At the end of last year, I coached the finalists for the Geneva Challenge – an annual global contest under the patronage of the late UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan organized by the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies.
Five teams, each representing a continent, had to convince a jury of high-level policymakers that their project offered the best solutions to the challenges of youth empowerment.
They were master’s students from some of the world’s most prestigious universities.
But their task went beyond explaining their ideas. They had to persuade the jury that their proposal would effect change. Not an easy task given that they were not development policy experts.
Each five-member team delivered the first draft of their 15-minute presentation for me to review and propose changes to make it more impactful.
Below are some tips I gave to turn them into award-winning presenters with compelling presentations.
• Start with the Why. Why did your team decide to develop this particular project? What was your motivation? How can this build your credibility with the jury?
• Establish your credibility at the start, as otherwise, the audience won’t accept what you say. Introduce any team expertise in the area or, more powerfully, add a personal story.
• Focus your presentation on demonstrating how your solution addresses the real-world problem, emphasizing its practicality and feasibility. Avoid spending too much time on the context and problem, as many presenters tend to do.
• Make bold statements.
• Put a title on each slide, unless a photograph. Make sure it is a message rather than an explanation of what the slide is about.
• Use analogy to make the message memorable.
• Simplify numbers – and bring the points up one by one.
• Use video clips of less than 1 minute for impact
• Less is more. If asked for 15 minutes, prepare 14 minutes and keep to it.
As well as the 15-minute presentation, each team prepared a 2-minute pitch.
Here is the pitch from Team Africa – the winners of the 2024 Geneva Challenge for their project MNTASE Cares – Mobile Clinics for Youth Empowerment to address South Africa’s teenage pregnancy crisis.
It was simple, credible, concrete, emotional and beautifully delivered.
When was the last time you gave a great pitch or presentation?
Contact me for details of my coaching and team workshops.