Without exception, all good presenters have one thing in common, enthusiasm, both for their subject and for the business of presenting it. Enthusiasm is infectious. Audiences can't help but be affected by it. And the best public speakers always make what they say sound as if it really matters. They know that if it matters to them, it will matter to their audience.
Many things contribute to the success of a presentation – new and unusual content, a clear structure, a good sense of timing, imaginative use of visual aids, the ability to make people laugh... and think. But above and beyond all of these is enthusiasm. What kind of language and what kind of techniques will best show your enthusiasm for your subject?
The basics of introducing your topic, structuring your talk and referring to visual aids make a presentation sound dynamic and enthusiastic. They reflect the main key skills employed by all effective presenters.
Pay attention to voice and delivery. As a presenter, the ability to pace your speech and use your voice to create impact is the single most important skill you need. You will be more effective if you are in control of your voice by your use of stress, pausing, intonation, volume, and silence.
Content Language is of great importance.You can't give a good presentation unless you have something to say. Being confident about your content is crucial.
Rhetorical Technique is one of the ways to success.Once you are in charge of both your voice and your content you can start to think about how best to present your subject. Choose the techniques that suit you best and work on perfecting them.
Perhaps the most unpredictable part of a presentation is the question session. This may be after your talk or you may invite questions during it. But successful Question Handling needs thorough preparation, thinking over the possible questions and even training.
If you give presentations in English regularly and want to improve your style, go through the contents list with your teacher first and decide which areas to concentrate on.
When you give short presentations in class, take the time to prepare your notes thoroughly with any visuals you might need. Don't be afraid to read out some of the most important or complicated parts of your talk. As long as you read them well and keep good eye contact with your audience, this can be very effective.
If you can, get a friend or colleague to listen to you giving short presentations yourself. Try recording some of your talks and compare yourself with the experienced speakers.
To become a good presenter:
· Leave nothing to chance
Check everything before you are due to speak – room, seating, visibility, acoustics and equipment.
· Know exactly how to start
Plan the first minute of your presentation down to the last detail. Try to memorize your opening words. This will help you to sound confident and in control.
· Get straight to the point
Don't waste time on long boring introductions. Try to make at least one powerful statement in the first two minutes.
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· Talk to your audience
Many of the best presentations sound more like conversations. So, keep referring back to your audience, ask them questions, respond to their reactions.
· Know what works
Certain things are always popular with an audience: personal experiences, stories with a message, dramatic comparisons, amazing facts they didn't know. Use them to the full.
· Be concise
Keep your sentences short and simple. Use deliberate pauses to punctuate your speech.
· Speak naturally
Don't be afraid to hesitate when you speak, but make sure you pause in
the right places. Remember, you are not an actor trying to remember lines.
A certain amount of hesitation is actually quite natural.
· Know your audience
Speak for your audience, not yourself. Take every opportunity to show how much common ground you share with them. Address their goals, their needs, their concerns.
· Treat your audience as equals
Never talk down (or up) to your audience. Treat them as equals, no matter who they are.
· Be yourself
As far as possible, speak to five hundred people in much the same way you would speak to five. You will obviously need to project yourself more, but your personality shouldn't change.
· Take your time
Whenever you make a really important point, pause and let the full significance of what you have said sink in... before you move on.
· Don't make a special effort to be funny
If you make a joke, don't stop and wait for laughs. Keep going and let
the laughter (if it comes) interrupt you.
· Let your visuals speak for themselves
Good visuals are just that – visual. Don't put boring tables of figures and long lines of text on the overhead and read them out. Stick to the main points. Experiment with three-dimensional charts, cartoons, interesting typefaces – anything to catch your audience's attention.
· Never compete with your visuals
When showing a visual, keep quiet and give people time to take it in. Then make brief comments only. Point to the relevant parts of the visual as you speak. If you want to say more, switch off your projector to do so.
· Develop your own style
Learn from other public speakers, but don't try to copy them. Be comfortable with your own abilities. Don't do anything that feels unnatural for you, just because it works for someone else.
· Enjoy the experience
The secret of being an excellent speaker is to enjoy the experience of speaking – try to enjoy the experience!
· Welcome questions from your audience
When members of your audience ask you a question, it is usually because they have a genuine interest in what you are saying and want to know more. Treat questions as an opportunity to get your message across better.
· Finish strongly
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When you are ready to finish your presentation, slow down, and lower your voice. Look at the audience and deliver your final words slowly and clearly. Pause, let your words hang in the air a moment longer, smile, say Thank you and then sit down.
| Exercise 2. Fill in the gaps with necessary words from the text. |
1. The most … part of a presentation is the question session.
2. Prepare your notes thoroughly with any … you might need.
3. Treat your audience as …, no matter who they are.
4. When members of your audience ask you a question, it is usually because they have a … interest in what you are saying.
5. You will … need to project yourself more.
6. They will make a presentation sound …
7. Choose the … that suit you best and work on perfecting them.
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| Exercise 3. This is what the American writer Steven Silbiger writes about presentations (or public speaking) in his book, The Ten Day MBA, The Mini-Course On Public Speaking. 1. Know your audience. Their interests, attention span 2. Know your own capabilities. Can you deliver a joke? 3. Keep it simple. 4. Detailed information is best delivered in print. 5. Speeches should be delivered concept and motivate. According to Steven Silbiger, are the following true or false? |
1. You shouldn't allow the audience to influence what you say.
a. True
b. False
2. You should always use humour in your presentation.
a. False
b. True
3. Presentations should be about ideas.
a. True
b. False
4. There should always be lots of facts and figures.
a. False
b. True
5. Presentations should inspire people.
a. True
b. False
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| Exercise 4. Below you will find a number of ways of stating the purpose of your presentation. Complete them using the words given. Combining the sentences with number 1 will give you a complete introduction. Then do the same with those numbered 2 etc. |
OK, let's get started. Good morning, everyone. Thanks for coming. I'm (your name).
a) This morning I'm going to be:
· showing · talking · taking · reporting · telling
1 … to you about the videophone project.
2 … you about the collapse of the housing market in the early 90s.
3 … you how to deal with late payers.
4 … a look at the recent boom in virtual reality software companies.
5 … on the results of the market study we carried out in Austria.
b)... so, I'll begin by:
· making · outlining · bringing · giving · filling
1 … you in on the background to the project.
2 … a few observations about the events leading up to that collapse.
3 … company policy on bad debt.
4 … you an overview of the history of VR.
5 … you up-to-date on the latest findings of the study.
c)... and then I'll go on to:
· put · discuss · make · highlight · talk
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1 … what I see as the main advantages of the new system.
2 … the situation into some kind of perspective.
3 … you through our basic debt management procedure.
4 … detailed recommendations regarding our own R&D.
5 … in more depth the implications of the data in the files in front of you.
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| Exercise 5. Sort the following expressions. |
thanks to, brought about, gave rise to, can be traced back to, accounts for, owing to, resulted in, is attributable to.
| CAUSE (because…) | EFFECT (and…) |
| Exercise 6. Cross out the verbs which do not fit in the following presentation extracts. The first one has been done for you as an example. |
1. First of all, I'd like to preview / overview / outline the main points of my talk.
2. Perhaps I should start off by pointing / stressing / reminding that this is just a preliminary report. Nothing has been finalized as yet.
3. But later on I will, in fact, be putting forward / putting out / putting over several detailed proposals.
4. One thing I'll be dealing with / referring / regarding is the issue of a minimum wage.
5. And I'll also be asking / raising / putting the question of privatization.
6. So, what we're really driving at / aiming at / looking at are likely developments in the structure of the company over the next five to ten years.
7. If we could just draw / focus / attract our attention on the short-term objectives to begin with.
8. The eighteen-month plan, which by now you should've all had time to look at, outlines / reviews / sets out in detail our main recommendations.
9. Basically, what we're suggesting / asking / reviewing is a complete reorganization of staff and plant.
10. I'd now like to turn / draw / focus my attention to some of the difficulties we're likely to face.
11. I'm sure there's no need to draw out / spell out / think out what the main problem is going to be.
12. But we do need to seriously ask / answer / address the question of how we are going to overcome it.
13. The basic message I'm trying to get through / get across / get to here is simple. We can't rely on government support for much longer.
14. Disappointing end-of-year figures underline / undermine / underestimate the seriousness of the situation.
15. And the main conclusion we've thought / got to / come to is that massive corporate restructuring will be necessary before any privatization can go through.
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| Exercise 7. Say the following in two different ways: a) stress the adjective; b) then stress the qualifier (particularly, hardly etc.) . What's the difference in effect in each case? |
1. The results were particularly disappointing.
2. The risks are extremely high.
3. The figures are hardly encouraging.
4. The project is almost complete.
5. We all know that this is a really difficult market.
6. I'm afraid their initial offer was totally unacceptable.
7. The whole thing is virtually impossible.
8. Explaining the situation to head office is going to be rather difficult.
9. Implementing the plan might be slightly problematic.
10. I'm afraid we can't be absolutely certain.
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| Exercise 8. In technical and scientific presentations where processes and procedures are being described, it is common to use the passive. To sound less formal, use the active with "we" or "they", etc. Remember, simple grammatical choices like these can affect the whole tone of your presentation. Using the words given, make these presentation extracts more informal. |
1. It's a well-known fact that the Internet is the information channel of the future. (Everybody)
2. It's been proved that direct mailing gets a less than 1 % response rate. (They)
3. It's being suggested that so-called smart drugs can actually increase intelligence. (They)
4. It's generally agreed that the number of new cases of AIDS is falling. (Almost everyone)
5. It's widely believed that Thailand and Malaysia will continue to outgrow Taiwan. (A lot / us)
6. It's not known whether a mile-high building is technically possible. (We / not know)
7. It's a little-known fact that more people die of tuberculosis every year than were killed in both world wars. (A lot / people / not realize)
8. It's a popular misconception that Total Quality originated in Japan. (People often / mistake / thinking)
9. It's debatable whether such an ambitious objective can be achieved in two years. (We can't / sure / we)
10. It's doubtful whether a cure for the common cold will ever be found.
(We / not expect / anyone)
| Exercise 9. Make questions in order to clarify the information using the given words. |
COULD YOU …
· explain · run · be · tell · elaborate · say
1. … us how you arrived at that figure?
2. … a bit more about that?
3. … to us exactly what you meant by that?
4. … a little more specific?
5. … on that?
6. … us through that again?
| Exercise 10. a) Record yourself giving a short talk on a specialist subject (3–5 mins). Swap cassette recordings with your study partners and prepare a set of clarifying questions to ask each other. The following question frames may help you. b) Record the question-and-answer sessions. |
1. What exactly did you mean by …?
2. Could we go back to what you were saying about …?
3. How did you arrive at the figure of …?
4. I think I misunderstood you. Did you say …?
5. You spoke about … Could you explain that in more detail?
6. Going back to the question of … Can you be more specific?
7. You didn't mention … Why not?
8. If I understood you correctly, … Is that right?
9. I'm not sure I fully understood … Can you run through that again, please?
10. There's one thing I'm not clear about:… Could you go over that again, please?
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| Exercise 11. The project manager of a construction company is giving a presentation to his colleagues. Put the sentences in the right order and fill in the table. |
a) This morning I'd like to update you on the current status of work at
the construction site. The information I give you today should help you with planning your next steps.
b) For those of you who don't know me, my name is Gordon Selfridge. Let me just write that down for you. OK. I'm the project manager in charge of
the Bak Tower building project in Dubai.
c) I've divided my presentation into three parts.
d) Hello, everyone.
e) Then I'll move on to the problems we're facing with our local suppliers.
f) First of all, let me thank you for coming here today. I'm aware that you're all busy preparing for the annual meeting this week, so I really appreciate you taking the time to be here.
g) I'll start off by showing you some photos of the building site and discussing the progress we've made since January.
h) My talk should take about 30 minutes. Please feel free to interrupt me at any time with questions.
i) I'll end with some ideas for reducing labour costs that we've been looking into.
j) Oh, and don't worry about taking notes. I'll be handing out copies of
the Power Point slides.
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| Exercise 12. Listen to the presentation of your group mate and express your opinion according to the criteria for assessing oral presentations, discuss it with other students. |
| Aspects | Points to consider / evidence of: |
| Organisation | ü coherence and careful preparation |
| ü planning the presentation with respect to the 5 stages | |
| ü logical structure within the sections | |
| ü time planning | |
| Content | ü relevance to the subject |
| ü appropriacy to the audience | |
| ü sufficient depth of general subject knowledge, familiarity with the topic explored | |
| ü independence of research | |
| Delivery | ü enthusiasm and confidence |
| ü contact with the audience and establishing feedback | |
| ü an appropriate balance between fluency and accuracy | |
| ü pronunciation hardly interfering with comprehension; ü volume and speed, rhythm and intonation varied and appropriate | |
| ü ability to handle questions, to use notes / aids and Power Point / OHTs to enhance presentation | |
| Language | ü ability to express complex ideas using a wide range of appropriate vocabulary |
| ü an appropriate balance between GE and terminology (stylistic awareness) | |
| ü the use of common clichéd expressions corresponding to a particular section (introducing examples and terms, arguments and criticism) | |
| ü sufficient degree of grammatical accuracy | |
| ü the use of cohesive devices contributing to fluency | |
| Overall | ü clarity of message |
| ü achievement of objectives | |
| ü the effect produced (interesting / dull etc.) is based on the introduction / abundance / lack of variety of examples, new approach / topic, humour etc. | |
| ü relevance (practical, informative, theoretical etc.) |
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