1. Briefly state your topic again 2. Explain your objective(s) 3. Signal the beginning of each part 4. Talk about your topic 5. Signal the end of each part 6. Highlight the main points 7. Outline the main ideas in bullet-point form 8. Tell listeners youve reached the end of the main part
Getting the Audiences
Attention
Ask a rhetorical question. For examples:
1. Is market research important for brand development? 2. Do we really need quality assurance?
Getting the Audiences
Attention Start with an interesting fact. For examples: 1. According to an article I read recently, central banks are now buying Euros instead of dollars. 2. Did you know that fast food consumption has increased by 600% in Europe since 2002? 3. Id like to share an amazing fact/figure with you.
Getting the Audiences
Attention
Tell them a story or anecdote. For
example: 1. I remember when I attended a meeting in Paris 2. At a conference in Madrid, I was once asked the following questions: 3. Let me tell you what happened to me a couple days ago.
Getting the Audiences
Attention Give them a problem to think about 1. Suppose you wanted to set up a new call centre. How would you go about it? 2. Imagine you had to reorganize the sales department. What would be your first step?
Giving the Presentation
- Signposting Saying what is coming In this part of my presentation, Id like to talk about So, let me first give you a brief overview.
Giving the Presentation
- Signposting Moving to the next point This brings us to my next point. Lets now move on/turn to After examining this point, lets turn to Lets now take a look at
Giving the Presentation
- Signposting Indicating the end of a section This brings me to the end of my first point. So, thats the background on Thats all I wanted to say about
Giving the Presentation
- Signposting Referring Back As I said/mentioned earlier, Let me come back to what I said before Lets go back to what we were discussing earlier. As Ive already explained, As I pointed out in the first section,
Giving the Presentation
- Signposting Summarizing a point Before I move on, Id like to summarize the main points. Let me briefly summarize the main issues. Id like to summarize what Ive said so far.
Giving the Presentation
-Talking about Difficult Issues I think we first need to identify the problem. Of course well have to clarify a few points before we start. We will have to deal with the problem of .. How shall we cope with ? The question is: Why dont we tackle the distribution problems? If we dont solve this problem now, well get into serious trouble soon.
Giving the Presentation
-Referring to other Points Id like to mention some critical points in connection with/concerning There are a few problems regarding With respect/regard to prices, we need more details. According to the survey, our customers are unhappy with this product.
Giving the Presentation
-Adding Ideas In addition to this, Id like to say that Moreover / Furthermore, there are other interesting facts we should take a look at. As well as that, we can Apart from being too expensive, this model is also too big. To increase sales we need a new strategy plus more people.
Giving the Presentation
-Emphasizing Important PointsUsing a Verb Id like to stress the following point. Id like to draw your attention to the latest figures. Id like to emphasize that our market position is excellent.
Giving the Presentation
-Emphasizing Important PointsUsing What What is really important is how much we are prepared to invest. What we should do is talk about intercultural problems.
Giving the Presentation
-Emphasizing Important PointsRhetorical Questions So, just how good are the results? So, where do we go from here? Why do I say that? Because
Giving the Presentation
-Emphasizing Important PointsAdverb + Adjective Construction It would be completely wrong to change our strategy at this point. We compared the two offers and found the first one totally unacceptable. I think this fact is extremely important.
Using Your Voice Effectively
Use your voice and the way you stress words or make pauses in sentences to make your presentation more interesting and easier for the audience to follow.
Using Your Voice Effectively
- Stressing Words -
We all know that this is an extremely
difficult market. (Its more than just difficult). We all know that this is an extremely difficult market. (you and I agree on this) We all know that this is an extremely difficult market. (but they dont)
Using Your Voice Effectively
- Making Pauses Use pauses to slow your pace down and make your sentences easier to understand. Group words into phrases according to their meaning and make pauses between the phrases. EXAMPLES: In my opinion we should go into other markets. In my opinion // we should go // into other markets. On the other hand, the figures prove that we are on the right track. On the other hand, // the figures prove // that we are on the right track.
Reference Comfort, J., Effective Presentations, Oxford University Press, 2004. Grussendorf, M., English for Presentation: Express Series, Oxford University Press, 2007.