How to Give Presentations on Service-Learning

Investigation

Goal Setting

Before you give the presentation, examine your goals. Think through why you are making your presentation. Are you:

• Trying to explain service-learning to parents, school boards, or other audiences?
• Looking to develop partnerships with other groups, programs, or organizations that could help you expand your program, provide inkind goods or services, develop curriculum materials, etc.?
• Recruiting students, community members, or others to get involved in your service-learning effort?
• Looking for funders to provide monetary support for your program?
• Encouraging teachers, school administrators, community leaders, or others to start a service-learning program?

Write down your goals and determine why they are important to your servicelearning program. You need to make sure your audience is clear about the purpose of your talk and what you are asking. Now begin to prepare the logistics for your presentation.

Planning

Find a Place to Speak

Finding a place to speak is easy. Many schools, nonprofit organizations, civic groups, and government decision-making bodies would be interested in service-learning. Each group that you speak to may have special requirements for speakers, so call ahead and make sure you meet its guidelines. Be sure you understand all of the technical requirements, like access to computers, video screens, or the Internet.

• A local school is a great place to start. Schools might schedule a one-day or weeklong service-learning information event that acquaints teachers, administrators, and students with the concepts of servicelearning. You can also go back to the school you attended or find a social studies or government class at a nearby school.
• Community service clubs are great venues, too. Check with your state service commission or education agency to find out what schools participate in Learn and Serve America.
• College campuses are good places to make presentations, as many students, faculty, and staff are thinking about new ways to increase community connections and how to enhance learning. Contact the campus civic engagement office or director.
• Youth organizations, such as Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, Camp Fire, Boys and Girls Clubs, and "Y" clubs, are interested in programs about community service.
• Check out local service clubs such as Rotary, Kiwanis, or the Chamber of Commerce. Check the Web or the Yellow Pages to find a local contact.
• Many faith-based organizations host guest speakers. Contact clergy, leaders, or youth groups in these organizations.
• You may want to speak at a local city/town council or county board meeting. These civic leaders are happy to hear about community projects taking place in their area. Ask them to pass a proclamation in honor of your service-learning program.
• If you're still feeling a little reluctant to get out there with your story, ask a fellow servicelearning leader to team up with you to make the experience more relaxing and enjoyable.

Tailor Your Presentation

Determine who will be in your audience. Make sure you are using language and terminology they will understand. Think about the best way to talk to and engage the audience in your presentation.

Secure Necessary Materials and Equipment

You will also want to consider what service-learning materials will support your presentation.

• The Bring Learning to Life video and series of informational publications make the case for service-learning. Download or order copies to share with your audience. 
• The Turning Ideas into Action communications kit includes a media loop, customizable PowerPoint presentations for both adult and youth audiences, and the What is Service-Learning? fact sheet.

Be sure to check ahead for any A/V needs, such as a projection screen for your videos or PowerPoint.

Prepare Your Presentation

Learn about your audience and tailor your presentation to include relevant information addressing needs and interests. Determine how long you have to speak, and be prepared to stick to it. Allow time for questions and answers.

After you've gathered the information and materials you'll need, it is time to plan how to move through your presentation. Establishing a step-by-step plan beforehand will remove the guesswork from presenting and ensure that you are able to touch upon all relevant topics.

You will want to tailor your approach, of course, but here is a helpful outline with several activities you may want to include:

1. Play a slideshow or display the media loop as guests arrive.
2. Introduce yourself and any others who are with you.
3. Thank your audience for coming.
4. Tell your story. First and foremost – you're there to share your own experience.
   • Describe what attracted you to service-learning
   • Detail your past service-learning experiences
   • Talk about any unique or memorable experiences you or others had with service-learning
   • Identify the impacts a particular service-learning initiative had on the community
   • Explain why you recommend service-learning programs to others
5. Describe service-learning in general using the information in the Turning Ideas into Action communications kit, such as the video, PowerPoints, and other assets.
6. Provide an opportunity for questions.
7. Distribute any handouts (brochures, guides, etc.) and direct the audience to get more information at www.servicelearning.org.

Practice

Know your stuff. Try your presentation out first on your family, friends, or other service-learning participants, and ask for feedback. Make sure that you're meeting your time target and are comfortable using media such as PowerPoint. Be sure you have all notes, handouts, and materials that you want to use. Prepare a back-up plan to present your information in case there are technology problems at the site.

Promote

If you're speaking to a group where the public is invited, post the information in a community calendar or newspaper, on a bulletin board, or online through Web sites or social networking sites. Work with your host to determine if there are ways to publicize events.

Action

Presentation

Get to the location in plenty of time to meet your host. Check the room set-up and make sure that the equipment is working properly. Introduce yourself to the audience and show the media loop before beginning.

• Relax. Smile and make eye contact with your audience.
• Be aware of who you are talking to and adjust your presentation as necessary to fit the needs of the group.
• Introduce yourself and provide the audience with an outline of what you are going to cover.
• Tell your own story and the service-learning story.
• Respond to all questions. It's okay if you don't know the answer. You can refer your audience to other resources, such as the National Service-Learning Clearinghouse.
• Thank your host and the audience for listening, and make yourself available for anyone who'd like to talk after the formal presentation.
• Leave handouts and other information with your host and the audience.

Reflection

Evaluation

After the presentation, ask your host for feedback. Follow up on loose ends, like finding answers to questions you couldn't answer on the spot. Thank your host again for the chance to tell the service-learning story.

When you go back to your organization, you may want to spend some time reflecting on and further analyzing your presentation using the feedback from your host and your own observations. Reflect on your presentation goals. Did you accomplish what you set out to do? Were there parts of the presentation that went more smoothly than others? Evaluate what worked and what didn't, and use this information to help you develop stronger presentations in the future.

Demonstration/Celebration

Pass on to members of your organization or other service-learning stakeholders (e.g., through e-mail discussion lists, social media venues, etc.) your successes and lessons learned from your experience. Share:

• interactions and conversations with the audience,
• tips or ideas you learned about during discussion,
• dialogue that generated new perspectives,
• new relationships,
• experiences you brought back from the event that will help you communicate to the field the excitement and inspiration that service-learning brings.

Whatever you do, be sure to take a moment to celebrate the contribution you've just made to building the service-learning movement!