Presentation Skills Workshop
Why Bad Presentations Happen to Good Causes
Einstein was right.
Why Bad Presentations Happen to Good Causes
Based on survey of 2,501 public interest
professionals
Interviews with 20
highly-rated speakers
from the sector
Observations of 1
very bored person
Why Bad Presentations Happen to Good Causes
It’s Not What You
Say, It’s What They
Hear
Agenda
It’s Not What You
Say, It’s What They
Hear
The Five Essential
Parts of the Pitch
Agenda
It’s Not What You
Say, It’s What They
Hear
The Five Essential
Parts of the Pitch
You Be The Judge
Agenda
It’s Not What You Say…
What goes
into here
It’s What They Hear
How do they
hear?
Four at the Bar
17 yr. old
male
Female with
a Coke
Male
with a beer
23 yr. old
female
What They Hear “Tipping Point” Study
Four at the Bar
17 yr. old
male
Female with
a Coke
Male
with a beer
23 yr. old
female
Everyone has a beverage. Drinking age is 21.
What They Hear “Tipping Point” Study
Four at the Bar
17 yr. old
male
Female with
a Coke
Male
with a beer
23 yr. old
female
Everyone has a beverage. Drinking age is 21.
What They Hear “Tipping Point” Study
3
6A
D
Letters & Numbers
What They Hear “Tipping Point” Study
3
6A
DA card with a vowel must have an even
number on the other side.
Letters & Numbers
What They Hear “Tipping Point” Study
3
6A
DA card with a vowel must have an even
number on the other side.
Letters & Numbers
What They Hear “Tipping Point” Study
They’re the same game.
REAL WORLD ABSTRACTION
What They Hear “Tipping Point” Study
Abstractions are Obstructions
What They Hear Problem with Abstract Language
What They Hear Problem with Abstract Language
“…connects hardworking yet
underserved employees,
community volunteers, and their
families to healthy living and
healthcare services information..”
“…encourages inner city teen
males to become catalysts of
change in urban communities.”
“…enhance the well-being of the
community by providing high
quality, culturally sensitive primary
medical care and related
healthcare services to those in
need.”
“…empowers underserved youth
to build personal resiliency and
become self-motivated learners
using literature-based
enrichment programming .”
Tony ProscioAuthor, Speaker,
Enemy of Jargon
What They Hear Problem with Abstract Language
Tony ProscioAuthor, Speaker,
Enemy of Jargon
What They Hear Problem with Abstract Language
Tony ProscioAuthor, Speaker,
Enemy of Jargon
What They Hear Problem with Abstract Language
www.emcf.org/publications/other-resources
Tony ProscioAuthor, Speaker,
Enemy of Jargon
What They Hear Problem with Abstract Language
Richard NisbettUniversity of Michigan
What They Hear Stories vs. Data
story
What They Hear Stories vs. Data
story
Welfare
Queen
What They Hear Stories vs. Data
statistics
What They Hear Stories vs. Data
Victims
of Poverty
statistics
What They Hear Stories vs. Data
How hard do people on
welfare work to improve
their situations?
(1 = not hard at all, 5 = extremely hard)
Q.
What They Hear Stories vs. Data
HARDWARE
People on
welfare are
irresponsible.
SOFTWARE
What They Hear Stories vs. Data
HARDWARE
People on
welfare are
irresponsible.
What They Hear Stories vs. Data
HARDWAREDATA
People on
welfare are
irresponsible.
Women in New York
City on welfare an
average of 2 years,
not 13.
What They Hear Stories vs. Data
“Facts don’t have the
power to change
someone’s story. Your
goal is to introduce a
new story that will let
your facts in.”
Annette Simmons
What They Hear Stories vs. Data
Margaret Martin
The Harmony Project
What They Hear Stories vs. Data
What They Hear Stories vs. Data
Margaret Martin
The Harmony
Project
7 sentences (0:45)
What They Hear Stories vs. Data
It’s What They Hear Summary
Abstract language can cause
confusion and disconnects.
Stories influence which data we
accept and which we reject.
It’s Not What You
Say, It’s What They
Hear
The Five Essential
Parts of the Pitch
You Be The Judge
Agenda
The Essentials
Who are you?
John Sullivan
BTS Communications
Essentials Who Are You?
Essentials Who Are You?
My name is John Sullivan. I’m an
Eagle Scout, an ex-convict, a
recovering heroin addict, and the
founder and creative director of
BTS Communications.
John Sullivan
BTS Communications
Essentials Who Are You?
The Essentials
Who are you?
What problem does your
organization solve?
The Essentials
Who are you?
What problem does your
organization solve?
1. Whom do you serve?
2. If you didn’t exist,
what would happen?
3. Do you need to
elaborate?
Rick Nahmias
Food Forward
Essentials What Problem Do You Solve?
Essentials What Problem Do You Solve?
In January 2009, while walking my dog
Scout around the neighborhood, I’d see
pound after pound of citrus fruit rotting
in driveways or carried off by squirrels.
My neighbor’s tangerine tree was full,
food pantries were empty, I got an idea.
With a single volunteer recruited from
Craigslist, from 20 feet up, I saw yard
after yard of fruit unpicked. Three
months later, Food Forward was born.
Our motto: harvest food, fight hunger,
build community. (40 seconds)
Rick Nahmias
Food Forward
Essentials What Problem Do You Solve?
The Essentials
Who are you?
What problem does your
organization solve?
What is distinctive and/or
innovative about your
solution?
The Essentials
Who are you?
What problem does your
organization solve?
What is distinctive and/or
innovative about your
solution?
1. Competition?
2. Extent of overlap?
Jill Bauman
Imagine LA
Essentials What is Distinctive or Innovative?
Essentials What is Distinctive or Innovative?
Did you know that in Los Angeles
there are 8,000 homeless families?
Remarkably, also in Los Angeles,
there are 8,000 faith communities:
churches, synagogues and
mosques. Imagine LA’s vision is to
match each family with one faith
community in such a way that the
family permanently exits
homelessness and the children
thrive. Eight thousand plus eight
thousand equals zero, a simple yet
powerful equation.
Jill Bauman
Imagine LA
Essentials What is Distinctive or Innovative?
The Essentials
Who are you?
What problem does your
organization solve?
What is distinctive and/or
innovative about your
solution?
What evidence can you offer
of impact and sustainability?
The Essentials
Who are you?
What problem does your
organization solve?
What is distinctive and/or
innovative about your
solution?
What evidence can you offer
of impact and sustainability?
1. How do you measure?
2. Can it scale?
Dawn Brown
Girls and Gangs
Essentials Evidence of Impact?
Essentials Evidence of Impact?
Hello, my name is Dawn L. Brown and I’m
executive director of Girls and Gangs. A
decade after it began, Girls and Gangs
continues to be the only nonprofit
organization in LA County solely dedicated
to serving girls in the juvenile justice system.
Through support from private foundations
and the LA Department of Probation, last
year we served 340 girls ages 12-18 with
only 3 staff members. We do this at an
average yearly cost of $1,000 per child. It
costs the county $45,000 to incarcerate that
same one child. Nationally, girls are the
fastest growing population in the juvenile
justice system, and in LA County, girls
account for 1 out of 4 juveniles arrested, yet
the correctional system is designed for boys.
Dawn Brown
Girls and Gangs
Essentials Evidence of Impact?
The experts say if you can keep
one-third of the girls out, you’re
doing well. Last year, we kept two-
thirds out.
Essentials Evidence of Impact?
Last year we served 340 girls ages
12-18 with only 3 staff members.
We do this at an average yearly
cost of $1,000 per child. It costs
the county $45,000 to incarcerate
that same one child.
The experts say if you can keep
one-third of the girls out, you’re
doing well. Last year, we kept two-
thirds out.
Essentials Evidence of Impact?
Last year we served 340 girls ages
12-18 with only 3 staff members.
We do this at an average yearly
cost of $1,000 per child. It costs
the county $45,000 to incarcerate
that same one child.
OUTPUTS
OUTCOMES
Meredith Curry
South Central
Scholars
Essentials Evidence of Impact?
Essentials Evidence of Impact?
Essentials Evidence of Impact?
These kids are motivated, intelligent
and dedicated to education, but
because of inadequate preparation,
resources and support from home,
the college graduation rate for them
is still less than 50%.
Our scholars graduate from college
at a rate of 96%.
Meredith Curry
South Central Scholars
Sharon Yazowski
Levitt Pavilions
Essentials Evidence of Impact?
Essentials Evidence of Impact?
Essentials Evidence of Impact?
Music is a force for social
cohesion. Consistent
programming in parks
reduces crime.
Sharon Yazowski
Levitt Pavilions
Mayisha Akbar
Compton Junior Posse
Since 1988, 1,000 kids have
received….
Of those, 400 have remained in our
program for 4 years or more…
And of those, we can boast a 90%
graduation rate.
Quite phenomenal when compared to Compton Unified’s 18%.
We need $1.3 million over the next
3 years to hire 3 directors….
[We] will build local capacity to 2,500
kids at a cost of $57 per kid per year.
Equestrians are an $80 billion
industry annually….
Essentials Evidence of Impact?
Essentials Evidence of Impact?
nice
necessary
Cathy Salser
A Window Between
Worlds
Essentials Evidence of Sustainability?
Essentials Evidence of Sustainability?
Essentials Evidence of Sustainability?
Over the last 7 years, we’ve
grown from reaching just 7
shelters outside California to over
70 through word of mouth alone.
Already this year in LA, our
programs have grown by 28%. It
costs just $1,000 to support the
weekly program at one site for an
entire year.
Cathy Salser
A Window Between Worlds
The Essentials
Who are you?
What problem does your
organization solve?
What is distinctive and/or
innovative about your
solution?
What evidence can you offer
of impact and sustainability?
What do you need now and
how will it help?
John Sullivan
BTS Communications
Essentials What Do You Need?
Essentials What Do You Need?
To reach this vision, we need money.
But I’m not here today to ask you for
donations. I’m here to ask you to help
us find twenty new nonprofit clients.
We’re offering innovative and
effective services that can help them
spread their message, reach more
donors and magnify their impact – all
at rates roughly 50% less than a for
profit agency. And in addition to that
discount, we’re giving them…the
bonus of knowing they’ve helped our
clients move forward in their lives…”
John Sullivan
BTS Communications
Essentials What Do You Need?
The Essentials
Who are you?
What problem does your
organization solve?
What is distinctive and/or
innovative about your
solution?
What evidence can you offer
of impact and sustainability?
What do you need now and
how will it help?
It’s Not What You
Say, It’s What They
Hear
The Five Essential
Parts of the Pitch
You Be The Judge
Agenda
You Be the Judge Rate the 2011 Finalists
PRESENTER #1 PRESENTER #2 PRESENTER #3
You Be the Judge Rate the 2011 Finalists
You Be the Judge Rate the 2011 Finalists
Tina Hovsepian Cardborigami
You Be the Judge Rate the 2011 Finalists
Caroline Kunitz Los Angeles Diaper Drive
You Be the Judge Rate the 2011 Finalists
Patrick Larkin Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden
You Be the Judge Rate the 2011 Finalists
You Be the Judge Rate the 2011 Finalists
PRESENTER #1 PRESENTER #2 PRESENTER #3
Recommended Reading
Recommended Reading
http://speaking.alltop.com
Recommended Resource
Questions & Comments Raise Your Hand
Final Thoughts