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Dynamic Presentations - Mark Powell

Dynamic Presentations_Mark Powell

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Dynamic Presentations - Mark Powell

Dynamic Presentations_Mark Powell

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bullfinch2
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CAMBRIDGE Professional English } SE tt—i—‘iC De ireLial(s | Presentations Mark Powell = Contents Preparing to present 1 Opening and closing Smooth structure Voice power Visual aids 2 3 4 5 Facts and figures 6 Body language 7 Rapport-building 8 Impact techniques 9 Storytelling 10 Q&A sessions Bringing it all together Audio scripts Key and commentary Additional materials Online feedback forms ‘Acknowledgements 10 14 18 22 26 30 34 42 46 50 52 62 78 94 96 = Preparing to present F* Ifthere's one skill, above all others, that will help you stand out in the world of ternational business itis the skill of presenting. And the further you progress in your career, the more likely its that you will be called upon to present. In the age of technology and social networking it's easy to lose sight ofthis. But you'll never have more impact than when you stand up to speak in public. In professional life, competent presentations are expected, But great presentations are rare and always remembered. Mark Powell, Mark Powell Communications = out Welcome to Dynamic Presentations, one of a new series of courses from Cambridge University Press designed to develop excellence in business communication in English. The complete training package includes this book and CDs, an accompanying DVD with worksheets and 2 dedicated website containing further games and activities, feedback forms and full trainer's notes. You can access this material at http: |/ www.cambridge.org/elt] dynamicpresentations The secret of successful presentations Whether you're pitching one on one to a client, talking a small group of colleagues through ‘the latest quarterlies or giving the keynote speech at a conference, becoming an excellent presenter comes down to three things: This course will help you both prepare and perform. By the end of the course, you'l know how to start and how to finish, what to put in and what to leave out, when to stick to your plan and when to depart from it. You'll have an eye for visuals and an ear for how to use your voice. You'll have a feel for effective body language and the ability to make facts and figures unforgettable. You'll also learn proven strategies for handling any question your audience might throw at you. And you'l try out a range of dynamic presentation techniques as you develop a style that is uniquely yours. What about pasion? Well, that's mosty up to youl After finesse all, if you're not fired up about your talk, why should we Ral iitaiter ta toc be? But if you're thoroughly prepared and feel confident you can perform, you'll be free to connect with your ‘audience. And all presentations, no matter how routine, need to connect. Think about it. Ifthe figures spoke for themselves, you wouldn't need to present them! in the words of poet and biographer Maya Angelou: © Preparation © Passion © Performance ‘People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel.’ ‘As you work through the ten modules in this course, you should always be thinking how you can make the skills and techniques your own. If something doesn't seem to work at first, itt may be that it doesn’t quite suit your style or it may just be that you need a litle more practice. Be prepared to have fun and experiment. By getting your trainer to record you. you can analyse your performance using the online feedback forms (see page 94). | hope you enjoy the Dynamic Presentations experience! Presenting and you Presentations can help you to improve. 1 I can present quite well in my own language, but 'm not so sure can translate that into English! Idon't have much experience of giving presentations - even in my own. languagel Di tknow what audiences in my own country expect, but what about expectations in other countries? CI mostly just have to present to small groups in meetings - is that really presenting? C1 Isometimes have to address larger audiences at conferences — don't need a special public speaking voice for that? (1 I'm sure | must look so nervous standing there in front of everyone ~ ‘what can Ido about that? C1 thave so much data to refer to and my bosses expect to get a copy of my slides at the end, C1 Wy greatest fear is of being boring - how do ! keep my audience awake? C1 Im not comfortable telling jokes (and | in a foreign languagel), but how else can I connect? 1 Atleast | can prepare for my talk but when it comes to questions and answers, 'm up against the audience alone! TT Ee ‘Take a few moments before you begin the course to think about your own needs and experience as a presenter. Tick the comments that apply to you below and see how Dynamic =} Each module of the course contains the key words, phrases and expressions you need to present fluently in English. Youll also learn some of the special language patterns that skilful presenters use to create extra impact. The course brings together some of the world’s leading presentation experts to share their insights with you. Full ‘notes in the Key and commentary guide you towards a better understanding of how to present. > In many of the modules, business people from different countries compare what different cultures are looking for ina presentation. The CDs and separate DVD contain recordings of presenters of different nationalities in action. > It’s all presenting, whether to an audience of one or one thousand, but you'll want to adopt a different style. Module 7 on rapport building and Module 9 (on storytelling will help you to develop the right conversational tone. => No, you don't ~ you'll sound artificial. Your natural speaking voice will do just fine, but you'll need to use it ina slightly diferent way. Module 3 will show you how to add power and clarity to your delivery. =p Relax. Most nerves are caused by fear of the unknown. But if you know exactly where your talkis going, there'll be no nasty surprises! Module 2 will help you here. whilst Module 6 shows you how to look calm and in control. => Give them @ handout instead! And keep your slides simple and clear. Module 4 gives you tips on designing visuals and how to avoid data-dumping. Module 5 explains how to make dull figures come alive. > It's essential to get off to a good start, 2s that sets the tone for the rest of your talk, Module 1 offers you some options here, There are also dozens of incredibly simple ‘tricks of the trade’, which you can learn in Module 8. => There are many ways to connect with your audience and jokes are at the bottom of the lst! Modules 7, 8 and 9 will open your eyes to a whole range of possibilities. Module 4 tells you how to get the right visual support. >} You're not lone if you've rehearsed with a colleague. ‘And not if you create the right atmosphere with your audience. Module 10 shows you how Q&A can actually be a highlight of your presentation. Opening and closing People tend to remember openers ‘more than any other part of presentation, except perhaps for the closing remarks. ‘Andrew Leigh, Maynard Leigh Associates, www.maynardieigh.co.uk ‘The secret is: havea good beginning, a good ending and keep them as close together as possible! George Burns, actor and comedian ‘1 What's more important in a talk: how you start or how you finish? Which do you find more challenging? Compare with a partner. 2. According to communication expert Andrew Leigh, there are four stages to opening a presentation. He calls these the A, B, C and D of openings. What do you think those letters stand for? 1 Capture your audience's interest instantly= A__&_T 2 Explain what they will gain from the talk 3. Show them you have the authority to speak = 4 Give them a route map of the presentation = 3 Now match the openings below to the stages in 2. There are two openings for each stage. b d By the end ofthis | morning's talkyou'l ‘learned quite abit know how to say ‘about managing tisk. was fortunate enough to be part Of the team at WW that developed the original Golf GTI. 4 What ways are there of capturing your audience's interest right at the start of a talk? With a partner complete the mind map opposite, using the phrases in the boxes. Gray 2 photograph or cartoon ‘a problem or puzzle a somebody wellknown a video a surprising fact or statistic a news hea 5 €9 1.02 Listen to the openings of five different presentations. After each extract discuss the questions below with a partner. Extract 1: What two pieces of information does the speaker open with? Did they surprise you? In two words, what's his presentation going to be about? ‘Extract 2: What popular myth does the speaker explode? What two examples does she give to support her case? Extract 3: What does the speaker ask her audience to do? She draws an analogy between backing up your hard disc and going to the dentist. What's the similarity? Extract 4: The speaker introduces the subject of competitiveness in three ways: a quote, a joke and a task. Which works best for you? Extract 5: How does the speaker show his audience that he really understands their business? How does he introduce his company? 6 Which openings in 5 do you find the most effective? 7 Some of the presentation openings you've just listened to are listed below. Write in the missing words. imagine joke know like misconception raise said turn a Didyou that ..? b Could | ask you to your hand if you © COU YOU nnn tO partner and discuss ...? lust what it would be like to .. fe [think it was ... who There's a common. that 9 My favourite... about that is fy How Would yOU wo. to be able to . 8 Write an ABCD opening for a presentation you might give and present it to the rest of your group. If you like, use one or more of the expressions in 7 to gain your audience's attention. iis Opening and closing Try to make your last line or two truly eloquent, meaningful, touching, accurate and wise. Always memorise your last few lines, This is the time to deliver straight to them: eye to eye, person to person. Try to leave them with a thought that will continue to provide an echo after you stop. {soya Hamin, Sonya Hamin Communications 1 Many of the techniques you can use to open a presentation will also work well to close ‘one. But this is your last chance to get your message across. How far do you agree with what Harvard Law School presentations coach Sonya Hamlin has to say about closing a talk 2 €9 1.03 Listen to the closing moments of four presentations and number the techniques in the order you hear them. dramatic summary] famous wise words] call for action] _ heart-felt message L] 3. Inyour opinion, which of the closes in 2 does best what Sonya Hamlin says it should do? 4 Group the expressions according to which closing technique they can best be used for. Summary Wisdom Action & Emotion a Let's take a look back at what we've spoken about this morning. b I'm reminded of the words of Now let's get out there and . Ifyou take just one thing from this talk, take this In the end, this is what matters Here, at a glance, are the main points I've made .. So, how to sum up? zero an 'm counting on you to We have a saying where | come from ... J So what does all this really mean for you - personally? kc Inanutshell, then ... In the famous words of ... m So, next time you remember to 5 Communication skills trainer and bestselling author Andy Bounds has some useful advice about summarising your talk at the end. How could you avoid the danger he describes in this extract from one of his podcasts? When you prepare a presentation, don't use the word ‘summary’ at the end. The word % ‘summary switches people off. Think about it. When I say the word ‘summary’ at the end of this podcast, you'll think ‘Oh, right, he’s going to repeat himsel? and you'll click off and stop listening. That's what Pd do. And if you don't believe me, sit atthe back of the seminar and watch what happens to the room when the speaker says ‘summary’. You'll see people actually put their coats on and leave. ‘Andy Bounds, communications expert © €9 1.04 Read and listen to TV presenter Quentin Willson’s superlative summary of the E-Type Jaguar. Think of another glamorous and brilliantly designed product you admire (a fashion item, a smartphone, 2 perfume, a motorbike) and use the same basic framework in bold below to sum it up to a partner. So, how do you sum up a car like this? I could tell you that it was the making of Jaguar, that it was the first car to be mathematically designed and that even Enzo Ferrari said that it was the one car in the world that he wished he'd made. But that would be to sel it short. It was, is and always will be a poem in steel and agonisingly pretty. The E-Type is quite simply the most beautiful car in the world. Quentin Wilson, TV presenter 7 91.05 Listen to the opening and close of a presentation about presenting. The presenter is using a technique called ‘The Loop’. How does it work? Why ist so effective? 8 With a partner, prepare the opening and close for a simple product or service presents and present them to the rest of your group. Turn to page 78 for product and service ideas or use an idea of your own. You can evaluate your performance using the feedback form on the website. Zi Smooth structure Journey as we move through it, we need to explain how we're moving on. Are we making progress? And, finally, when we get to the end, we've got to close our presentation in a way that's more engaging than ‘Any questions?’ So finding something that reiterates those key points at the end is absolutely essential. SL ob Geraghty, The Wow Factor gf Aptesentation is very much like a journey, We need | to explain: ‘Where are we going?” And then along that 1 Rob Geraghty mentions some of the ways in which a presentation is like a journey. Can you think of any others? 2 Ifa presentation is a kind of journey, then the ability to signpost that journey is clearly critical. Complete the ‘signpost language’ below: ask digress expand leave move retuin start summarise asking closing coming giving going outlining turning 1'm going to cour main goals today. Wilbe Se you a brief overview. you all a question. on to this later. Let's Seon to the subject of... OK, To to for 2 moment to the i on of my main point here. question of Let's on that a litle. back to = what | was saying earlier. fora moment. ‘the main points we've looked at. you to remember one thing. in Must ‘you with this 10 3. Referring to points you made earlier in your Ifyou don't know where you're “jp presentation is a good way to show the going, you'll probably end up (| coherence of your talk and strengthen your omewhere else. arguments, Mentioning what you'l be talking Neal ceeey Bote peer about next can build anticipation, as long as. you don't get too much ahead of yourself! Decide whether the phrases below refer back or point forward and circle the appropriate arrow. a. Earlier we saw .. £ So, the next question i . b This leads us on to... Ase discussed .. © Asyou'll recall fh This brings us on to . d Later we'll see .. 1 This goes back to € You'll remember j By the end of this talk... 4 €91.06 Being able to show a logical link between your main points is very important in a presentation. Link the presentation extracts below and label the ‘link phrases’ with the appropriate function. Then listen and check your answers. The first one has been done for you. cause —> effect effect——» cause action ——> purpose point —> contrast point —— addition point ——» specification 2 Tumover or @3 is well up and what's more, there never il be b Avoiding risk is a mistake, has resulted in reduced profitability. Wie need constantly eases) wherasinthe et of iit’ tle Ase nthe price of ot L thanks mosty to Increased soles in Russi Demands down 28in apan, \ espacallyin the ng tem, point —> specifcation There's no mare orlow quality, sothat we dnt ore our compettine les 9 The recent flood of cheap imports _ as a result of the merger announcement. hh We need to move fast and yet these have not converted into sales. i Our share price has soared in particular on what it is we do best. J Nowis the time to focus - In order to take advantage of this opportunity. ke Our website's receiving more hits, plus, it's 2 growing one. 1 It's an enormous market; may lead to a price war. 5. Tum to page 79 to practise using some of the key signpost language you've studied. Ys) Smooth structure In making a speech, one must study the proper arrangement of the various parts. <<) Atistotle, Greek philosopher 1 How do you plan your own presentations? Do you have a system for ‘arranging the various parts’? Compare techniques with a partner. 2. Look at the different types of presentation below and choose the one you'd be most likely to give yourself. Modify it if you need to. 2 Putting forward a proposal 9 Announcing a breakthrough b Describing a new product or service Outlining a business plan ¢ Reporting a set of financial results _1_Pitching for (increased) resources Giving a motivational speech J. Giving a project update e Announcing a series of changes k Announcing a decision Troubleshooting a problem 1 Describing a new process 3. Decide which three or four of the following parts you'd want to include in the presentation you chose in 2. Then put those parts into the most effective order and explain your structure to a partner. action alms causes. competition costs customerneed data decision future idea implications investment issue key benefits main features market potential need opportunity options past plan potential objections present problem procedure recommendations research results targets threat us 4 €4 1.07 Listen to extracts from three different presentations and connect up the parts as they are delivered. Each presentation begins with an attention-getter and then progresses through three stages, Set arc ee es ees 1 audience task popular myth opportunity actual fact ao ca iene aren 3 surprising statistic product features. data comparison 5 How did the language the presenters used in 4 help you to decide what stage of their presentation they were at? 6 Certain expressions are commonly used to talk about different parts of a presentation. Look at the sets of expressions opposite and label the part they refer to below. benefits... comparison data features implications... issues options popular myth potential objections projections pros and cons... truth 12 The figures clearly {t's commonly believed that... show'that.... According to our/ the en In reality, latest research, ... eae People tend . for granted See 4 Inone Statistically (these days) oelh “ study (speaking), .. that... ~ _ a It’s a popular race ae (Recent) studies misconception that ... ce indicates hats "sha ha: ch ace corey Iefeatures| incorporates This saves compares favourably has superior. Includes ... Another YoU... This allows oy / plusis . | yours .. How does it ? tes ina class measure up to —{- )— of its own. You're also ‘So now you ‘the competition? able to. can a Ie (easily) outclasses / Asfar as. fs concerned, (east) euncass W Welvetpuraded’. The great(est) _» What this there's (really) no and made (several) advantage of | means is comparison. improvements to ... this is guess you're it’s going to This could have Another alternative hat : Feasieien ‘wondering ... require... severalknock-on Mightbe to... One possibility : effects. would be to ... WWyouhave say etme reassure = / lemight We can't rule out - iS not an option doubtsabout, -youthat... ‘R's boundto... involve... “Ih Teedto .. for us right now. . .. months | See 6 the one hand, Inthe Years fom thob ‘On the other So,on —long(er) NOW. We need to ies hand, LE Looking further consider ... ahead, . / . A We must also And we can't ignore ‘Over the coming... We envisage take account the fact that... ONe possible Onthe plus months /years... [foresee ... af drawback side... 7 €4 1.08 Listen to a manager for a financial services company giving a presentation about ferdepartmental communications and complete her visual aids. TM am ‘8 Turn to page 80 to practise delivering a short, structured presentation of your own, which you will present to your group. You can evaluate your performance using the feedback form on the website. 13 4 Voice power Without good gf Noword was delivery, the best | ever aseffective speaker cannot be of J) asarightly any account atall. 1) timed pause, Cicero, Roman |) Mark Twain, orator <. American author learned that the spaces between words were as important as the words themselves. Gerry Spence, . undefeated lawyer eos aE, 1. Read the words of the three master-presenters above and work with a partner on the following questions. ‘a How far do you agree with Cicero that the most important thing in a presentation is how you sound? b_ What's the difference between pausing and hesitating? How can a good use of pausing be helpful to both speaker and audience? Read Mark Twain's comment aloud. if you could pause just once, where would you pause? ‘Try two, three or four pauses. Which version sounds best? Read Gerry Spence’s comment aloud. Try pausing for a second after ‘spaces between ‘words’. Now try two, three and four seconds. How long is too long? 2. €9 1.09 Listen to the advice of presentations coach Doug Jefferys spoken in two different ways. Which version sounds more like a conversation and which more like a presentation? Version 1: Conversation] Presentation] Version 2; Conversation] Presentation] F Inorder to get your audience to really take in what you have to say, you've got to learn to stop talking — stop talking long enough for them to ingest that last thing you said, get a {picture oft, try to put it into a context they know, before moving on to the next thing you're going to say. The pause is absolutely the most important thing you can do. Doug Jefferys, CEO of PublicSpeakingskills.com 3. In which of the two versions you have just listened to does the speaker: Conversation Presentation 2 speak faster? bb speak louder? pause more? sound more fluent? sound clearer? sound more interesting? 4 91.10 Work with a partner. Listen to part of a presentation about public speaking. One of you should mark the pauses on the script below like this |. The other should underline the stressed words and phrases. *You know, | there are a lot of myths about speaking in public. Myth number one is that what you actually say is only seven percent of the message. Thirty-eight percent is how you sound and fifty-five percent is how you look. But think about it. | mean, if that was true, you could go to a talk in Swahili and still understand ninety-three percent! Myth number two is that public speaking is most people's greatest fear — just above death. The comedian Jerry Seinfeld has a great joke about that. He says, “Come on, if it really was their greatest fear, at a funeral the person giving the eulogy would rather be in the box!" 5 What type of words tend to be stressed? What do you notice about where the pauses come? 6 9 1.10 Listen again. When does the speaker's voice go up before a pause and when does It go down? Turn the | for each pause into or. 7 Work with a partner. Take turns reading the script in 4 yourselves using the marked pauses, stresses and intonation to help you. Experiment with longer pauses and louder stresses until you find a version that feels comfortable for you. How is it different from your partner's version? 8 What is your preferred style of presenting? + relaxed and conversational + smooth and professional + passionate and enthusiastic + light-hearted and humorous Do you adapt to suit your audience or play to your strengths? In the drama of organisational life, your instrument "y iyourvoe end yoorbrehete me. Drtouie Maher, rginetor of Vocal intligence ff 15 16 Bf Martin Luther King didnot use files in his impassioned have dream’ speech. b |< Kewesn't the Thave a um, you know, lke a dream’ speech UL, Timothy Koeger, author of The Exceptional Presenter but how are they different? 2. Prepare a 45-second speech using one of the opening quotes on page 81 or invent one of your own. Someone else in your group will count the number of times you use a filler. Whoever ums and ers the most has to speak again! 3. In English, word stress is an important part of how we communicate, and changing what ‘we stress can radically change what we mean. In each extract below underline the main stress in the two sentences. a We haven't seen a massive improvement yet. But it's a good start. b We haven't seen a massive improvement yet. But my quess is we soon will. ¢ The market may be declining. But fortunately our market share isn't, The market may be declining. Or this could just be a temporary blip. We do pretty well in the States. But we don't do so well in Europe. We do pretty well in the States. But not as well as we could be doing. 9 Tumover is up on Q3. But profits are down. h Tumover is up on Q3. But that was a particularly bad quarter. |. It's hard to gain a foothold in india. But not impossible. |] t's hard to gain a foothold in india. But harder still to gain one in China, kc There are 2 couple of points I'd ike to make. And both concern cash flow. I There are a couple of points I'd like to make. And then I'l hand you over to Jan. 4. 91.12 Practise delivering the extracts in 3 and then compare with the recording. 5 Work in opposing teams. You ate going to re-enact two dramatic presentations from the Classic business movie Other People’s Money. The scene: Andrew Jorgenson is the patriarchal chairman of New England Wire and Cable. Once highly successful, his company has not kept up with new technology and both revenues and share price are down. Lawrence Garfield, known to his enemies as ‘Larry the Liquidator’, a corporate financier and one of the major stockholders, is trying to persuade the other stockholders at the annual general meeting to vote him in as the new chairman, so he can carry out his plan to sell off the company’s considerable assets before its share price falls any further, Of course, this will mean the closure of the firm and the loss of thousands of jobs. their speech by going through the text: Each team should choose a presenter to oppose the other team and coach them to deliver + marking short pauses (|), longer pauses (||) and very long pauses (|||) + marking intonation (Nor Y) + underlining stressed words and phrases | want to share with you some of my thoughts concerning the vote that you're going to make in the company that you ‘own. This proud company, which has survived the death of its founder, numerous recessions, one major depression, and two world wars, is in imminent danger of self-destructing ~ on this day, in the town of its birth. There is the instrument of our destruction. | want you to look at him in all of his glory, Larry the Liquidator, the entrepreneur of post-industrial America, playing God with other people’s money. This man leaves nothing. He creates nothing, he builds nothing, he runs nothing. Who gets your vote? Think about pace, volume and sentence length. Gregory Peck as Andrew Jorgenson + highlighting louder and quieter parts of the speech in diferent colours if Danny DeVito as Lawrence Garfield This company is dead. | didn’t kill it. Don't blame me. It was dead when I got here. It's too late for prayers. For even if the prayers were answered, and a miracle occurred, and the yen did this, and the dollar did that, and the infrastructure did the other thing, we would still be dead. You know why? Fiber optics. New technologies. Obsolescence. We're dead all right. We're just not broke. And you know the surest way to go broke? Keep getting an increasing share of a shrinking market. I'm not your best friend. I'm your only friend. I don’t make anything? I'm making you money. Rehearse your talk a few times. When both teams are ready, give your presentations to the annual stockholders’ meeting of New England Wire and Cable. Who did the better job? 6 €9 1.18 Listen to recordings of the speeches. How do the two speakers’ styles compare? 7 Turn to page 82 to lear a simple method for using your laptop or PC to increase your voice power. You can evaluate your performance using the feedback form on the website. 7 vay Visual aids g | Thate to tell you, but, chances are, your PowerPoint slides are lousy. But don’t take my word for it, let's do a little test. Show your slides to someone who doesn’t speak your language. ‘Now, you're saying ‘What's he talking about? Of course, they ccan’tread them,’ Aha! Ifyou're expecting your audience to read your PowerPoint, you're already in big trouble. PowerPoint is visual medium. Whether it’s a chart, a graph, a picture or a cartoon, your audience should be able to understand your message just by looking at the images. . TJ. Walker, CEO of Media Training Worldwide 1 Read the advice of leading media trainer, TJ. Walker. Then compare the two presentation slides below. Which do you think he'd prefer? Which looks more like your own slides? 18 2. Discuss your own preferences with a partner. Think about these features: data load legibility, visual impact font size scale colour contrast aesthetics 2 €4 1.14 Listen to business people from different cultures sharing their views. Write notes on the points you agree with a Italian Dutch ‘Swedish Japanese 4 You've been asked to give a short team presentation on family business in India. In groups, try to decide which slide opposite would be the most effective as your main visual aid. Percentage of businesses in India which are family-owned (FOBs) Family Business Don't commit career suislidel Nancy Duarte, Duarte Design 5 Nancy Duarte is one of the world’s leading presentation designers. Her company helped former US vice-president Al Gore develop his celebrated environmental talk ‘An Inconvenient Truth’. What do you think she means by ‘career suislide’? 6 €9 1.15 Sometimes using real objects or ‘props’ in a presentation can be highly effective. Listen to business people talking about some of the best uses of props they've seen presenters make and answer the questions below. a. How did Apple CEO Steve Jobs demonstrate the thinness of the MacBook Air? b What's the weirdest use of a prop the second speaker's ever seen? ¢ How did Cisco CEO John Chambers demonstrate the TelePresence system? What's the connection between a jeans pocket and the iPod Nano? 7. Even if your job does not involve presenting actual products, how could you use props in your own presentations? Discuss your ideas with 2 partner, & Turn to page 83 to see a selection of, presentation slides before and after a designer ‘worked on them. How far do you think they've been improved? Why? Zis@ Visual aids Avoid excessive use of bullet pointing. Only bullet key“) points. Too many bullet points and your key messages will not stand out. Infact, the term bullet point comes > from people firing guns at annoying presenters, j Don MeMillan, corporate comedian « g Nomore than six words | onaslide—ever! Seth Godin, marketing gu 1 Presenter Seth Godin’s advice seems extreme. Or does it? Think of the key message of one of your own presentations ~ can you write it out in six words? 2 How far do the words of comedian Don McMillan remind you of any presentations you've attended? 3. The 666 Rule and 10-20-30 Rule refer to the bullet points, font sizes and number of slides you should use in your presentation. What do you think these rules might be? Now look at page 65 for explanations of the 666 and 10-20-30 rules. How far do you follow these rules? ‘The slide below is ineffective. In pairs, simplify it by radicelly reducing the number of words ‘and rewriting the bullet points to make them grammatically consistent. Compare your ideas with those in the Key. * Adesigner knows he has achieved perfection not The Five Golden Rules You Must Follow to when there's nothingleft_ __be Effective in Presentations todd, but when there's + Long introductions at the beginning are a nothing left to take away. complete waste of time — get to the poi ‘Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, * Never apologise for being unclear, skipping ~ aviator, author, engineer points, having difficultto-read visuals, etc. + It’s a mistake to get too involved in the details — put those in the handouts. * Quoting figures is not as effective as telling anecdotes and stories to illustrate your point. + Conversation, not presentation — that's how to build rapport with your audience. 20 = i a 6 91.16 Listen to part of a presentation about marketing to women and note the context in which the following key figures are mentioned. a 85% se d 10% b sj10 eee e $70m. 75% f% 7 The expressions below are all useful when presenting a slide. You heard most of them in the itation extract in 6. Complete th Fie e presentation extract in 6. Complete — ae ee attention axis notice S a eae os” FY look talk take point see ; : @ Have a en at this, FE Togive you the oe onto that, w- b Thevertical represents... J Asyou.. i © ASYOU CAR ecco ny ne ke Now, let's... that into perspective, d let's. a claser look. GIVE THE CONTEXT aeeael “INTRODUCE. _ YOUR SLIDE INTERPRET Onl NE Dice 1 These... m Thefigures for themselves. 1h These results... s e You'll 0 We FUSHOUE se OME ane p Thereal..... Md like to draw YOUR es EO ae q_ So, what does this in terms of ...? fh Letme ‘you through -.. Now, what are the. of this? 8 Where could yau use the following adverbs in the expressions above: clearly, immediately, presumably, obviously, particularly, briefly, frankly, just? © In groups, choose a few of the statistics in 6 and brainstorm ideas for simple visuals. 10. Turn to page 84 to practise presenting information to your group using simple but effective visuals as support. You can evaluate your performance using the feedback form on the website. 21 Enough data to sink a tanker, Ninety-eight percent in reserve, Know the data from memory. Make it clear that you have done a staggering amount of homework, even though you are exhibiting buta tiny fraction. Allude to the tons of research that are available. Offer one-on-one briefings if desired. Tom Peters, management guru EB Facts and figures | I mad cam, 4 Asone of the world’s most influential business thinkers, Tom Peters has given thousands of presentations. How far do you agree with him that, whenever you present, 98% of your data should be in your head, not on the screen? What are the dangers of ‘data-dumping’? 2 91.17 Listen to business people from different countries and industries talking about the amount of data presenters are expected to include. Which is closest to your own situation? Compare with a partner. 2 What do you think a ‘slideument’ might be? Read the advice of ‘Zen’ presentations expert, Garr Reynolds. How could you implement his idea in your own presentations to give your audience ‘the best of both worlds’? r- You cant say everything n your talk. Many presenters include everything under the sun in their slides ust in case’ or to show that they are ‘serious people’. ‘common to create slides with lots of text and detailed charts because the slides will also serve as a leave-behind document. Big mistake. Instead, prepare a detailed document for a handout and keep the slides simple. And never distribute a printed version of your slides as a handout. Slides are slides. Documents are documents. Attempts to merge them result in what I call the ‘slideument. Garr Reynolds, presentationzen.com 4 Lookat the data in the graph, ‘Men's extra leisure time compared with women (mins/day) Which shows the extra amount 0 10 20 90 40 50 60 70 of leisure time men have as Wy een nnenennnenne - compared with women in 12 Fold different countries. Imagine ie you're presenting to an seh audience of mostly female Polish Utes Ses executives. Decide what data Fence ‘to keep in the slide and what to leave for the handout. South Koes —————— Feland ———— pablimeaay Compare your ideas with en other people. Who kept theirs Nites simplest? 22 111.18 Practise saying the following figures. Then listen to the CD. a 14,640 © $60.10 |i we m% q 1,000ce uw 5.50sqm b 3333 f 8001K j WE on 75? r 188pa_ sv QB © 1999 g 103m k % © A2pts 5 $1.3/€ 2010 h6&1bn 1% pot t 2,000 rpm ‘Work in groups of four. Turn to page 85 to practise fluency with figures. €9 1.19 Round figures are generally more memorable than exact ones. Present the information below in round figures, using the ‘approximation words’ in the box to help you. Then listen and compare your version with the one on the CD. almost nearly (somewhere) around approximately roughly more /|ess than (just /a litte | well) over/under (round) about (wel) in excess of just short of In Q4 we saw a 19.7% increase in revenues. We've managed to bring down costs by 24.9%. We currently have 97 branches in 205 countries. We've made a substantial investment of $499.1 m, ‘76% of the respondents in our survey actually expressed no preference. The basic model comes in 56 different versions. ‘Turnover this year was €112,687,401. ‘The project will be completed in 6-10 weeks. vate ance ‘Numbers don't mean much unless they're placed in context. Recently I worked with a company that launched a 12-gigabyte memory card ~ 12-gigabytes! That number doesn't mean much to most people, so we put it into context. We said that’s enough ‘memory to listen to your music while traveling to the moon and back! Now, 12-gigs means something to me. Make numbers meaningful. Carmine Gallo, Gallo Communications, former CNN joumalist and author of The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs 4 €9 1.20 Carmine Gallo has coached companies such as intel, Nokia and IBM in ‘communication skills. Read what he has to say about numbers and do what he suggests by matching the figures to the contexts (e-h). Then listen and check your answers. @ Globally, 256 million people are involved @ To give you an idea of just how much that in startups. is, it's enough to fill Loch Ness 22 times b The world consumes 164.5 billion litres f That's roughly the equivalent of selling of bottled water a year. 10,000 Mercedes-Benz cars! © The world's richest 114% are worth 9 To put that into perspective, if they joined around $50 trillion. hands, they'd circle the world 12 times! ‘d Apple's Fifth Avenue megastore turns. fh. That means they currently control just over over $350 million a year. half the planet's wealth! a b ¢ q €9 1.21 Present the original graph in 4 using round numbers and just highlighting the key figures. f you can, put it into context. Then listen to the model version on the CD. 24 5B Facts and figures gf Asa presenter, nothing commands like credibility. This is especially true when it comes to presenting data. Audiences that are analytical, scientific or engineer-minded tend to look at the data with a sceptical eye — it's what they’re trained to do, after all. your data has been boiled down or clarified too much, they may feel ithas been manipulated, has become ‘marketing data’ or is no longer substantial. To prevent these assumptions, avoid decorating your data; ornamentation can detract from credibility. “Nancy Duarte, Duarte Design 1 Nancy Duarte is one of the world’s leading presentation designers. To what extent do you agree with her that there's such a thing as ‘technical data’ and ‘marketing data"? 2 What kind of audiences do you typically have to present to? 3 Being able to accurately describe trends is an important part of presenting data. Brainstorm all the verbs you know to describe the following trends: te Ww A Which of the verbs you came up with can be converted into nouns? 4 When you want to give your audience an idea of the scale, speed and significance of the trends you're describing, you need to use modifiers. Add the modifiers in the box to the chart according to their function. Some of them may serve more than one function. substantial disappointing massive rapid encouraging slight marked alarming modest huge moderate _ tremendous disastrous sudden significant fantastic sharp enormous gradual steady marginal considerable dramatic Scale Significance Speed BIG OR SMALL CHANGE? GOOD OR BAD CHANGE? FAST OR SLOW CHANGE? + + ++ sharp. + marked ss == disastrous ae 5 With a partner, write descriptions ofthis simple bar chart using the expressions in the box. Example: D is marginally higher than E. marginally higher than (just) as high as by farthe highest almost as high as not quite as nowhere near as high as more or less the same considerably higher than equally high 6 Put the following phrases in order from a large decrease to a huge increase: @ morethan doubled b almosthalved ¢ nearlytripled d_ increased tenfold © quadrupled f fellbyathird 9 increased three and a half times 7 Complete the key words below for describing markets and market share. THE MARKET) BE FO. nes OU OF » i ‘The market is. ~jeom ee Adec.. share of an exp..... market, Dh d... ed == 8 691.22 Write the check. ‘The ad had an immediate impact. in January rs : - our CT rate went up oa DA Online Advertising Campaign _just YB wn 3%®= Banner Ad Clickthrough Rate an amazing sixfold increasel ‘Then in February we saw a drop TY _just 14%. But that's stil well sow BVEFAGE. In March the figure fluctuated... ahigh -2 and alow ing prepositions in the presentation extracts below. Then listen and 1% Finally, in April it hovered 192% to finish up .. alittle that by the end of the campaign. Allin all, an excellent response! © Turn to page 85 to practise presenting different kinds of numerical and graphic information, You can evaluate your performance using the feedback form on the website, 25 Body language | > ‘Act natural’ is always good advice. But, remember, when you present, you're not spealking face to face, but face to faces. To reach out to your audience you need to be Justa litle bit larger than life, You are your ‘most important visual aid. 1, Begofa Arsuaga, partner, Communicadia When your body language is out * of alignment with your verbal message, people believe what they see~ not what you say. Carol Kinsey Goman, Kinsey Consulting Services 1 Think about the comments of the communication experts above and discuss the following questions with a partner: a How easy is it to ‘act natural’ in front of an audience? How could you make your body language ‘just a little bit larger than life’? b How far do you agree that your main visual aid is you? ‘© When you present, in what ways do your actions ‘speak louder than words"? 2 €91.23 Listen to four business people from different cultures talking about body language in presentations and answer the questions. What does the Braziian say about the age of the audience? Ist the same in your country? 'b_ What point does the Australian make about words and body language? Is it good advice? © What isthe Finn’s intercultural recipe for success? Do you agree with his point about content? d_ What does the Kuwait say about private and public speaking? Would you take his advice? 3. When presenting, the body language of the sexes tends to be a litte different. Which do you associate with men and which with women? [Move around mi]b[ Hold eve M]<{ Gesture m]a[ Gesture ™ the room more contact four towards away from [W| |timestonger |W] [themselves |W] [themseves |W [Point and wave [na] {Smile andnod [aa]q|Tit the head [ma]in[Keep bodies [a their arms more | 1" | while listening and frown while "| fai cigia iw Ww] [listening ba bel ff lspeakewo languages - body and English, Ge tun 4. How typical are you of your gender? How could you be a bit more gender-neutral? 5 Look at the statements below and match them to the gestures that would best reinforce them. Are all these gestures acceptable in your culture? 1 2 3 4 5 6 Ithinkthere askyou, what Iwonder what OK, let's take This really Let's just are three main are we supposed the answeris these points. isn't good remember issues here. todo? here, oneatatime, enough! one thing. Ait! & Work with a partner. Memorise the short presentation extracts below, one at a time, and then take turns to present them. What gestures feel natural for you? a As you know, the project has been a huge success. b Onthe one hand, it's very high quality. But on the other hand, it's expensive. | think we can eliminate Option 8 straight away. But this isn’t about me. It's about you, every one of you here today. So, what's the long-term trend? Frankly, who knows? It ust isn't working, And there are two main reasons for this. ‘We're aiming to expand our product range by 25%. So, our goal sto increase productivity whilst cutting back on costs. For us at the moment R&D is a top priority. ‘The whole thing has been a disaster from start to finish. Profits have gone up from six to eight million dollars. Firstly its highly effective. Secondly, it’s highly efficient. And thirdly, it’s high time we did it 1m And it's powered by the tiniest microchip you've ever seen. = zate an 7 How do you rate your partner's body language overall? How does it compare with yours? Alittle bit static Confident and expressive Abit too theatrical es 27 Ey Body language Ithas been well established by researchers that those who can effectively read | and interpret non-verbal communication, and manage how others perceive them, + will enjoy ester success life than individuals who lack this kil, Joe Navarro, former FB! Special agent and author of What Every BODY is Saying and Louder Than Words. 1 Do you think it’s possible to show the following qualities through your body language? leadership charisma honesty enthusiasm confidence conviction 2 Research has shown that people can send and receive up to 10,000 non-verbal clues in less than a minute. What postures and gestures might signal the qualities in 1? How would you know the speaker lacked these qualities? 3 Divide the following behaviours into those which convey a sense of authority and those which create rapport. It's not just about body language, but the body plays a crucial part. walt maintain lots of eye contact use subtle gestures talkslowly look lightly above the audience asklots of questions standstill use humour 1agine you're talking to a small group of friends imagine your presence fills the room sayless talk low get excited listen ‘Authority Rapport 4 Which is more important to you when you speak in public - authority or rapport? Is it possible to have both? 5 Work in groups. Just for fun, deliver one of the following using appropriate body language ~ speak the words with your lips, but silently. Can your group guess what you are saying? 2 Qur technological lead gives us an enormous advantage. b What we're experiencing is a period of steady decline. Ina sense, these are two opposing ideas. _ By merging our two firms we'll enjoy significant economies of scale. © You can see that the new madel has a much simpler, sleeker design, £ I'd like to talk you through the different stages of the process. © Work with a partner. Look at the examples of presenter body language opposite. In what ‘ways could they be distracting or create the wrong impression? Are you guilty of any of them? 7 €9 1.24 Now listen to four short extracts from a presentation about body language and discuss these questions with a partner. ‘a. Why are hands so important? What makes a particular gesture distracting? b Why isn't folding your arms the answer to the ‘hands problem’? How is it similar to standing behind a podium? What's the solution, to ‘the podium trap’? ‘© What makes a ‘hands problem’ even worse? How can you guard against this? dl What are the signs of being too energetic and too relaxed? What should you do? 8 Give a short, simple presentation to your partner - perhaps fon where you'd lke to be in ten years’ time. Make some of the annoying gestures above as you speak and see how many they can spot! 2 Pictures a-e illustrate more examples of unhelpful body language in a presenter. Can you work out what they are? 10 Choose a subject you feel strongly about and prepare a short presentation on it. Spend 10 minutes making some notes. The template on page 87 may help. Try to make your main points as graphic and dramatic as possible. When you're ready, present your opinion and let your body follow your words. You can evaluate your performance using the feedback form on the website, Rapport-building You rehearsed your speech thoroughly and mastered that all-important body language. But when you delivered the talk, you sensed little enthusiasm in your audience, What's going on? You're probably coming, across as artificial. To demonstrate your authenticity, imagine meeting four aims: being open to your audience, connecting with your audience, listening to your audience and being passionate about your topic. When you rehearse this way, you'll genuinely experience these | feelings when delivering your speech. And your listeners ‘will know you're the teal thing. ™ Dr Nick Morgan, Public Words SST 1. Dr Nick Morgan is an author, Harvard Business Review journalist and expert on developing authenticity and charisma as a speaker. With a partner, try to decide: in what ways you can show openness to your audience bb what you can say or do to connect with your audience © how you can deeply and actively listen to your audience how you can demonstrate passion for your subject. 2. €9 2.02 One simple way of connecting with an audience is to reduce the number of | references to‘ and ‘you’ and replace them with ‘we’. Increase rapport in the statements below by changing some of the pronouns to the first person plural. Then listen and check your answers. Now, | Know this is something that affects each and every one of you. | think you'd all agree that in the long term this is in your best interests You need to be asking yourselves: what are you trying to achieve? So do you or don't you take up the challenge? The choice is yours. I"ve got three amazing new products | want to share with you today. So let me get started! 3 €42.03 Another way to be more interactive is to use question tags. Add tags to the presentation extracts below. The first one has been done for you as an example. Then listen and check your answers. This isn't really so surprising, is 14? We've been here before. b But we won't let this stop us. € I said it was good news. © We certainly can't complain. £ You know what's going to happen. ‘When you are giving the same presentation many times, itis important not to let yourself get bored. Interacting with your audience is the best way to achieve this. Mike Grabiner, former CEO of Energis 30 4 42.06 Rephrasing controversial statements as negative questions makes them much more persuasive. Rephrase the following in this way. The first one has been done for you as, an example. Then listen and check your answers. a We should be focusing our attention on our core business, Shouldn't we .. ? bb Offshoring - this is something we need to be looking at. It's time we started to take internet advertising seriousiy 4 We've had enough of being number two in this industry © There's a need for more accountability at board level. f We're in danger of losing some of our best customers. one has been done for you. 5 €92.05 To build real rapport, your presentation needs to sound conversational. One thing you can do to achieve this isto repeatedly involve your audience. That's what the speaker below is doing, She is addressing an international group of CEOs and senior executives. Match up the seven stages of her speech in a-g with her involvement expressions in h-n. The first one has been done for you as an example. Then listen and check. = Let's just talk about email for a moment. If you're You'd think | was crazy, right? | mean, there are anything like me, you probably wish ernil had currently 1.7 billion email users out there! But let never been invented! me ask you a question. © And it's not just spam, ist? When was the lest ‘And would it surprise you to learn that students time you received dozens of emails that didn’t now hardly use email at all - except to contact even directly concern you? professors and parents! © So, what if | was to say to you that email, as But, you see, that’s where you'd be wrong. The ‘we know it, s dead; that email will soon be as fastest-growing group of social networkers i obsolete as the fax machine? actually women over 35. © How many of you pay regular visits to sites like Raise your hand if that's happened to you. Right. Facebook, MySpace or Twitter? How about | think that's something we can all relate to. texting? Most of you. Interesting. Email is inescapable. © But let me share some statistics with you. Did ‘And you don't need me to tell you that, together, you know that 300 milion users spend 8 bi China, India and women over 35 exercise a minutes a day just on Facebook? tremendous amount of influencel Now, | know what you're thinking. You're | mean, | don't know about you, but on a typical thinking, well, OK, sure, we know kids are the day probably waste more time on email than biggest users of Web 2.0 technology and texting, just about anything else. 5 And the biggest markets for SMS are China and, If like me, you find yourself more and more india. The Chinese alone send half a tilion text involved in social networking these days, then you messages a year! should already know that email ison its way out. amb c a ' 9 6 Underline the involvement expressions the speaker uses in 5. There are at least 16. The first 7 Now prepare a short presentation with a controversial theme and use some of the rapport techniques you've studied in this module to make your speech more persuasive, There's a ‘controversial ideas bank’ on page 87. You can evaluate your performance using the feedback form on the website. 31 ¥A3) Rappori-building You know a little humor would make your communications more engaging, persuasive, and memorable. The good news is, you can be funnier — and you don’t even have to tell jokes! It’s one thing | tobe funny. It’s another thing to spread fun. You don't have to be Oscar Wilde. You don't have to be Robin Williams. You just have to be a fun person that creates opportunities for laughter to emerge. |. Doni Tamblyn, Humorkules.com 11 Doni Tamblyn is a comedian, corporate trainer and expert on using humour when you ‘communicate. Read her comments and discuss these questions with a partner: a Do you agree that being fun is more important than being funny? b In what ways could you create ‘opportunities for laughter to emerge’? 2 Form two groups. One group should brainstorm the advantages of using humour in a presentation, the other the possible disadvantages. Then briefly team-present your pros and cons. Which team made the stronger case? 3. 692.06 How could you create humour out of the following in a presentation? Briefly discuss each situation with a partner. Then listen to the story of how a presenter actually handled it and decide which of their strategies might work for you. You know your audience is dying to see the new product you've just been describing. You invite your audience to share thelr thoughts with a neighbour, but a lot of them are either sitting alone or seem uncertain how to begin. © There's a sudden power cut and you lose all your audio visuals! d You're scheduled to give a pre-dinner talk on Valentine's Day. You are the last speaker on the programme and, before you even start, your audience looks exhausted and ready to go homet 4- Humour is not the only thing that is @ matter of personal taste. We know that different people also process information in different ways. Theories vary, but some of the most common intelligence types are represented in the diagram below. To key directly into each intelligence you need to vary your language. With a partner, write the letter of each presentation extract beneath the type or types of intelligence you think it’s specifically addressing. Picture this How does this sound? b © Let's take a moment to reflect on that. Statistically speaking, ... Do you see what | mean? f 9 Iestrikes me that .. Ask yourself. bh The basic principle is fairly easy to grasp. i $0, logically, J Take @ minute to talk to a partner. kc Now, you're probably saying to yourself... | Unfortunately there isn't time to go into depth here. m I want to share with you .. Personally, .. | hear you say ... savos Between you and me, . But let’s look at this another way. Whaat I'd like to do is give you a feel for... | think the figures speak for themselves, Does that make sense to you? u On balance, v Toillustrate what I'm saying ... \w So far we've barely touched on the question of ... x. Just to give you an overview of ... y_ Let me fill you in on the background to that. 5. €9 2.07 Listen to some short presentation extracts. From what the presenter is doing or asking the audience to do, what intelligences do you think they're addressing? Extract 1 Extract 2: Extract 3: Extract 4: bxtract 5: Extract 6: Extract 7: Extract 8: 6 Tum to page 88 to practise rapport- building. You can evaluate your performance using the feedback form on the website. ES Impact techniques Twant to talk'a minute about repetition . want to tallca minute about repetition. It’s very, very important || inany speech that you do two things — repetition, restatement. ‘You have to remember that you wrote the speech, you researched the speech, you studied and practised the speech, you basically ‘ ‘married the speech. You know it, but we dont. So you have to repeat and restate the important points. I repeat, you have to repeat and restate the important points. | Tracy Goodwin, communication professor 1. How many examples of repetition and restatement can you find in Tracy Goodwin's ‘comments? Think about words, phrases, sentences, sounds. 2 €9 2.08 Create greater impact in the presentation extracts below by replacing one word in each with a word that has already been used. The first one has been done for you as an example. Then listen and check your answers. question a It's not a question of qualifications. It's a matter of talent. | always say total quality begins with absolute commitment, © What's the use of setting goals if your objectives are unrealistic? One thing we don't need is more data. We're drowning in information as it ist f o A decline in the market doesn’t have to mean a drop in sales as well. We're still running at zero profit. But, from nothing the only way is up. 3. €9 2.09 Look at the statements below and underline words you could repeat after a short ppause to increase your impact. The first one has been done for you as an example. Then listen and check your answers. a First of all, 'm pleased to report that profits are up by 38%. First of all, 'm pleased to report that profts are up .. up by 38% It's a cliché, | know, but this firm has always put its people first. Ladies and gentlemen, it's time to face the facts. So, that’s what happened - what | want to know is: why did we let it happen? What's really important for us to do right now is this . (One thing | know: we must never again lose our sense of focus. Nobody likes failure, but some people are more afraid of success. ‘We've come a long way to get to where we are today. ‘And today we're announcing our biggest breakthrough ever. zat ean 4 €92.10 Avery effective repetition technique isto echo the first word of your statement at the end. Ths is sometimes called the James ‘Bond, Bond technique. Complete the statements James Bond.’ opposite by putting the same word in both Sean Connery gaps. Then listen and check your answers. \ in DrNo nothing everything anything noone everyone __ nowhere have we been more successful than in South America ~ b has ever been able to beat us on price ~ < inthe beta test was positive about the product - 4 is beyond us if we work together as a team ~ e would be better than the system we've got at the moment — t in this market is about to change ~ 1 key phrase that is repeated “Yes, we can!’ several times throughout a speech - for earack obama “sy example, Barack Obama's ‘Yes, we can!" Think g of a presentation of your own. Can you reduce your key message to a mantra of no more than seven words? Compare with others in your group. Briefly give the background to your presentation and suggest improvements to each other's mantras if you can. Repeating certain sounds can add power to your key points. Advertisers use this technique a lot. Look atthe following famous examples and identity the sounds being repeated. Some repeat more than one. Pleasing people the world over. (Holiday Inn) __Fly the friendly skies. (United Airlines) You can be sure of Shell. (Royal Dutch Shell) Don't dream it. Drive it. /aguar) ‘Where do you want to go today? (Microsoft) Sense and simplicity. (Philips) Probably the best beerin the world. (Carlsberg) Functional, Fashionable, Formidable. (Fila) €9 2.11 Now replace the word in bold in each of the statements below with a close synonym that echoes the highlighted sounds in the rest of the sentence. The first one has been done for you as an example. Then listen and check your answers. a: Propet priced, packaged and edvertied, this product cannot fl b China isnot our main market, but it may be a significant market in the future. Of course, thiss a serious problem to which there's no easy solution. In the world of international finance this company remains a formidable force. | know that if we work together as a group we can take on the competition. lf we cannot challenge change, then we have no option but to embrace it. I we don’t manage to break even on this by Q4 we may even go under. €9 2.12 Turn to page 88 to practise using repetition for dramatic impact. When you've rewritten and delivered your short presentation, you can evaluate your performance using the feedback form on the website. Then listen and compare your version with the one on. the CD. 35 js Impact techniques Is there anything you can do to get your message across with greater impact? Are there any techniques that all successful speakers tse to inspire, persuade and enthuse their audiences? And, if so, can anyone learn to use them? The good news is that the answer toall these questions is an emphatic yes. The same rhetorical techniques that were originally defined by the ancient Greeks are stil very much alive and well, today. They are the way effective speakers speak. ~ Max Atkinson, Henley Business Schoo! 1 Max Atkinson is the world’s top researcher into audience reactions to public speakers. In his comments above find examples of: @ repetition of words and sounds b rhetorical questions ¢ groups of three 2 Why do you think rhetorical questions are so powerful in a presentation? 3. Phrasing a key point as a question and echoing the question in the answer is often more effective than just making your point. Look at the example and transform the other statements in a similar way. ‘9 Piracy is the main challenge we face. So, what's the main challenge we face? The main challenge is piracy. b Viral marketing is the answer. © Converting leads into sales is the problem. China is where the best opportunities ar. © Big-budget advertising simply doesn't work, that's my point. £ Give our project teams more autonomy, that’s the plan. 4 €9 2.13 Work with a partner. Can you think of another rhetorical question you could add conto the end of each extract in 3? Then listen and compare your ideas with those on the cD. 5 92.14 Certain rhetorical questions are very common in presentations. Complete the ones below using the pairs of words in the box. Then listen and check your answers. where +go hewt+de what+do why+selling what + talking how soon + expect where + did what + waiting how much + wasted 8 We've tripled revenues in two Yeats. $0. hi WE soca it? | bb The whole of central Asia is one big golden opportunity So, are we for? © We poured milions into ths venture andi lopped. So, we | go wrong? When the patents run out on this product, our competitors wil legally be able to clone it. S0, are we' going to about it? ‘© We spend fifty million dollars a year on internet advertising alone. But of that is c {It's by far the most cost-effective system on the market. So, isn'tit 2 4g. In spite of offering excellent salaries and benefits, we're still failing to retain key personnel. $0, dowe from here? hy Retooling the plants is not going to be cheap. So, sort of figure are we about? 1 We've considerably stepped up our R&D activity. So, canwe to see results? Choose a rhetorical question from 5 or formulate one of your own and use it to create a 20-second presentation of your own product or service or one you know well. Use the following three-part structure: Present the situation > Ask a rhetorical question > Answer the rhetorical question Grouping points in threes seems to almost ma up the three presentation extracts below: ally make them more memorable. Match ‘2 What will it take to achieve our goals? In Canada, Russia and Scandinavia b How do we plan to become a more Time, effort and tenacity. socially responsible firm? f Through our total commitment to clean ‘© Where do our key markets le? energy, sustainability and fair trade. a b © Abillion hours ago, human life appeared on earth. A billion minutes ago, Christianity emerged. A billion seconds ago, the Beatles changed music for ever... Abillion Coca-Colas ago, was yesterday morning. | Roberto Goizueta, former CEO Coca-Cola») t 692.15 Now, to each of the extracts in 7 add a fourth point as the ‘punchline’, Try delivering all four points, remembering to pause after the third. Then listen and compare your version with the one on the CD. {2 But, most of al, through our commitment to people. b But, frst and foremost, Germany. © But, above all talent. €9 2.16 Work with a partner. Look at the notes on page 89 and rewrite them as a presentation using as many impact techniques as you can. Compare your version with others in the class. You can evaluate your performance using the feedback form on the. website. Then listen and compare it with the one on the CD. 37 (168 Impact techniques Amazing! Incrediblet Unbelievable! Revolutionary! 38 Huge! Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something. (A, Prato, Greek phitosopher 1. €92.17 Simple contrasts and opposites can be very effective in a presentation: good and bad, past and present, us and them. Complete the statements below using the idea of contrast to help you. Then listen and check your answers. This year we're number two in the market. This a. year, we'll ben ° b Asthey say, it's not a matter of doing things right. It's a m. of d ther. th © I'm not asking you to say yes today. I'm a. y. not to s a d_t'm not saying o 's a good option. I'm s. itso. on. ‘€ They say you should look before you leap. |s. le. E th Ll Five years ago we had an idea. To. ithas be. a rea. gf we don't seize this opportunity, so. el w. h We may never be the biggest, but we c. st. be the be. 2 Choose two or three of the sets of opposites below and create a contrast for each that is relevant to a company, product or service you know. Stand up and present them to the rest of your group. io, [ee Them =, us Past |p, PRESENT present [“is,.[7 FUTURE BaD =}, e00n, coop |=, BETTER aim }%=,[oureome MyTH

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