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Building confidence in public speaking –
How Step By Step empowered their fundraising team to tell powerful stories
Step By Step is a youth homelessness charity based in Aldershot. Their fundraising team needed to develop the confidence and skills to deliver engaging, persuasive talks. With a new fundraising team in place and a mix of experience levels, they needed to speak to both corporate audiences and local community groups. The aim? To raise awareness and secure vital funding. Through a mix of group training and one-to-one coaching, the fundraising team learned to speak with confidence, clarity, and heart. The results?
- Confident speakers able to address audiences of all sizes
- A clear focus on storytelling over props and slides
- A successful funding partnership secured through one powerful talk
The client
Step By Step is a charity that supports young people going through hard times. They offer accommodation, personal development opportunities, and specialist support services. Their mission is to empower young people and prevent homelessness, helping them become thriving members of the community.
The challenge
With a new fundraising team in place, Step By Step needed to build confidence and skill in public speaking. The range of experience levels posed a challenge:
- Some team members were confident – others had never spoken in public
- They needed to speak to large corporate audiences and small local groups
- Talks to corporates aimed to win long-term funding partnerships
- Talks to community groups aimed to raise awareness of their work
The solution – action taken
Step By Step brought in Sarina to run three tailored training sessions. These included:
- Group workshops covering core public speaking skills
- One-to-one coaching (both online and in-person)
- Individual support to suit different experience levels
- Flexible sessions arranged around the team’s availability
- Emphasis on storytelling, not slides or props
Sarina shared countless practical tools and insights. The fundraising team were delighted with her generous, inspiring, and flexible approach.
Results – outcomes and benefits
The impact was clear across the team:
- All fundraising team members, even the experienced speakers amongst them, have grown in skill and confidence.
- One particularly shy team member with no previous experience began by speaking to small groups. Within a few months, she was eager to take on larger audiences. She later spoke to a major corporate group, winning their vote to become a funding partner – a rare and critical opportunity that only comes around every few years.
- Team members now feel confident about telling the story of Step By Step’s work with clarity and emotional power – without relying on slides or other props.
Client testimonials
Conclusion – summary and future outlook
Step By Step now has a confident fundraising team that’s ready to speak to any audience. Whether they’re raising awareness in schools or securing vital funding from major partners, they’ve learned how to tell powerful stories that connect. The ripple effect of that confidence is already changing lives.
