II. Use the expressions from above in sentences of your own.
Lesson 2. Presentation Tips
Warm Up
I. Comment on the expression:The best audience is intelligent, well-educated and a little drunk. (Alben W. Barkley, ex-US vice-president)
II. In your opinion, what should an ideal audience be like?
Active Vocabulary
I. The following expressions will help you to give the clear structure to a presentation. Complete them using the correct preposition.
to on of off back about up for
1. To start ________ , then, …
2. To move ________ to my next point, …
3. To go ________ to what I was saying, …
4. To turn now ________ a different matter, …
5. To say a bit more ________ that, …
6. To dive you an example ________ what I mean, …
7. To digress ________ a moment, …
8. To sum ________ then, …
II. Which of the expressions above are used to
· return to an important point? q
· repeat the main points? q
· talk about something unconnected? q
· begin the presentation? q
· expand a point? q
· change the subject? q
III. You can draw attention to your visuals by using the phrases below. Complete them using the words from the box.
give see point have show
_______ a look at this.
As you can _______, …
I’d like to _______ out …
Let me _______ you something …
To _______ you the background to this …
Listening
I. Listen to a stock trading company manager describe how his team solved a problem with the company's website
Part A
1. Underline the two things the manager does to open his presentation.
ask a question / tell a joke / tell a story / quote some figures
2. What's the significance of the following facts and figures?
__________________________________________
250,000
__________________________________________
3
__________________________________________
60,000
__________________________________________
Part B
3. What three problems was the company having with its website?
a.________________________________________
b.________________________________________
c.________________________________________
4. Having improved the website, what are E-Stock's two current objectives?
a._______________________________________
b._______________________________________
Part C
5. Which graph (a, b, c or d) does the speaker refer to?q
6. What three things does the manager do to close his presentation?
a. he sums up his talk
b. he quotes a well-known person
c. he refers people to his report
d. he invites questions
Reading
Using the framework below, prepare a short presentation of a problem you solved at work. It can be any kind of problem, big or small. Complete the boxes on the right with brief notes. If you like, prepare simple visual aids based on the information you put in these boxes. Use the language on the left to help you structure your talk, but change it if you need to.
A Ten-Point Presentation Plan
1. Impact opening (choose one)
(Ask a question) Have you ever …?How would you..?
(Quote some surprising figures) Did you know …?
(Quote someone well-known) (Name) once said…
(Use a newspaper headline) Have a look at this…
2. Give the background to the problem
OK. (Time) ago we were having difficulties with …We couldn’t …And we weren’t …
3. Ask a rhetorical question
So, what was going wrong?
4. Describe the problem
Well, the problem we were facing…was not …but …
5. Describe its effects
Now, obviously, this was having an effect on …as well as…and…
6. Ask another rhetorical question
So, how did we deal with the problem?
7. Describe the action you took
Well, basically there were three things we had to do…Our first priority was to…The next thing was to…And, finally, we …
8. Ask a third rhetorical question
The question is, did it work?
9. Describe the results (perhaps a graph)
Have a look at this.Here are the results.As you can see…
10. Close
Ok, I’m going to break off in a second and take questions.To sum up, …Thank you.
Title
Background
1.
2.
3.
Problem
Effects
1.
2.
3.
Action
1.
2.
3.
Results
Summary