Presentation vocabulary (2)

Performing the presentation

Introducing yourself and your talk
Greeting, name, position , opening formalities
Good morning , ladies and gentlemen.
Good afternoon, everyone.
Good morning. My name's (...). I'm the new Finance Manager.
Good morning. Let me start by saying just a few words about my own background. I started out in...
Welcome to Standard Electronics. I know I've met some of you, but just for the benefit of those I haven 't, my name's (...).
It’s very nice to see you all here today .
I’m very pleased to be here.
I’m glad you could all make it.
Thanks for inviting me.
Thank you (all) for coming .
Title/ Subject
I'd like to talk (to you) today about ...
I'm going to present the recent ...
explain our position on ...
introduce …
brief you on ...
inform you about ...
describe ...
The subject of my talk
focus presentation
topic paper (academic)
speech ( usually to public audience )
Purpose / Objective
My purpose/objective/aim today is ...
What I want to do this morning is ...
I'm here today to ...
We are here today to decide ...
agree ...
learn about ...
The purpose of this talk is to update you on ...
This talk is designed to put you in the picture about ...
give you the background to ...
act as a springboard for discussion.
start the ball rolling.
Length
My presentation/talk/lecture will take/last about (…) minutes.
I shall only take (...) minutes of your time.
I plan to be brief.
This should only last (...) minutes.
Outline /Main parts (Signposting)
I've divided my presentation into four parts/sections. They are ...
This talk is divided into four main parts: firstly, ... etc.
The subject can be looked at under the following headings:...
We can break this area down into the following fields:
Firstly/ First of all/To start with, I'd like to look at ...
Let me begin with/start by …
I’d like to start by saying something about …
I’d like to begin by …
Secondly/Then/Next, I'll be talking about ...
Thirdly,/And then we come to ...
My fourth point will be about ...
Finally /lastly/last of all, I'll be looking at ...
Firstly, … secondly, … thirdly, … lastly, …
First of all … then … next … after that … finally …
To start with … later … to finish up …
Inviting questions
If anyone has any questions, please feel free to interrupt at any time.
If you have any questions, please stop me at any time, and I will be happy to answer them .
If you have any questions, please feel free to interrupt.
Please interrupt me if there 's something which needs clarifying. Otherwise, there'll be time for discussion at the end.
Discouraging questions ( during the presentation/talk)
I'd be glad to answer any questions at the end of my talk.
At the end of my talk, there will be a question and answer session. I would appreciate it if you could keep your questions until then.
I'll be happy to answer any questions you have at the end of my presentation

THE MAIN POINTS TO REMEMBER

The beginning Making it interesting

Say hallo Visual
Say who you are Quote
Give purpose and main points Surprising fact
Give length Story / anecdote
Handouts? Question
Questions?

Developing your talk / linking ideas

Moving on

Let's (now) move on to/ turn to ...
I now want to go on to ...
If I could now turn to …
This leads/brings me/us to ...
I'd now like to move on to/turn to ...
So far we have looked at ... . Now I'd like to ...
Turning to …
Now, what about …?
Next …
My next point is …
Let’s now look at …
I’d like now to …
Let me now move on to …
Sequencing/Ordering

Firstly … secondly … thirdly …

Then … next … finally/lastly…

Let’s start with …
Now we come to …
Let’s leave that …
Let's get back to …
That covers …

Asking check -up questions

Are you with me so far?
Is everyone with me?
Is that clear to everyone?
Before I go on, are there any questions about ...?

Using rhetorical questions

What should we do? (pause)
How much would it cost ? (pause)

Dramatic structures

We have a revolutionary product. —» What we have is a revolutionary product.

Making comparisons

It's like ...
It's as if...
Similarly
In the same way
Contradicting
In fact
Actually

Digressing

By the way
In passing

Painting word pictures

Imagine ...
Suppose ...
Giving examples
For example, ...
… for instance …
… such as …
Let me give you an example.
A good example of this is …
To illustrate this point, …
Generalising
Usually

Generally

As a rule
As a whole
In general

Giving reasons /causes

Therefore
So
As a result
That’s why
For this reason
Consequently
Because of this

Contrasting Highlighting

but in particular
however especially
on the other hand
in spite of this
although
Summarising
What I’m trying to say is …
Let me just try and sum up that before we move on to …
To sum up, …
In brief, …
In short, ...
I’d like to sum up now ...
Let me summarize briefly what I’ve said.
This is the general picture for ... and now I’d like to move on to ...
That completes my overview of .., so now I’d like to move on to ...
Let’s recap, shall we?
Concluding
In conclusion
To conclude

Personal and impersonal styles

Active and passive forms

The passive is formed with the verb to be + the past participle. It is less personal than the active.
Tense
Active
Passive
present simple
I think
it is thought
present continuous
we are discussing
it is being discussed
present perfect
the boss has said
it has been said
past simple
John called a meeting
a meeting was called
future
I will refer to this later
this will be referred to later

Personal pronouns

Active verbs use more personal pronouns:

I think …

We are working on …

Be careful not to overuse I. We is a good alternative for talking about companies :
We will launch the product in June.

Reference to the audience

As I'm sure you know …
We have all experienced …
You may remember …
As I'm sure we'd all agree …

Everyday language

Using slang and everyday expressions can make an impact on the audience and add
drama :
Where's the caring side of employment gone? I'll tell you where. It's hiding behind a damned set of targets and objectives - that's where it is!
You need to know your audience very well to use this kind of language.

Emphasising and minimising

Emphasising

Strong adverbs intensify adjectives:
We've had an extremely good year .
This kind of negligence is absolutely unacceptable.
Adverbs can be total , very strong, or moderate.
TOTAL
absolutely (fantastic)
completely (awful)
entirely (depressing)
totally (unacceptable)
VERY STRONG
extremely (good)
very (bad)
highly (dangerous)
MODERATE
fairly ( safe )
reasonably ( expensive )
quite ( cheap )

Minimizing

Look at the way the following expressions of degree and uncertainty modify, or
minimize, the message :
It seems we will have to delay the delivery .
The Chief Executive Officer appears to have left the country .
It's just a little bit further .
We're going to reduce our staff a bit.
Perhaps we should consider resigning.
There might be another way.
I tend to think we should stop now.
To some extent, the company has failed to realize its potential.
Intonation is also very important in giving more or less emphasis to what we say.

THE MAIN POINTS TO REMEMBER

Language – the don’ts Language – the dos

Avoid jargon Use everyday language
Avoid complex phrases Use concrete words
Avoid being too formal Use rhetorical questions
Avoid long sentences Use dramatic structures

Signposting Making it interesting

Signpost Stories / anecdotes
Summarise Explain by analogy
Use check-up questions Involve the audience
- ask questions
- pause until reply

Visual aids and body language

Using Visual Aids

I'd like you to look at this ...
Let me show you ...
As you can see ...
Let's have a look at ...
Let's look at ...
If you look at the screen , you'll see ...
This table/ diagram / chart /slide shows ...
The next slide shows ...
On the right/left you can see ...
If we now turn to ...
Let’s move on and look at the figures for ...
The chart compares ...
The upper part of the slide gives information about ...
The top half of the slide tells you ...
In the lower part of the slide you can see ...
You can see here ...
I’d like to draw your attention to ...
Notice /Observe the ...

More dramatic

Have a look at ...
Look at ...
What is ( particularly ) interesting/important is ...
In the next slide notice ...
I'll let you read this one. (pause)

THE MAIN POINTS TO REMEMBER

Flip chart & whiteboard Overhead projector (OHP)

Big & bold Use a mask to show one point at a time
Use drawings Use a pen or pointer on the machine
Use colours Switch it off so they focus on you
Face audience, talk, write, talk
Flip over / wipe off when finished

Making transparencies

Keep text to the minimum
Use keywords
Use pictures
Use colours

Body language – the dos Body language – the don’ts

Move hands and arms Don’t point at anyone
Move around the room Don’t rock backwards and forwards
Move towards the audience Don’t stand rooted to the spot
Move your eyes around the audience Don’t leave your hands by your sides
Moving is normal Don’t avoid eye contact

Voice , intonation and pronunciation

Stressing a point

It is vital/ essential /imperative that we ...
We must ...

Stretching vowels

These figures are extreeeemely useful.
We are waaaay ahead of the competition .

Using adverbs

extremely really
entirely very
completely quite
totally

Repeating words

Communication is vital. Without communication, nothing is achieved. With little communication, little is achieved.

Stressing auxiliaries

We can't and won't be able to accept the offer .
Finance is the key.
Targets have been reached over the last year.

Adding do, does or did

To implement an appraisal system, we do need management support.
The economy does need investment.
We did work hard and the results show that.

THE MAIN POINTS TO REMEMBER

Voice & pronunciation Making it interesting
Project your voice Go faster to excite
- aim for the back Go slower to show importance
Emphasise importance Pause often and look round audience

• say some words louder Give emphasis with voice and body
  
• repeat important words
  

Ending your talk

Signalling the end

That brings me to the end of my presentation.
That completes my presentation.
Before I stop/finish, let me just say ...
That covers all I wanted to say today.

Summarising

Let me just run over the key points again .
I'll briefly summarise the main issues .
To sum up ...
So, to sum up, ...
To summarise, ...
To recapitulate/recap, ...
Let me now sum up.
Briefly ...
Let me remind you, finally, of the main points I’ve made.
If I can just sum up the main points …
We’ve looked at …
Right, I’ve told you about …

Concluding

As you can see, there are some very good reasons ...
Let me end by saying ...
I'd like to finish by emphasising ...
In conclusion I'd like to say ...
Finally, may I say ...
I'd like to leave you with the following thought/ idea .

Recommending

So, I would suggest that we ...
So, what I would suggest is that we ...
So, I would recommend that the ...
I'd like to propose ... (more formal )
In my opinion, the only way forward is ...

Handouts

I'll be distributing the handouts in a few moments .
The handouts are over by the door .

Copies of my transparencies/slides are on the table by the door.

Inviting questions

If you have any questions or comments, I'll be happy to answer them.
If there are any questions, I'll do my best to answer them.
Are there any more questions?
I'll be happy to answer any questions, but I'd like to hold the last few minutes
for a summary. If anyone has any questions or comments to start us off ...
I'd be glad to try and answer any questions.
So, let's throw it open to questions.
Any questions?

Closing

Thank you for your attention/time
Thank you for listening .
Thank you for listening.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
I hope you have gained an insight into ...

THE MAIN POINTS TO REMEMBER

The ending

Finish on time
Sum up
Conclude
Handouts?
Any questions?
Close

Asking and answering questions

Direct questions

Do you have any plans for a new production plant ?
Where do you plan to locate it?

Polite questions and answers

QUESTIONS
Do you mind if I ask you
Would telling me if/whether ...
what/where/etc ...
Could/Can you tell me ... about ...
I'm interested to know ...
I'd like to know ...
ANSWERS
Go ahead/Please do/ Certainly .
That's a good question.
That's interesting.

Statement questions and answers

QUESTIONS
All the space was booked for an October launch ...? (question intonation)
It worries me that we don't have any replacements in the pipeline . Doesn't it worry you too?
ANSWERS
A positive statement question is looking for the answer 'yes':
lt's going to be late , isn't it? ~ I'm afraid so.
You've got problems with the assembly ? ~ Yes, a few.
The suppliers have done their job. Is that right? ~ Yes, as far as I know.
A negative statement question is looking for the answer 'no':
We haven't won the contract, have we? ~ No, it doesn't look like it.
I wasn't a success ? Not much of one. We aren 't going to make it on time, are we? ~ I'm afraid not.
If the answer contradicts the statement, the word 'actually' is often used:The plant's going to close, isn't it? ~ Well, actually, I've just heard the company is employing more staff.

Paraphrasing the question

If I've understood your question correctly, you're saying/asking ...
So, what you're asking is ...
Well, the question is ... . Is that right?
Let me just check that I've understood your question. You're asking ...
So, do we intend to …?

Getting the questioner to rephrase

Sorry , I'm not quite with you. Could you repeat that?
I'm afraid I don't quite see what you mean .
I didn't quite catch that.
Could you go over that again?
I'm not sure what you're getting at.
I’m sorry, I didn’t hear. Which slide was it?
Sorry, could you repeat that?
Evading difficult or hostile questions
Showing you understand
Yes, I quite see your point …
Yes, it’s something we’ve thought about a lot.
That’s an accurate observation …
I know it’s difficult to accept the decision , …
Introducing an alternative point of view
However, I know you’ll appreciate ...
But the company ...
On the other hand, if we consider ...
... but the evidence is there ...

Postponing an answer

Perhaps we could deal with that later.
Could we leave that till later?
I'll be dealing with that a little later on, so if you don't mind I'd rather answer that question then.
I'll be coming to that, so if you don't mind I won't answer your question straightaway. But I won't forget .
That is scheduled for discussion at the next meeting.
I’m not sure this is the right place /time to discuss this particular question.

Answering questions - by admitting ignorance

I'm afraid I don't know the answer to that one. Perhaps someone here can help us out?
I'm sorry I don't know the answer to that, but what I will do is find out and send /give you an answer before the end of the week.

Answering questions - by saying you are not the right person to ask

I'm afraid that's not my field , but I'm sure Mr/Ms/Mrs ... will be able to answer you.
I'm afraid I don't have that information, but I can ask our ... department to send you the details .
I’m afraid I’m not the right person to answer that.
Bill Blackburn is a much better person to answer that.

Coming back to the point

Going back to what I was saying, ...
As I was saying, ...

Rephrasing

Sorry, perhaps I'm not making myself clear. Let me put it another way.
What I was trying to say was ...

Checking your answer

Is that OK?
Is that clearer now?
Does that answer your question?

May we go on?

Ending

I think we have time for one more question ...
If there are no other questions, I'll finish there. Thank you very much.