How to add audience participation to your presentation
Highlighting impact in charity presentations
When it comes to delivering an effective charity presentation, clarity is everything. The key to keeping your audience engaged and driving them toward action lies in how clearly you convey your central message.
In this post, we’ll explore why crafting a clear and compelling message is crucial to the success of your presentation and how you can shape your content to ensure your audience walks away with a strong, memorable takeaway.
This post is part of our series of articles on presentation and public speaking advice for charities.
Download the Charity Presentation Skills Guide here
What is a presentation goal?
A presentation goal is the clear, purposeful outcome you aim to achieve when addressing an audience. It usually includes what you specifically want your audience to think, feel or do after they have heard your message.
A presentation goal is a guiding star, shaping content, delivery, and engagement strategies. Your goal focuses your message and defines success.
A good presentation goal is specific and measurable.
Why is a Clear and Compelling Message is Essential?
As charity professionals, we often find ourselves with a lot to say: statistics, success stories, and a long list of goals. While all this information is important, it can overwhelm your audience. The risk? Your key message gets lost in the noise.
A focused, compelling message cuts through the clutter and keeps your audience’s attention on what matters most: your cause. Here’s why it’s crucial:
- It Focuses Your Presentation: A single, clear message helps you stay on track and prevents you from straying into irrelevant details.
- It Ensures Your Audience Understands What’s Needed: At the end of your presentation, you want your audience to know exactly what action you want them to take—whether it’s donating, volunteering, or raising awareness.
- It Makes Your Presentation Memorable: A clear message sticks. When you reinforce it throughout your presentation, it becomes the lens through which your audience views everything else you share.
Think of it this way: when you leave your audience with a single, clear takeaway, you dramatically increase the chances of them acting on it. The clarity of your message will ensure that what you’ve said stays with them, whether it’s a week, a month, or a year down the line.
How do you Craft a Clear and Compelling Presentation Message?
So, how can you create a central message that will resonate with your audience and drive your call to action? Here’s a step-by-step guide to making it happen:
1. Define Your Core Message
Before you start writing your presentation, take a moment to really think about what you want your audience to remember above all else. This is your "big takeaway"—the core message you want to get across.
For example, let’s say your charity is focused on tackling child hunger. Your core message could be:
- “Together, we can provide every child in our community with a healthy meal.”
This message is simple, clear, and directly speaks to your charity’s mission. When crafting your own message, keep these tips in mind:
- Be specific: Focus on a single goal or action you want your audience to take.
- Be clear: Avoid using complicated language or jargon that might confuse your listeners.
- Be actionable: Your message should motivate your audience to take immediate action.
Once you’ve identified your core message, it should become the foundation of your entire presentation. Everything else you share should support, reinforce, or tie back to this central idea.
2. Reinforce Your Core Message Throughout
A message that’s only stated once risks being forgotten. For your audience to truly internalise your key takeaway, you need to reinforce it at strategic points during your presentation.
Here’s how to do that:
- Start with your core message: Open your presentation by stating your key takeaway clearly. This gives your audience a framework for understanding everything that follows.
- Weave it into the middle: As you share stories, data, and case studies, tie each of these back to your core message. For example, you might present a success story and say, “This is how we’re making sure no child in our community goes to bed hungry.”
- End with a powerful reminder: Finish your presentation by summarising your core message again, along with a clear call to action. For instance, “We’ve shared the impact we’re having, but we need your help to do more. Together, we can provide every child with a healthy meal.”
This repetition not only helps solidify your message in the minds of your audience, but it also serves as a reminder of what you need them to do next.
3. Keep It Simple
It’s easy to get carried away with technical details or complex language, but remember: your audience isn’t necessarily an expert in your field. They might not understand the inner workings of your charity or the intricacies of the issues you’re tackling.
A clear, compelling message should be simple and easy to follow. Avoid jargon or long-winded explanations. Instead, focus on:
- Using plain language: Speak in a way that everyone can understand, regardless of their background.
- Making your message accessible: If your core message involves statistics or technical terms, make sure you explain them clearly and relate them to the bigger picture.
- Staying focused: Your audience’s attention is limited, so get straight to the point. Avoid over-explaining or wandering off topic.
For example, if you’re discussing how donations are spent, you might say:
- “Just £10 can provide a month’s worth of food for a child in need.”
Rather than getting bogged down in detailed explanations of the food sourcing process, focus on the impact of the donation itself.
Why is Simplicity Important in Presentations?
In charity work, emotions often drive decisions. When your audience can understand your core message and see how their support makes a difference, they are more likely to act.
Let’s consider a scenario: You’re speaking to a group of potential donors. If you start with a complicated explanation about your charity’s operations, you risk losing their attention. But if you start by saying something clear and relatable—like *“Together, we can provide every child with a healthy meal”—*you immediately bring the focus back to the heart of the matter. This simplicity allows your audience to connect with your cause without getting distracted by unnecessary details.
Practical Tips for Crafting and Delivering Your Message
- Test it: Before you give your presentation, test your core message on someone outside of your charity. Ask them to summarise what you’re trying to achieve. If they can’t do it clearly, refine your message until it’s simple and easy to understand.
- Use visuals: Simple visuals, like images of the people or communities your charity serves, can reinforce your message. A picture can often say what words can’t.
- Stay consistent: Your core message should be consistent across all aspects of your charity’s communications—from your website and social media to your email campaigns and events.
Takeaway: Keep It Focused, Simple, and Memorable
In the world of charity presentations, the key to success lies in crafting a clear and compelling message that resonates with your audience. By focusing on one central idea, reinforcing it throughout your presentation, and keeping it simple and relatable, you can ensure that your audience understands exactly what you need from them—and why it matters.
With a strong, focused message, your charity will be in a better position to engage supporters, inspire action, and achieve the goals you’ve set. So, take the time to define your core message, stay focused, and watch your presentations become more powerful and effective.
Explore more Charity Presentation Skills advice!
This article is a part of our complete guide to Outstanding Presentation Skills for Charities and Purpose-Driven Organisations (it’s a catchy title, isn’t it?!).
The guide shares top tips, tricks and techniques to make all aspects of your charity presentations super effective. It is completely focused on helping you to highlight the impact that you are making and to achieve your charitable goals.
You can view all of the articles within the guide at the links below, or download a quick guide here.
- How do I measure my presentation success?
- How should I start my presentation?
- How do I connect with my presentation audience?
- How do I be concise in a presentation?
- How can I tailor my presentation to the audience?
- How do I highlight impact, within my presentations?
- How can I make my presentation truly compelling?
- How should I use emotion and logic in a presentation?
- How can I add audience participation into my presentation?
- How do I write a clear presentation Call To Action (CTA)?
- How do I successfully use technology in a presentation?
- How can I use a story structure to make my presentation more engaging?
- How do I use visual aids in a presentation?
- How do I use props in a presentation?
- How do I include testimonials in my presentation?
- How should I rehearse my presentation?
- How to prepare for a Question and Answer (Q&A) session?
- How do I improve my presentations?
Meet your charity public speaking expert...
Hi!
I’m Rich Watts and I design and deliver presentation skills training for charities (and a host of other organisations too!) that need their people to inspire, persuade and motivate audiences. I am fortunate enough to have won the UK Business Speaker of the Year competition way back in 2012, and since then I have been using all of my geeky knowledge and Third Sector experience to help charities like yours.
