Presentation Tips

 Starting a Presentation

In modern English, Presentations tend to be much less formal than they were even twenty years ago. Most audience these days prefer a relatively informal approach. However, there is a certain structure to the opening of a Presentation that you should observe.
Get people's attention
Welcome them
Introduce yourself
State the purpose of your presentation
State how you want to deal with questions
Get people's attention
If I could have everybody's attention.
If we can start.
Perhaps we should begin?
Let's get started.
Welcome them
Welcome to Microsoft.
Thank you for coming today.
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.
On behalf of Intel, I'd like to welcome you.
Introduce yourself
My name's Jane Shaw. I'm responsible for travel arrangements.
For those of you who don't know me, my name's Tom Stotter.
As you know, I'm in charge of public relations.
I'm the new Marketing Manager.
State the purpose of your presentation
This morning I'd like to present our new processor.
Today I'd like to discuss our failures in the Japanese market and suggest a new approach.
This afternoon, I'd like to report on my study into the German market.
What I want to do this morning is to talk to you about our new mobile telephone system.
What I want to do is to tell you about our successes and failures in introducing new working patterns.
What I want to do is to show you how we've made our first successful steps in the potentially huge Chinese market.

State how you want to deal with questions.
If you have any questions, I'll be happy to answer them as we go along.
Feel free to ask any questions.
Perhaps we can leave any questions you have until the end?
There will be plenty of time for questions at the end.

Dealing with Nerves :
Almost everybody is nervous when they stand up to speak. There’s no shame in being nervous. However, if you are too nervous, your anxiety will spread to your audience, making them nervous in turn.
So how can you stop yourself from feeling too nervous? Here are a few tips.
1. Don’t get hung up about being nervous. It’s a normal human reaction. Don’t make yourself more nervous because you’re nervous.
2. Walk off your excessive nervousness. If possible, walk outside and get some fresh air at the same time. But a walk down the corridor is better than no walk.
3. Don’t let your legs go to sleep. Keep the blood supply moving. Keep both feet on the floor and lean forward. Wiggle your toes. If you can stand up without disturbing anybody, do so.
4. Work your wrists, arms and shoulders to get the tension out of them. Gentle movements, not a major workout, will remove that tension.
5. Work your jaw. Gentle side-to-side or circular motion will help to loosen it.
6. Repeat positive affirmations quietly to yourself. “I am a good presenter.” It may seem corny but it works.
7. Above all, breathe deeply. Make sure your stomach is going out when you breathe in.
Don’t be self-conscious about these warm-up activities. Most good speakers do them. Most people won’t even notice that you are doing them. They’re here to hear you speak, they’re not interested in what you do when you are not in the limelight.

Oral Presentations: Do's & Don'ts

Be organized! The more organized and focused your presentation is, the more relaxed you'll feel.
Breathe! (It helps you relax.)
Don't try to cover too much material. Remember you only have 7-10 minutes.
Do speak clearly, slowly and at an appropriate level for your audience.
Use vocabulary that is appropriate for your audience. If you use new vocabulary, make sure you explain it and write it on the board.
Do make eye contact with all members of your audience.
Do move around.
Do use hand gestures.
Do allow the audience to ask questions at the end of your presentation.
Don't read your presentation. You can use short notes, but reading a presentation is unnatural; also, it makes it very difficult for your audience to follow.
Do practice your presentation with a partner or in front of the mirror.
Do remember to thank your audience and introduce the next speaker.

PRESENTATIONS
Some Useful Phrases :

►Starting the presentation :
 • Good morning/good afternoon ladies and gentlemen
 •The topic of my presentation today is ...
 • What I'm going to talk about today is ...

►Why you are giving this presentation :
 •The purpose of this presentation is ...
 •This is important because ...
 • My objective is to ...

►Stating the main points:
•The main points I will be talking about are
     firstly ...
     secondly...
     next, finally... we're going to look at ...

►Introducing the first point  
 • Let's start/begin with ...

►Showing graphics, transparencies, slides etc.  
 • I'd like to illustrate this by showing you...

►Moving on to the next point  
 • Now let's move on to  ...

►Giving more details   
• I'd like to expand on this aspect/problem/point
• Let me elaborate on that
• Would you like me to expand on/elaborate on that?

►Changing to a different topic   
• I'd like to turn to something completely different

►Referring to something which is off the topic  
• I'd like to digress here for a moment and just mention that ...

►Referring back to an earlier point   
• Let me go back to what I said earlier about ...


►Summarizing or repeating the main points
  • I'd like to recap the main points of my presentation
     - first I covered
     - then we talked about
 - finally we looked at
   • I'd  now like to sum up the main points which were:
►Conclusion  
 • I'm going to conclude by... saying that/inviting you to/ quoting ...
 • In conclusion, let me... leave you with this thought/invite you to

►Questions  
• Finally, I'll be happy to answer your questions.  
• Now I'd like to invite any questions you may have.
• Do you have any questions?

Dealing with questions :
At the end of your talk, you may get questions. You don't have to answer all the questions - they may not be good questions!
If it is a good question, thank the person and answer it.
Some of the questions may be irrelevant and not connected to what you want to say. Say so and get another question.
Some may be unnecessary because you have already given the answer. Repeat the answer briefly and get the next question.
And some may be difficult because you don't have the information. Again, say so and offer to find the information or ask the person asking the question what they think.
When you get a question, comment on it first. This will give you time to think. Here are some useful expressions to help you do that:


That's a very interesting question.
I'm glad you've asked that question.
A good question.
I'm sorry but I don't have that information to hand.
Can I get back to you about that?
I'm afraid I can't answer that.
I'm not in a position to comment on that.
As I said earlier, …
I think I answered that when I said …
I did mention that.
I don't see the connection.
I'm sorry, I don’t follow you.
I think that is a very different issue.
Softening :
We have seen how to emphasize points but sometimes you want to soften the impact of what you are saying and give them less importance. Here are some ways to do that:
Compare:
We made a huge loss.
We made a loss.
We made a slight loss.
The situation has improved enormously.
The situation has improved.
The situation has improved slightly.
It is always incredibly difficult to …
It is difficult to …
It is sometimes a little difficult to …

Presentation Vocabulary  
Audience     -     Group of listeners or spectators
Body language -     Communication through facial expressions, body movements, etc.
Chart          -     Sheet of information in the form of a table, graph or diagram
Diagram     -      Graphic representation of a situation e.g. the results of an action
Flip chart     -      Pad of large paper sheets on a stand for presenting information
Focus (on)     -     Concentrate on something
Graph          -      Diagram showing the relation between variable quantities
Guidelines     -       Advice or instructions given in order to guide or direct an action
Handout      -      Written information (report etc) given to people at a presentation
Key point      -     Essential or main point
Ladies & Gentlemen  -  Polite way of addressing an audience of men and women
Marker         -       Pen with a felt tip used for writing on a whiteboard
Microphone      -      Electrical instrument used to amplify the speaker's voice
O.H.T.          -     Overhead transparency : sheet of film with an image orprinted information for overhead projector
Objective     -       What one wants to achieve;  aim
Outline      -     Brief description or presentation
Overhead projector -     Device that projects an O.H.T. onto a screen
Overview     -      Short presentation of the main points
Pointer     -      Rod or stick used to indicate things on a map, screen, etc.
Screen         -      Flat, reflective blank surface on which films, slides etc. are projected
Signposting language  - Phrases used to help focus the audience's attention on different parts of a presentation
Slide          -     Small photographic transparency
Summarize      -    Make a summary of the essential points; sum up
Topic           -    Subject of a discussion or talk
Transparency      -      Image or information printed on transparent plastic or film
Visual aids     -     Aids such as charts, slides, etc used at a presentation
Whiteboard      -     Flat white board on which to write or draw with markers




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