Presenting in English
Presenting in English
Presenting in English
~Effective communication is 20% what you know and 80% how you feel
about what you know~
Jim Rohn.
Intercultural competence
Cultural differences may influence the way you give your presentation. Differences in body
language can be important, for example, using your hands when presenting to an Italian audience
will probably make your presentation come over as dynamic.
TIP! Use the internet to check the cultural points you should be aware of.
READING SPOT
A .Complete the text with items from the box. You will only need six of the eight sentences
given.
Before you actually get down to the nitty-gritty of planning the presentation itself, you need to
reflect on a number of crucial questions. First of all ask yourself what exactly your aim is 1……
you can then decide how many stages are necessary to get there, what the aim of each individual
stage is and how each one contributes to your overall aim 2….. In other words, you-can shift the
essential: data from the rest and get rid of any irrelevant or unnecessary detail.
However, content and structure are not everything. The talks we give are not just about a certain
topic, they also have a specific purpose. Talks may be delivered in order to convey information,
to persuade, to spur people into action as to countless other reasons. Obviously the purpose the
purpose of our talk will have a significant effect on the language we use 3 ….. Although the
importance of clear aims cannot be overstated, most-experienced presenters seem to agree that its
only secondary to the human factor.
Which brings us to the second question we should all be asking ourselves at the planning stage:
Who are the audience? 4….. What you say has to be appropriate not only to your aim, but also to
your audience.
Therefore, it is always a good idea to find out as much as you can about the audience well before
you face them. 5….. You can also anticipate how much they already know about your topic, and
so pitch your talk at the right level.
Finally, never underestimate the importance of the physical environment in which you will
deliver your talk.6 ….. Walking around the room where your talk is going to be will help you
focus on your audience rather than your surroundings. This also gives you the chance to check
the equipment you need is there and in working order.
a) A presentation cannot be successful unless it takes the needs and interests of the
audience into account.
b) Having a clear objective in view enables you to map out the most convenient route to
get to your destination.
c) Once you have established that, you can prioritize your material.
d) In addition, make sure you plan carefully how you are going to introduce yourself.
e) It will also affect the manner in which we choose to deliver our talk.
f) Most presenters feel more relaxed in they have had the opportunity to go to the
conference venue beforehand
g) Of course it is better to plan in advance when you want to deal with questions
h) With such information, you can tailor both the style and the content of your talk to
your audience’s expectations.
a. Complete the ‘Five Rules for Presenters’ below. Use the notes to find the missing words.
The first letters have been given.
5. Don’t r______ o_______ time Don't go on past the time when the
presentation is supposed to finish.
Choose the best word to fill each gap from the alternatives given below. Put a circle around the
letter, A, B or C, of the word you choose.
‘Here is some advice for making a presentation. People want to hear you, so (1) ........... your
voice to the back of the room. If you are using a (2)... make sure you know how to turn on. Speak
in a natural (3) ..... and not too quickly, Don’t speak in a monotone — vary the (4) … of your
voice. Try to gain your audience's (5) .............. from the beginning. Start with an interesting (6)...
. In the main part of your talk, use some surprising (7) ….. . And don’t forget to leave time for
participants to ask (8) ......... .
1 A shout B project C pass 5A digression B objective C attention
2 A microphone B C microlight 6 A anecdote B antidote C antelope
microscope
3 A tone B sound C note 7 A truths B facts C words
4 A court B pitch C field 8 A B practices C questions
discussions
Below you will find a number of ways of stating the purpose of your presentation. Complete
them using the words given. Combining the sentences with the number 1 will give you a
complete introduction. Then do the same with those numbered 2 etc.
“OK, let's get started. Good morning, everyone. Thanks for coming. I'm (your name). This
morning I'm going to……”
In a good presentation, what you say - the content - is much more important than anything
else. But a clear structure helps. When you move on to your next point or change direction, tell
the audience.
You can do this easily and effectively, using simple phrases as ‘signposts’ to guide the
audience through your presentation:
Once you know the nine basic signposts, you can build them into the points you make to give
direction and coherence to your presentation.
Complete the following signpost phrases and sentences using the notes to help you. Say them
first. Then write them down. The first one has been done for you as an example.
1 Moving on / question / the US market
Moving on to the question of the US market,
2 Let’s expand / the figures / last year,
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
3 I’d like/ recap/ the main points
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
4 Let's go back / question / clinical research methods.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
5 Digress/ a moment, let's consider / alternatives.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
6 Going back/ a moment/ the situation last year
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
7 Let’s turn now/ our targets/ the next five years
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
8 I’d like/ turn now/ our projections/ year 2005
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
9 Go back/ the main reason/ our collaboration/the Germans
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
10 I'd like / expand/ that / little, before we move on.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
11 Let’s go back / a moment / what we were discussing earlier.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
TIP Neat, short signposts are more effective than long explanations of the structure of your
presentation. Remember, the simplest way to signpost the end of one stage of your
presentation and the beginning of the next is to say:
OK, so…
3. Commenting on Visuals
Visuals help you to give a lot of information in a short space of time. They are really quick
snapshots of situations, developments, events and processes which would take a long time to
explain fully in words.
Good visuals speak for themselves and require little or no description, but you often need to
draw your audience’s attention to one or more key points before you discuss them in more
detail:
1. Highlights Which parts of the visual are most significant?
2. Comments Why?
3. Interpretations What conclusions can you draw?
These expressions highlight important information in a visual. Complete them using the
following words:
on to at out about
us to look 1. … this part of the graph in more detail
us to focus our attention 2. … particularly important feature.
I’d like to think 3. … the significance of this figure here.
to point 4. … one or two interesting details
to draw your attention 5. … the upper half of the chart.
These expressions comment on important information in a visual. Complete them using the
following words:
If As Whatever Whichever However
1. ……… you can see, there are several surprising developments.
2. ……… you look at it more closely, you'll notice a couple of apparent anomalies.
3. ………. you try to explain it, this is very bad news.
4. ………. the reasons for this, the underlying trend is obvious.
5. ………..way you look at it, these are some of our best results ever.
4. Survival Tactics
If you have problems during your presentation, don't panic. Pause. Sort out the problem and
continue. Here are the eight most common problems people face. Match what you think with
what you say:
WHAT YOU THINK WHAT YOU SAY
1. I've got my facts wrong! a. So, let's just recap on that
2. Too fast! Go back. b. So, basically, what I'm saying is this…
3. I've forgotten to say something! c. Sorry, what I meant is this …
4. Too complicated! Make it simple. d. Sorry, I should just mention one thing
5. I'm talking nonsense e. So, just to give you the main points here
6. How do you say this in English? f. Sorry, let me rephrase that
7. Wrong! Try again. g. Sorry, what's the word / expression?
8. I'm running out of time! h. Sorry, perhaps I didn't make that quite clear
Notice how some of the words are stressed in each phrase. Repeat the phrases until you feel
comfortable saying them.
Choose the best word to fill each gap from the alternatives given below, Put a circle around
the letter, A, B or C, of the word you choose.
“OK. Let me (1) … up what we’ve done today. (2) … we looked at what makes a good leader.
(3) … we looked at key leadership skills. Then, last, but by no means (4) …, we talked about the
consultation process. Are there any final (5) … that you'd like to ask? No? Well then, that’s a
good (6) … to stop. (7) … you for listening.”
VOCABULARY SPOT
1. For questions 56-65, read the text below, Use the word given in capitals at the end of
each line to form a word that fits in the Space in the same line.
2. Look at the following answer to the question in 3.1 and complete it with the words and
phrases in the box.
What I mean is But in spite of all of that So, I would say that’s
Because of that That’s because When it comes to On top of that that’s the reason
When I think about a person who has influenced me a great deal in my life, the first person who
comes to mind is my grandfather. 1____ he was young, he had a really hard life. His family had
to work very hard and they didn’t have a lot of money. So they couldn't afford for him to go to
school, and when he was only 14, he had to go to work in the family business. 2 ____ his own
father became very ill so he and his mother had to work extremely hard to make enough money
to keep his family together. 3 _____ I think of my grandfather, I think of a man who is always
happy and smiling. I think 4 _____ what makes him special — his outlook on life is always so
positive 5 _____ way that he’s influenced me, I think he's made me a calmer person. 6 ____ me
to see that you can achieve a lot just by persevering and getting on with whatever task needs to
be done. You see, my grandfather used to look after me when I was very small and he would
build things with me. But I was very impatient and if we didn’t get it finished quickly, | would
become very angry. Bur my grandfather taught me to relax and enjoy the work and to not always
be in a hurry to get it finished. 7 ____ I learned to slow down. And I’m sure 8 ____ why I enjoy
my work and my studies now. 9 _____ has been a very big influence in my life so far.
2. Word Partnerships. Complete each of the blanks with one word only:
By (1) … the most terrifying day of my life was the day I met my girlfriend’s family. Her father
(2)…to her going out with somebody he had never met and insisted (3) …meeting me to see if he
approved (4)... his daughter’s “young man”.
‘ I spent hours getting (5)... for the dreaded event. I spent so long trying to choose clothes
suitable (6)... the occasion that I (7).... the bus and had to (8)... my way to my girlfriend’s house
(9).... foot!
I had been instructed to be there for afternoon tea at three o’clock and as I did not want to be (10)
.. for this first meeting, I ran the last 500 meters. As I (11) … the corner of the street where her
house was situated, I took a quick (12) … at my watch. It was five to three. I was just (13) …
time.
My girlfriend, Sandra, opened the door, startled to see me out of (14)...because I had been
running. The family (15) … barked an unfriendly welcome at me but she told me not to (6) …
any attention as he was quite friendly, really.
I’m sure my heart was (17)... twice as fast as I went into the house. I was shown into a room
which was so dark that (18).... first it was impossible to make out who was inside. Gradually, I
became (19)....... of four figures standing by a table. They stared at me (20)...... Silence. There
was no escape, I was doomed.
3. Add the missing prepositions to these texts.
A
A: I'm really fed up my job. I’ve been doing the same thing at Trimstep for ten years and I’m
tired of the same old routine.
B: But I thought you were keen your job. You've always seemed so enthusiastic it.
A: Well, I used to be very impressed the managers, But now they're only interested making
money and they seem indifferent how the staff feel. There are rumours that business isn’t going
well, so a lot of people are worried their jobs. In fact, one of the senior managers left last week.
He obviously wasn’t satisfied the way the company's being run. Maybe it’s time I started looking
around for something new, too,
References
Note. Most of the texts were adapted from different specialized journals and magazines in the
field.