PRESENTATION SKILLS

LESSON 2
1. Objectives
After this lesson, students will be able to apply suitable vocabulary and structures,
collect information to prepare the opening part of a presentation effectively.
2. Lesson details
2.1. Theory
INTRODUCTION
Welcoming and greeting the audience
Hello, everyone. I'd like, first of all, to thank the organizers of this meeting for inviting
me here today.
Good morning everyone and welcome to my presentation. First of all, let me thank you
all for coming here today.
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. It’s an honour to have the opportunity to address
such a distinguished audience.
Hallo/Hi everyone. Thanks for coming.
Introducing yourself (name, position, responsibilities)
Let me introduce myself. I’m Jan Novak from Masaryk University in Brno, Czech
Republic...
Let me start by saying just a few words about my own background. I’m a PhD student
of Geography at Masaryk
University in Brno, Czech Republic.
For those of you who don’t know me already, my name’s ... and I’m responsible for...
Saying what your topic/title/subject is
What I’d like to present to you today is...
As you can see on the screen, our topic today is...
The subject/focus/topic/title of my presentation/talk/speech is...
In this talk, I/we would like to concentrate on...
In my presentation I would like to report on...
I’m here today to present...
Explaining why your topic is relevant for your audience
Today’s topic is of particular interest to those of you who...
My talk is particularly relevant to those of you who...
By the end of this talk you will be familiar with...
Stating your purpose/objective
The purpose/objective/aim of this presentation is to...
Today I’d like to give you an overview of...
I’d like to update you on/inform you about/put you in the picture about/give you the
background to/present the results of my research...
During the next 20 minutes we’ll be...
This talk is designed to act as a springboard for discussion.
This morning I’m going to be talking to you about/ telling you about/ showing you how
to deal with/ taking a look at the recent development in/ reporting on the results of the
study we carried out...
What I’m going to do/What I intend to do is describe to you/show you/tell you about...
Presenting the outline/organization/structure of your presentation
I’ve divided my presentation into three main parts.
In my presentation I’ll focus on three major issues.
We thought it would be useful to divide our talk into three main sections.
We can break this area down into the following fields:...
The subject can be looked at under the following headings:...
We have organized this talk in the following way:...
This presentation is structured as follows:...
This talk will cover two current theories on the topic of...
Sequencing
My first point concerns...
I’ll begin/start off by... Then I’ll move on to... Then/Next/After that, I’ll be looking at...
First/First of all, I’d like to give you an overview of...
Secondly/Then/Next, I’ll focus on...
Thirdly/And then, we’ll consider...
Finally/Lastly/Last of all, I’ll deal with...
So, I’ll begin by filling you in on the background to/ bringing you up-to-date on/ giving
you an overview of the history of/ making a few observations about/ outlining...
And then, I’ll go on to highlight what I see as the main points of/ put the situation into
some kind of perspective/discuss in more depth the implications of/ take you
through/make detailed recommendations regarding...
One thing I’ll be dealing with is the issue of...
I’ll end with...
And finally, I’d like to address the problem of/to raise briefly the issue of...
Timing
This should only last 20 minutes.
My presentation will take about 20 minutes
It will take about 20 minutes to cover these issues.
Handouts
Does everybody have a handout/brochure/copy of the report? Please take one and pass
them on.
I’ll be handing out copies of the slides at the end of my talk.
I can email the PowerPoint presentation to anybody who wants it.
Don’t worry about taking notes. I’ve put all the important statistics on a handout for
you.
Questions
If you have any questions, feel free to interrupt me at any time.
Please interrupt me, if there is something which needs clarifying. Otherwise, there’ll
be time for discussion at the end.
If you have any questions you’d like to ask, I’ll be happy to answer them.
If you don’t mind, we’ll leave questions till the end.
There will be time for questions after my presentation.
2.2. Tasks
- Students read coursebook (P5 – P10) and Slides Lesson 2 on EOP
- Students do Tasks on EOP:
Task 1: Complete the presentation introduction with words from the list
talk about - look at - point of view
questions - brief - finally
hear - act - go along
Good afternoon and thank you for making the effort to be here with us today. My name's
Richel Rawlins and I'm responsible for public affairs. What I'd like to do today is to...
our recent corperate campaign. This ... will hopefullly .... a spring board for dicussion.
I'm going to ... look at corperate campaign from three ...: firstly, the customers;
secondly, the financial institutions; and ... he shareholders. If you have any ..., just
interupt me as I .... Your point of views may well be different, and I'd lke to ... hear from
you.
Key:
Good afternoon and thank you for making the effort to be here with us today. My name's
Richel Rawlins and I'm responsible for public affairs. What I'd like to do today is to...
talk about our recent corperate campaign. This ... brief talk will hopefullly .... act as a
spring board for dicussion. I'm going to ... look at corperate campaign from three ...
points of view: firstly, the customers; secondly, the financial institutions; and ... finally
the shareholders. If you have any ... questions, just interupt me as I ...go along. Your
point of views may well be different, and I'd lke to ... hear from you.
 Task 2: Choose the correct verbs for each sentences
1. I'd like to ... you the latest news.
A. Speak B. inform C. describe D. talk
2. Could you ... up? We can't hear you at the back.
A. Talk B. say C. speak D. inform
3. I'll have to ... the places as I don't have any photographs with me.
A. Explain B. describe C. present D. talk
4. He's going to ... the latest results
A. Explain B. inform C. speak D. talk
5. Let me ... why we need to cut costs
A. Describe B. explain C. talk D. speak
6. We'll have time to .... about this over lunch.
A. Explain B. describe C. talk D. speak
7. I couldn't ... how long will it take?
A. Discuss B. say C. talk D. speak
8. We will ... you when the project comes to an end.
A. Say B. describe C. tell D. speak

Key:
1. I'd like to ... you the latest news.
B. Speak B. inform C. describe D. talk
2. Could you ... up? We can't hear you at the back.
B. Talk B. say C. speak D. inform
3. I'll have to ... the places as I don't have any photographs with me.
B. Explain B. describe C. present D. talk
4. He's going to ... the latest results
B. Explain B. inform C. speak D. talk
5. Let me ... why we need to cut costs
B. Describe B. explain C. talk D. speak
6. We'll have time to .... about this over lunch.
B. Explain B. describe C. talk D. speak
7. I couldn't ... how long will it take?
B. Discuss B. say C. talk D. speak
8. We will ... you when the project comes to an end.
A. Say B. describe C. tell D. speak
Task 3: Use one of the following expressions to replace each of the expressions in
the italics in this introduction
 don't hesitate - a chance - I take care
I'm delighted - sections - go through
in more depth - my purpose is – divide
Goodmorning, ladies and gentlemen. It's a pleasure to be with you today. My name's
Gorden Mathews and I'm in charge of corporate finance at our headquaters here in
Brussels. We are here today to review go through some key figures and to outline
financial strategy over the next five years. So what I intend to do is to break down this
presentation into three parts : first, the financial review; second, the options facing us; and
finally, the strategy I propose. If you have any questions, please feel free to interrupt me,
but I should also say there'll be an opportunity to discuss issues at greater length after
my talk.
Key:
Goodmorning, ladies and gentlemen. It's a pleasure I'm delighted to be with you today. My
name's Gorden Mathews and I'm in charge I take care of corporate finance at our
headquaters here in Brussels. We are here today My purpose is to review go through some
key figures and to outline financial strategy over the next five years. So what I intend to
do is to break down divide this presentation into three parts sections: first, the financial
review; second, the options facing us; and finally, the strategy I propose. If you have any
questions, please feel free don't hesitate to interrupt me, but I should also say there'll be an
opportunity a chance to discuss issues at greater length in more depth after my talk.
Task 4: Listen to the openings and complete the sentences
Presentation 1
1... , let me thank you all for being here today.
2. Let me ... myself. My name is...
3. I'm here today to ... our new semi-automatic shelving system.
4. My talk is ... relevant to those of you who ... place orders for the different parts we
supply
Presentation 2
5. I'm happy that so many of you could ... it today at such short ... notice
6. As you can see on the ... , our ... today is project documentation.
7. This is extemely ... for all of us who are directly ... in international project
management, right?
Presentation 3
8. I'm aware that you have very tight schedules, so I appreciate you taking time to come
here today.
9. As you probably know, my name is... the new human resources manager here at
Weston Ltd.
10. Today's topic will be very important for you as ... since ... your help to evaluate and
select candidates fro training.
Key:
Presentation 1
1... First of all, let me thank you all for being here today.
2. Let me ... introduce myself. My name is...
3. I'm here today to ... introduce our new semi-automatic shelving system.
4. My talk is ... particularly relevant to those of you who ... place orders for the different
parts we supply
Presentation 2
5. I'm happy that so many of you could ... make it today at such short ... notice
6. As you can see on the ... screen, our ... topic today is project documentation.
7. This is extemely ... important for all of us who are directly ... involved in international
project management, right?
Presentation 3
8. I'm aware that you have very tight schedules, so I appreciate you taking time to come
here today.
9. As you probably know, my name is... I'm the new human resources manager here at
Weston Ltd.
10. Today's topic will be very important for you as ... department heads since ... I'll need
your help to evaluate and select candidates fro training.
Task 5: Put the sentences below by writing the number in the correct category.
Presentation 1
1. First of all, let me thank you all for being here today.
2. Let me introduce myself. My name is...
3. I'm here today to introduce our new semi-automatic shelving system.
4. My talk is particularly relevant to those of you who place orders for the different parts
we supply
Presentation 2
5. I'm happy that so many of you could make it today at such short notice.
6. As you can see on the screen, our topic today is project documentation.
7. This is extemely important for all of us who are directly involved in international project
management, right?
Presentation 3
8. I'm aware that you have very tight schedules, so I appreciate you taking time to come
here today.
9. As you probably know, my name is. I'm the new human resources manager here at
Weston Ltd.
10. Today's topic will be very important for you as department heads since I'll need your
help to evaluate and select candidates fro training.

Saying what the topic is 3

Welcoming the audience

Saying who you are

Saying why the topic is relevant for the

Key:

Saying what the topic is 3, 6

Welcoming the audience 1, 5, 8

Saying who you are 2, 9

Saying why the topic is relevant for the

2.3 Assignment
- Students read academic articles related to the topic of the presentation and then
summarize the ideas they want to include in the final presentation.
- Students prepare the opening part of their final prepentation.