Juntos Belize | Presenter’s Guide to Belize
These suggestions reflect what has consistently helped presenters connect more clearly, keep sessions easy to follow, and create a unified experience across different topics and speakers. They are not rules, but proven practices meant to enhance the clarity, readability, and overall consistency of every presentation.
Who You’re Speaking To
Your audience is made up of small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs from across Belize — people running everything from family retail shops and agricultural operations to service businesses and startups.
Most are working with limited resources, wearing multiple hats, and making real decisions in real time. They are motivated, resourceful, and deeply rooted in their communities and faith. Respect their experience. They are not students — they are practitioners.
Cultural Tone and Context
Belizean culture is warm, relational, and community-oriented. Presentations that feel transactional, overly corporate, or disconnected from everyday life will lose the room quickly. A few things to keep in mind:
Do your homework. Research Belizean culture before you arrive. Prioritize cultural relevance in your tone, illustrations, and scenarios — the more grounded in local context, the better.
Start with relationship, not content. A brief personal introduction and genuine curiosity about the audience goes a long way. Be human — share your personal story and experiences, and listen. Your audience will appreciate it.
Use relatable, Belize-relevant examples. Agriculture, tourism, retail, and service businesses are the dominant sectors. Localized illustrations land far better than abstract or foreign case studies.
Avoid heavy jargon. Plain, direct language at a conversational reading level works much better than technical vocabulary.
Align with the workshop theme. Reference major points other presenters have made to create continuity between speakers, and connect your content to Juntos goals and priorities where appropriate.
Humor and humility are welcome. Audiences respond well to speakers who don’t take themselves too seriously.
Faith is not a footnote here. Juntos is a faith-based organization, and many attendees view their business as a calling. Acknowledging that dimension — even briefly — resonates.
Practical Presentation Tips
Dress business casual — professional, comfortable, and approachable.
Use the Juntos slide template, color palette, and 4:3 format for consistency. Use Calibri font with headings at 24–36 pt. and all other slide content at 18 pt. minimum.
Invite conversation and audience participation — avoid one-way lectures at all cost. Use questions, discussion, and short activities to stimulate engagement.
Use visuals that are clean and simple. High-density slides are hard to follow, especially for remote participants.
Speak slowly and clearly — participants may be joining from areas with variable audio quality.
Budget 3–5 minutes per slide, with 10–15 slides total. Plan to end at least 5–10 minutes early to allow time for questions, transitions to the next speaker, and breaks.
Upload your final presentation to the Presentations folder on the Juntos Google Drive a few days before the workshop. Send anything you’d like printed locally — handouts, workshop materials, etc. — to DM Printing (dmprintingbz@gmail.com) at least one week prior.
Get AI Feedback
Before your session, consider uploading your presentation or speaker notes to an AI tool like Claude (claude.ai) to get fast, practical feedback on content and tone. Simply attach your slides or a document and ask something like: “Review this presentation for a small business audience in Belize. Is the language accessible? Is the tone culturally appropriate? What’s unclear or missing?”
Claude and similar tools can flag jargon, suggest simpler phrasing, identify gaps in your content flow, and help you anticipate audience questions — all in seconds. It’s a low-effort step that can meaningfully strengthen your session. You don’t need an account to try it; a free version is available at claude.ai.
Questions? Contact the Juntos team before your session — we’re glad to help you prepare.