This is the third in a series of occasional posts by guest expert Mike Parkinson on using PowerPoint in different industries and for diverse audiences. Mike is an internationally recognized visual communication expert, multi-published author, and partner at 24 Hour Company, a premier proposal and presentation graphics firm. Take a look at his other posts: 2 steps to change the world with PowerPoint and 3 tips for making powerful presentations to the government.

Keeping a consistent look and feel throughout your presentation helps your audience trust you, and trust is especially important for a nonprofit organization seeking support. Nonprofits that are raising awareness -- and funds -- can apply many of the tips from my previous blog post, such as creating a template before you begin assembling your slides.

Here are three more hints for presenting for both small and large nonprofits:

  1. Tie content to your mission. When creating your template, use your logo and its colors to cement your brand identity in the audience's mind. You want them to associate your mission with your nonprofit. Choose imagery to build a template that relates to the services or products you provide. Check out this American Red Cross PowerPoint template on Slideshare.net.

    Red Cross template image

    The presenter sampled the color red from the logo and used the Red Cross logo and images of services they provide in the template design. Before viewing the content (and even if you aren't familiar with the organization), you know what the Red Cross offers.
  2. Keep your content and graphics simple. Unnecessary visual clutter and too much data interfere with audience understanding. Focus on your audience's most important questions about your nonprofit and make sure your graphic answers those questions clearly. Avoid using too many different images, lines, shapes, patterns, textures, and colors. If you're speaking to a complex issue, start with an overview graphic and then use it throughout your presentation to continue the thread. Sometimes the simplest solution is the best. Show your service through photographs. Show others benefiting from the help your organization delivers. Show how you're making a difference. The image below uses simple text of an important statistic along with an engaging photo to draw the audience's attention (and draw upon their emotions) to showcase the end result of their service -- a healthy and happy baby.

    Baby image
  3. Tell a story. A great way to draw your audience into your presentation is to apply the techniques that successful authors and speech writers use. Nancy Duarte, CEO of the presentation company Duarte and author of Slide:ology, brilliantly describes this technique in her latest book Resonate. I recommend you check out Duarte's site (http://www.duarte.com/work/) and see how her company applies this technique to nonprofit presentations. You show "how it is" and contrast it with "what it could be." You show the world as it currently is and how it could be changed for the better with the help of your organization. Begin with an image of a homeless family and end with a renovated home for that now very happy family. In between, you build your story, you draw your audience into your presentation, and you make them care. Remember, facts tell and stories sell.

-- Mike Parkinson