Making Presentations in English - skills and some suggestions for appropriate language

  1. Before we start
  2. Knowing your audience
  3. A clear objective
  4. Brainstorming and choosing material
  5. Rhetorical questions
  6. A strong introduction
  7. A clear structure
  8. Spoken language
  9. Body language
10. Visual aids
11. Rehearsal
12. Making Notes
13. Summarizing, concluding and closing
14. Asking for questions and answering them

1. Before you start
Whether you are making presentations in English or in your own language, the same basic techniques apply. Of course, the additional challenge you are faced with when doing it in English is the language. How do you improve your presentation skills in English? Well, the first step is to make sure that you have the basic skills and techniques required in your own language, and then learn the language needed to put these techniques into practice in English.

Top



2. Knowing your audience
 Knowing your audience is perhaps the single most important factor in any presentation. Before you begin to plan what to include in your presentation, find out as much as you can about the people you will be speaking to. Here are some of the questions you should ask yourself

  • What do they know?
  • What do they want to know?
  • What are they interested in?
  • Why are they attending my presentation?
  • What type of language and jargon do they use?

Once you have answered these questions you will be better equipped to begin planning what to include in your presentation. Should you begin planning your presentation before you have satisfactory answers to the above questions, you run the risk of including a lot of material that is not relevant to your audience.

Top



3. A clear objective
 A clear objective is vital. The clearer you can be about your objective the easier it will be for you to include relevant material.

  • I'm here today to
  • My purpose today is to
  • What I want to do today is to give you some facts and figures.
  • My objective today is to introduce British Petroleum's new services.
  • My aim this morning is to
  • My primary target is to
  • My main priority is to

Top



4. Brainstorming and choosing material
 Once you have worked out your objective and have a good idea about who your audience are, then you can begin collecting material and ideas to use in your presentation. Sometimes you can even ask your audience directly the points they wish you to cover!

Only include information that helps you reach your objective and which is directly relevant to the audience. Use anecdotes where possible to involve your audience, and analogies to simplify complicated ideas. A good presentation is 90% preparation!

Top



5. Rhetorical questions
 In what other ways can you increase your audience's involvement? Well, why not use rhetorical questions? Rhetorical questions are questions that are asked not for information but to produce an effect. They are useful because they help your audience to get involved.

Rhetorical Questions

  • Can we achieve these targets by 2005?
  • Can they increase sales?
  • Can the TU solve these problems?
  • So, who was responsible?
  • So, what would you have done?
  • So, what should we do?
  • So, how much would it cost?
  • Where did we go wrong?

Top



6. A strong introduction
It is very important to have a strong introduction to your presentation and to give your audience a reason for listening. You should rehearse your introduction thoroughly; get it right and it will give you confidence and your audience will want to listen. 

Here are some of the points you should cover in your introduction

  • A greeting
  • Your name and position
  • The title of your presentation/your objective
  • The purpose of your presentation
  • The length of time it will take
  • The main parts or points to be covered
  • When your audience may ask questions
  • A reference to the present situation...the human touch

A sample introduction: (see if you can identify the various points mentioned above)

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I'd like to welcome you on behalf of the Technical University of Berlin. My name is Fritz Fratz, and I'm the Manager of Student Affairs here. My objective this afternoon is to let you know about the recent changes in our organization and how they will affect you. By the end of my presentation I hope you will all have a better idea of how these changes can be used to your company's benefit.

My presentation will last twenty-five minutes. It is split into three key areas. First, a general outline of recent changes. Secondly, a more detailed study of those changes relevant to you. And thirdly, how you will be able to make use of these changes. There will be time at the end of each key area for questions. But please feel free to interrupt me as we go along. At the end of my presentation I am sure you will all be hungry, so we have prepared a buffet-lunch. 

Right then, if there aren't any questions, perhaps I could begin?

Signaling a start

  • Right, ladies and gentlemen. Shall we begin?
  • OK, I'd like to begin by...
  • Right then, everybody ...
  • Are we ready to begin?
  • Right. Is everybody ready?
  • OK. Can we make a start?
  • Is everybody here?

Introducing yourself/others

  • I'd like to introduce ...
  • May I introduce ... John Peters from BT.
  • Let me introduce ...
  • I'd like to introduce myself ... My name is Knut Evensen.
  • Let me introduce myself ...

Top



7. A clear structure
Any presentation must be clearly structured. There should be a strong introduction and clear, logical links between the parts. The presentation should be full of information that is both relevant to the audience and meets your objective.

Structuring

  • First ... Second ... Third ...
  • To start with ... Next ...
  • At the outset ... Then ...
  • To begin with ... After this ... Finally ...

Introducing topics

  • I'd like to review ...
  • I want to discuss ...
  • I'm going to analyze ...
  • I shall go over ...
  • consider ...
  • cover ...
  • talk about ...

Moving on

  • Let's now move on to ...
  • I'd like to go on to ...´
  • I now want to...
  • This brings me to ...

Looking back

  • Let's look back for a moment ...
  • To go back to ...
  • As I said before ..

Adding

  • In addition ...
  • I might add that ...
  • Furthermore ...
  • Moreover ...
  • Not only ... but also ...
  • As well as ... there is also ...

Top



8. Spoken language
You should use natural spoken language as opposed to written language and should avoid reading from a text or from overheads. Another thing to avoid is jargon. Use familiar language, jargon should only be used if you are absolutely sure your audience understands it. Finally, vary the speed and the tone of your speech and do not forget to use pauses for emphasis.

Top



9. Body language
Use your body to emphasize your words. Avoid distracting gestures, staring at the ceiling or tapping your feet. Make sure that you have good eye contact with the audience.

Your body language will reflect any nervousness or tension. The key to reducing tension is to be thoroughly prepared, to rehearse and to have clear notes to help you get back on track. Should you get into difficulties: stop, take a deep breath, check your notes, and start again.

One way of reducing your tension is to get to know your audience before you start your presentation. Wait at the door to greet them. Introduce yourself and introduce them to each other. Then suddenly you are no longer a distant figure but someone they can relate to.

Top



10. Visual aids
Visual aids such as overheads or slides should be used to clarify your message and to help your audience remember your main points. They should be clear, bright and bold and shouldn't include too much information. Do not use visual aids to hide behind, although they can be of help should you forget any key words.

Learn how to use any technical equipment beforehand and don't forget to have spare bulbs and fuses handy if you are using a projector. Remember that if it can go wrong, it will go wrong!

Introducing visuals

  • I'd like you to look at this graph...
  • Let me show you this pie chart...
  • Let's have a look at this model...
  • Let's turn to this map...
  • To illustrate my point lets look at some diagrams...
  • As you can see from these figures...
  • If you look at these photographs you'll see...
  • If you look at this bar chart you'll notice...
  • If you look at this histogram you'll appreciate...
  • If you look at this flow chart you'll understand ...
  •  If you look at this matrix...

Naming the parts of diagrams

  • The vertical axis represents total annual sales.
  • The horizontal axis shows our market share.
  • The curve
  • The solid line
  • The dotted line
  • The broken line
  • The shaded area
  • The unshaded section
  • The bulleted column
  • The colored segment
  • The red bar

Explaining diagrams

  • Sales rose slightly in the final quarter
  • Profits fell a little last year
  • Demand increased gently
  • Turnover decreased steadily
  • Turnover dropped suddenly
  • Turnover decreased quickly
  • Demand increased rapidly
  • Profits fell dramatically
  • At the beginning of this year sales stagnated
  • In the middle of August profits slumped
  • At the end of last year demand peaked
  • In the first quarter of 1992 sales plummeted
  • In the second quarter of 1992 sales flattened out
  • In the third quarter of 1992 sales leveled off
  • In the last quarter of 1992 sales remained steady.

Top



11. Rehearsal
Rehearsal is a vital but often neglected part of a presentation. There are many ways you can rehearse, but the best is in front of friends or family, and preferably in the room in which you will be holding your presentation.

Top



12. Making Notes
When making a presentation in English you will want notes not just to remind you of the key areas but also of key words. Your notes should be an aide-memoire; they should not include the whole presentation. Do not hesitate, stop, and look at them should you forget what to say next. Your overheads can also be used as an aide-memoire.

Notes should be preferably written on small stiff pieces of card. A4 sheets of paper tend to look unprofessional, and you will be tempted to write down too much material.

Top



13. Summarising, concluding and closing
Throughout a presentation it is vital that you have an easily recognizable structure and that at the end of each key area you summarize your main points. This will reinforce your message and help your audience remember your argument.

As we have mentioned, a strong introduction is very important to give the audience a reason for listening. Similarly a strong conclusion is vital - in your conclusion you should tell your audience what you want them to do next. Your final message needs to be clear and to the point, for example: "I'm sure you will agree that there is everything to gain by using our services, and we look forward to working with you". In other words, end on a high point.

Finally, you should close your presentation by asking for questions. Do not be afraid to wait for questions. One trick is to hold up your hand - this will cue the audience to do the same and encourage them to ask questions.

Summarising

  • To sum up then, ...
  • To summarize my main points ...
  • To recapitulate, ...
  • Let me now sum up ...
  • Let me now just recap ...
  • Concluding
  • I'd like to conclude by reminding you that ...
  • Let me end by ...
  • I'd like to finish ...
  • In conclusion, may I remind ...
  • Finally, ...
  • In closing ...
  • Thank you. No doubt you have many questions ...
  • If there are any questions I shall do my best to answer them ...
  • I'm sure you have many questions ...

Top



14. Asking for questions and answering them
If the content and structure of your presentation allows for questions to be asked at the end of each key area, then encourage your audience to do so. Questions allow your audience to become involved in your presentation.

When answering questions, take the question from the questioner but then answer the audience as a whole. If you receive a difficult or aggressive question, then don't forget that you are not the only one who can answer it. There may be others in the audience who can answer the question for you and sometimes the best person to answer it is the questioner himself!

Starting the questions

  • You no doubt have many questions ...
  • If there are any questions ...
  • I'm sure you have many questions ...
  • Asking for more questions
  • Any more questions, ladies and gentlemen?
  • Are there any further questions?

Playing for time

  • That's an interesting question.
  • I'm glad you asked that question.
  • You've raised an important point there.
  • I'm afraid I don't quite follow.
  • That's a difficult question.
  • Would you mind repeating that please?

Dealing with interruptions

  • With your permission, I'll deal with that point later on.
  • If I could just finish please ... 
  • Perhaps I could return to that point later on?
  • If I might just finish please ...
  • If you'd be so kind as to let me finish?
  • If you'd allow me to continue?
  • Perhaps I could get back to that later on?

Ending the questions

  • Unless there are any more questions, I'd like to end with  ... 
  • Closing question time 
  • Perhaps on that note we could end?
  • I'm afraid that's all we have time for. If anybody has any further questions please come up and ask me.

Thanking

  • I'd like to thank you all on behalf of ... 
  • It just remains for me to thank you all for your participation.
Top

Back