Recap: Speaking Out for Nonprofit Causes via The Chronicle of Philanthropy

This morning The Chronicle of Philanthropy hosted a discussion between two leaders in the nonprofit sector on how to be an effective speaker for your cause. Melany Brown is the President of Alliance Nonprofits, a membership association in Washington, and Pamela Ziemann is the author of Giving Voice to Your Cause: Speaking Tip for Non-Profit Professionals, and also trains nonprofit executives on how to hone their speaking skills.

The conversation began with a quip from the women about the irony of conducting a conversation on how to be a better speaker in a text-only chat format; proving a sense of humor can be helpful in acclimating your audience.

The two women gave informative advice based on audience questions, covering a variety of areas from content to composure.

The full discussion can be viewed at: http://philanthropy.com/article/Speaking-Out-for-Nonprofit/129072/?sid=pt&utm_source=pt&utm_medium=en

Here are my personal highlights:

In discussing fundraising needs, especially in an economy like the one we have today, one can tend to rely too much on hard facts and numbers. Such speeches tend to be dry and lose your audience's emotional connection. It is important to incorporate both facts and story-telling to maintain the interest of your audience. Melany outlined a format of presentation called STAR stories, defined as: S=situation T=tactics used to address A=action R=results.

One danger that many fear in story-telling is the tendency to ramble on. Pamela provided some great tips on how to make your message effective, yet concise, and how to think on your feet when you are being interviewed.

How to end a sentence without rambling:
1. Silently say "period" at the end of your point
2. Get curious about them [your audience], watch for their facial expression to see if it [your point] landed
3. Get to the core issues of feeling that you and what you're saying is "enough"

5 Steps for thinking on your feet
1. Listen
2. Pause
3. Repeat the questions
4. Respond honestly
5. Know when to stop

Another important issue discussed was the use of PowerPoint. We have all seen the tedious PowerPoint presentations with endless bullet-points and drab formatting that have been dubbed "PowerPointless." If you want to use PowerPoint to supplement your presentation, the most effective formatting is to increase your use of visuals and minimize words to a select 1 or 2 per visual. The important part is to stay physically engaged with your audience by maintaining eye contact and focus on what you are saying and the connection to the visuals you have provided. Melany suggests a 3 slide maximum for 10 minutes of speech.

The most valuable information to leave with is to know your audience and create an emotional connection. If you feel lost in the focus of your message, take a moment to reach out to the people who are impacted by your organization and find out why your work is so valuable to them. Or better yet, include them in your presentation. It is essential that you have a clear understanding of your organization's mission the necessity of your projects.