use graphics.

• Rule #4: Remove unnecessary slides

Be RUTHLESS about determining which slides you need and which ones you don't. If the slide doesn't relate to one of your three main points AND if your slide isn't absolutely essential to the understanding of that main point - REMOVE IT.

• Rule #5: Present with passion

If you aren't excited about the topic (and if that excitement doesn't show), then why should the potential donor be excited? Moods are contagious - if your passionate about the topic, let it show. If not, perhaps you are in the wrong job.

Non-Profits will do well to spend some time and money improving the way they present and tell their stories. Andy Goodman (the Goodman Center) is a fantastic resource for non-profits and is full of free resources. Don't hide great work behind a poor presentation.

If you'd like help with your next presentation to donors, I'd be happy to review your presentation and offer feedback. Give me a call. 

5 Mistakes to Avoid in a Sales Presentation

 

5 Mistakes to Avoid in Your Next Sales Meeting Presentation

 

by Lois Wong

When is your next presentation and how will you prepare for it? Millions of presentations are given daily and most of them are mind-numbing. Need help? "The 6 Secrets to Great Sales Presentations" hopefully provided you with some food for thought and a good starting place.

 

While hosting Congresswoman Anna Eshoo in an executive meeting at Xerox PARC 15 years ago, she gave me timeless advice. Relate your solution to something that is part of a person's every day life: their families, their kids, their wants and desires. How your solution will affect that part of their lives? She's right. Address the ‘killer application.' Don't forget that your prospective buyer is a person with personal wants, needs, desires and motivations. Forgetting that fact is sales presentation mistake #1.

 

What are 5 other mistakes to avoid when presenting?

 

1. Minimize Geek Speak, acronyms, and jargon

2. Steer clear of citing numerous boring statistics

3. Avoid "Ummms" and a monotone voice

4. Don't cross your arms when asked a difficult question

5. Answer deliberately negative questions offline

 

As an executive coach I've seen thousands of speaker mistakes over the past 20 years. At a popular MeetUp in Palo Alto, one of the entrepreneurs asked me, ‘How would I know if my presentation was effective?' There are 3 major telltale signs that your presentation was unimpressive, unintelligible, or easily forgettable. But that's for the next blog post.

Click here to receive a free copy of the white paper "Was My Presentation Effective or Forgettable."

6 Secrets to a Great Sales Presentation

by Lois Wong

What's the secret to giving a great sales presentation? Besides practice, practice, practice, you should: know your topic well, be enthusiastic, use simple color graphics, stick to 3-5 bullet points per slide, maintain good eye contact, concentrate on voice projection..... well, maybe you know these basics.

So, what are some of the secrets that the most successful speakers share once they've mastered the basics?

1. Open with a grabber to excite the audience.
2. Use metaphors and analogies to explain complex information. It will most certainly help the audience do what I call ‘retain & explain' the concepts to someone else.
3. Use humor to make a point. Not jokes but levity inserted in the right places.
   
4. Tell stories. Everyone loves to hear stories. Short stories.
5. Ask relevant questions right up front to involve audience participation and interaction.
6. And remember not to drink ice water which constricts the vocal cords, milk which causes mucous, or to have too much caffeine.

While hosting Congresswoman, Anna Eschoo in an executive meeting at Xerox PARC 15 years ago, she gave me advice that's still relevant today. To find out her advice and the 5 other major mistakes to avoid - tune in to tomorrow's blog post!