Project-Based Learning · Community Action

Lesson 5: Presenting to Your Real Audience — He Kōrero Whakaaro Rangatira

The culminating presentation — communicating your project's findings, actions, and impact to a real community audience with the confidence and mana of a genuine civic changemaker.

🎯 Ngā Whāinga Akoranga | Learning Intentions

🧠 Students will know:

Effective presentation structure (hook, evidence, story, call to action); how to field tough questions from a real audience; how to close a presentation with a specific, actionable call to action; the role of mihi in opening a formal presentation.

🌱 Students will demonstrate:

Deliver a 10-minute project presentation to a real external audience; field questions from stakeholders; close with a specific call to action that continues the project's momentum beyond the classroom.

🎥 Media Anchor & Inquiry Scaffold

Community Action & Project-Based Learning in Aotearoa

Watch the full clip — 4:47. Source: TED. This lesson's audience is real — a board, a council, a community group who can actually say yes. The clip is about pitching to exactly that kind of listener, not about performing a speech.

🧠 1. Before Viewing (Launch the Inquiry)

You are about to present to real people who care about the issue you've been working on. Not your teacher — real stakeholders. How does that change how you prepare? How does it change what you include and leave out?

👁️ 2. During Viewing (Critical Inquiry Points)

  • Early in the clip: What is the difference between presenting TO an audience vs. presenting WITH them — and why does the second approach create more impact?
  • Midway: How does opening with a formal mihi or karakia signal to a Māori audience that this is a serious and respectful presentation — even from young people?
  • Later in the clip: Your call to action at the end must be SPECIFIC. 'Do something' is not a call to action. 'Sign our petition by Friday at the link on this slide' is. What is YOUR specific call to action?

🗣️ 3. After Viewing & Kaiako Facilitation

Kaiako Move: Arrange a real audience for the presentations — school leaders, local council, community organisation representatives, or iwi members. Brief the audience in advance on their role: to ask genuine questions and provide authentic feedback.

Task: Presentation Preparation: Build your 10-minute presentation structure: (1) Mihi/hook — 1 min; (2) Problem evidence — 2 min; (3) What we did — 3 min; (4) What changed — 2 min; (5) Call to action — 2 min. Practice at least twice with a different group.

⚡ Whakaoho | Do Now: Project Hook (5 mins)

One-sentence pitch: describe your entire project in one sentence that would make a stakeholder want to hear more. Time: 60 seconds. Practice on three different people in the room — which version gets the best reaction?

🌱 Activity 1: Collaborative Inquiry (25 mins)

Rehearsal and feedback — deliver a timed 10-minute practice presentation to another group. Receive structured feedback on: clarity of problem, credibility of evidence, power of story, specificity of call to action.

✍️ Activity 2: Documentation & Reflection (20 mins)

Question preparation: generate the five hardest questions your audience could ask. Prepare honest, evidence-based answers for each. Practise not being defensive when a question challenges your conclusions.

🏫 Kaiako Planning & Pedagogy Notes

Curriculum Alignment: Te Mataiaho English Phase 4 / Social Sciences — Students present to authentic audiences, demonstrating oral language skills, civic knowledge, and community impact.

Cultural Integration: Use wānanga processes throughout — shared inquiry, collective voice, relational knowledge. Invite community mentors to support groups where possible.

Assessment: This unit uses portfolio-based, process-focused assessment. The Project Launch Canvas, Action Log, and Evaluation Report together form the authentic assessment evidence.