Finish the following sentences with the correct phrase.

1. Which sentence might you hear at the beginning of a presentation?

A Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for arriving today

B Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for appearing today

C Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming today

D Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for showing your faces today

2. The _________ of today’s presentation is to discuss my findings.

A purpose

B reason

C cause

D points

3. Now, __________ begin by introducing myself.

A allow me

B let me

C I

D presentation

4. I’d be very happy to __________ you to ask questions at the end of the session.

A tell

B invite

C order

D request

Answers

1. Which sentence might you hear at the beginning of a presentation?

A Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for arriving today. Feedback: Wrong – the audience’s arrival is just the moment they appear at the presentation

B Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for appearing today. Feedback: Wrong – this sounds like the speaker wasn’t expecting the audience to come to the presentation

C Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming today. Feedback: Correct – this is a straightforward way to greet an audience

D Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for showing your faces today. Feedback: Wrong – if you ‘show your face’ you go somewhere for a short time because you feel you have to, not because you want to. So this is quite a rude thing to say!

2. The _________ of today’s presentation is to discuss my findings.

A purpose. Feedback: Correct – the speaker is stating the reason for giving the presentation

B reason. Feedback: Wrong – you can say ‘The reason why…’ but not ‘The reason of…’

C cause. Feedback: Wrong – a cause is a reason that belongs to the past, but the speaker is stating what he wants to do in the presentation, so he’s talking about the future

D points. Feedback: Wrong – The speaker is talking about the reason for giving the presentation, so he can say ‘The point of today’s presentation’ but not ‘The points of today’s presentation’

3. Now, __________ begin by introducing myself.

A allow me. Feedback: Wrong – you can say ‘allow me to begin’ but not just ‘allow me begin’

B let me. Feedback: Correct – this is one way to start a presentation

C I. Feedback: Wrong – if you are describing something you are about to do, use the future tense

D presentation. Feedback: Wrong – ‘presentation’ is not the subject of this sentence

4. I’d be very happy to __________ you to ask questions at the end of the session.

A tell. Feedback: Wrong – if you tell someone to do something, you don’t give them a choice!

B invite. Feedback: Correct – the speaker will give the audience a chance to ask questions later if they wish

C order. Feedback: Wrong – if you order someone to do something you don’t give them a choice!

D request. Feedback: Wrong – if you request someone to do something, you ask them to do it for you. But the speaker says ‘I’d be very happy to’ which implies that he is willing to answer questions if the audience wants to ask them.

5. After you have greeted your guests, you will begin to go through the main body of your presentation. It's very useful to have some visual aids - some slides, pictures or graphs that help explain what you are saying. Sometimes they can also help to keep your audience interested in your presentation.

Imagine you are giving a presentation and using some visual aids. What phrases might you use to draw your audience’s attention to these slides? Write down five of them.

Some ideas are given below for you. Read and translate them.

· If you look at this first graph

· As you can see…

· Now let’s look at…

· …a good example of…

· a key factor

· If you look at this slide

· a good illustration of…

6. Now listen to two examples of people giving presentations. As you listen, see if you can hear some of the phrases above.

7. Check your understanding by reading the scripts below:

Clip 1

“If you have a look at this first graph, you can see that our sales topped 50 million the year before last. Then last year sales dropped to 40 million, with a slight recovery at the end of the financial year. However, this year sales have continued to drop to an all time low of 30 million. Now let’s look at our market share. As you can see, we have 25% of the market share, 10% down on last year.”

Clip 2

“A good example of how important internal communications are is shown by some findings from research that we have recently undertaken. Good communications is a very key factor in staff motivation. If you look at this slide, you will see how important it is to get the basics in place. You need to identify your communication requirement, agree your objectives and success criteria, identify your target audiences, define the content of your message and determine the style of delivery. A good illustration of the communication process is when all those basics fall into place naturally.”

8. Finish the following sentences by choosing the correct words and writing them into the blanks.

1. ______ _________ _________ ________ this first graph, you can see that our sales have increased by 25% in the last year.

take / see / look / watch / if / you / at

2. ________ _______ _____ ________ , we have a large percentage of the market share.

see / watch / you / as / know / they / can

3. We find that good communication is a ____ ___________ in improving staff morale.

key / point / thing / factor / reason

4. ___ _______ ______________ ____ the importance of good communication can be seen here.

example / in / a / of / soon / at / good

Answers

1. If you look at this first graph, you can see that our sales have increased by 25% in the last year.

2. As you can see, we have a large percentage of the market share.

3. We find that good communication is a key factor in improving staff morale.

4. A good example of the importance of good communication can be seen here.

8. At the end of your presentation, you may wish to open the floor to questions – to ask if anyone has any questions about your presentation. Imagine it is the end of your presentation and you are asking if there are any questions. What phrases might you use or hear? Write down five of them.

Some ideas are given below for you. Read and translate them.

· If you have any questions, I would be happy to answer them now

· Can I just ask…?

· Are there any questions about any of that?

· Yes, a very good question

· Can you explain to me…?

9. Listen to someone asking if there are any questions. As you listen, try to hear some of the phrases above.

Date: 2015-02-16; view: 1648