PRESENTING IN ENGLISH how to give successful presentations Mark Powell THOMSON HEINLE Australia Canada Mexico ‘Singapore Spain United Kingdom United StatesTHOMSON HEINLE Presenting In English How to Give Successful Presentations ‘Mark Powell PublisheriGlobal ELT: Christopher Wenger Executive Marketing Manager, Global ELTIESL: Amy Mabley Copyright © 2002 by Heinle, a part ofthe Thomson Corporation Hainle, Thomson end the Thomson logo are trademarks used hersin under ieense. Copyright © formerly hald by Language Teaching Publications 1996, Printed in Croatia by Zrinski do. 456789 10 06 05 04 03 For more information contact Heinle, 25 Thomson Place, Boston, MA 02210 USA, (oF you can visit our Internet staat htip:/imw.hetnla.com {All cights reserved. No part of this work covered by the copyright hereon may be reproduced oF ‘used in any form or by any means—graphic, elecironic, of mechanical, including photocopying, recording taping, Web distrbution or information storage and retrieval systems—without the \weltten permission ofthe publisher. For permission o use materia from this tex or product contact us Tol 1-800-730-2214 Fax 1-800-730-2216 Web wiww.thomsonrights.com ISBN: 1 299396 30.6 Cassette Tape A cassette tape accomanies this book. Al material recorded on the cassette is clearly marked. ‘The cassette is available n to ections, one with British pronunciation and one with American pronunciation. British version ISBN 1 899396 50.0 English version ISBN 1899386 75.6 The Author ‘Mark Powell has taught English in the UK and throughout Europe. He has extensive experience teaching business English and is @ well-known teacher trainer inthis field, He isthe author of the business English couse Business Matters, Acknowledgements Cover design by Anna Macleod Cover photography courtesy of Richard Bryant and Arcaid lustrations by Jonathan Marks Graphs on pagas 26 an 27 courtesy of The Europeanpresenting in engin Contents Introduction Using this Book Section 1 Getting Started 1.1 Introductions .............4 1.2. Stating Your Purpose 1... 13. Stating Your Purpose 2. 1.4 Effective Openings....060000600ccseeeee 15 Signposting 1.6 Survival Tactics... Section 2 Exploiting Visuals 2.1 Introducing Visuals . - 2.2 Commenting on Visuals. 2.3 Change and Development 1 24 Change and Development 2.. 2.5. Change and Development 3. . 2.6 Cause, Effect, and Purpose Section 3 Using Your Voice 3.1. Articulation ] .. 3.2. Articulation 2 .. 3.3. Chunking 1 3.4. Chunking 2 3.5 Chunking 3 3.6. Stress. 3.7 Pacing « 3.8 Intonation 1 3.9 Intonation 2... 3.10 Sound Scripting 1 .. 3.11 Sound Scripting 2... 3.12. Sound Scripting 3 presenting in english 10 iL 13, 14 16 18 20 22 24 25 = 129 -32 34 36 37 -.38 239 - 40 41 we AD 4B . 44 45presenting in english Contents Section 4 Basic Techniques 4.1 Emphasis 1 4.2 Emphasis 2 43° Emphasis 3 44° Emphasisd. oc ccccceeeeeeeeeee 45° Emphasis 5... 46 Focusing... 4.1 Softening 1..... presenting in english 48 49 50 51 52 54 56 48 Softening 2....cccceecceseceeceveseeeeeeenseees 49° Repetition 1... 4.10 Repetition 2.2.0... bo voveetteevvteeeueeees SAL Repetition 3....000cecceceeeeeeeeeeee Section 5 Further Techniques 5.1 Rhetorical Questions 1. 5.2 Rhetorical Questions 2... 5.3 Rhetorical Questions 3 5.4 Dramatic Contrasts 1 5.5. Dramatic Contrasts 2 5.6 Teipling 1. 5.7 Tripling 2.. 5.8 Tripling 3. 5.9 Machine-gunning. 5.10 Build-ups - 5.11 Knock-downs 5.12. Simplific 5.13 Creating Rapport 1 5.14 Creating Rapport 2... 5.15. Creating Rapport 3... 37 58 59 - 60 -.62 63 - 64 - 66 68 - 69 --70 72 74 76 78 - 80 82 83 - 84Section 6 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 6.10 6.1L 6.12 6.13 Section 7 7A 72 73 74 75 76 27 78 79 ating in english Business Terms I... Business Terms 2 Business Terms 3 . Business Terms 4 Business Terms 5 Business Terms 6... Formality 1 Formality 2... Useful Expressions 1. Useful Expressions 2. . Useful Expressions 3 Useful Expressions 4. Useful Expressions 5. . Clarification 1 Clarification 2 Clarification 3 Dealing with Questions 1 Dealing with Questions 2..... Dealing with Questions 3 Dealing with Questions 4 Dealing with Questions 5 Dealing with Questions 6 Answer Key Contents Key Language Handling Questions presenting in english - 86 ..87 88 89 90 9 92 93 - 94 96 - 98 - 100 - 102 104 «106 - 108 110 lL - 112 114 116 118 120presenting in engtish LALTOAUCTION presenting in english Using this Book 1. What makes a good presentation? 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 ic 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 stricture, 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? 2. How is this book different? Based on the latest research into business communications, Presenting in English analyzes what makes a speaker sound dynamic and enthusiastic. It identifies the key skills employed by all effective presenters. The basics of introducing your topic, structuring your talk and referring to vvisual aids are dealt with in Sections I and 2. The remainder of the book focuses on: Voice and Delivery As a presenter, the ability to pace your speech and use your voice to create impact is the single most importane 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 You can't give @ good presentation unless you have something to say. Being confident about your content is crucial. Presenting in English helps you to identify and organize all the key words and phrases you are likely to need and teaches you how to make simple visuals work for you Rhetorical Technique Once you are in charge of both your voice and your content you can start to think about how best to present your subject. Sections 4 and 5 teach you the techniques successful speakers use automatically. Choose the techniques that suit you best and work on perfecting them. Question Handling 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. Section 7 systematically teaches you how to field different types of question and deal effectively with the subjects your audience may raise. 3. Using this book In class If you are an inexperienced presenter, itis probably est to work through the course section by section, making sure you do all the presentations before you move on. Pay special attention to the basic skills in Sections 1 ~ 3. 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 aftaid co read out some of the most important ot 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. 6presenting in engisn LACFOAUCTION presenting mn english ‘At home If you are working alone, use the cassette as much as possible, as it will give you the vital listening input you need. Play it again at home or while driving. 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 speakers on the course cassette. A lot of the presentation extracts in the course book contain phrases and expressions which you could use directly yourself. Sometimes whole sentences and paragraphs could be used with only small changes. Make a habit of noting these down for future use. “Try to study regularly if you can. Most of the units in Presenting in English are only one or two pages long. Try to cover three or four units a week. Even doing two units a week is better than doing nothing for months and then going into a panic the day before you have to give your presentation! Gradually build up your competence and confidence. 4. Using the cassettes Many of the input tasks in Presenting in English consist of short presentation extracts which are recorded on cassette. Exercises which are on tape are marked like this I) ‘When you have completed an input task, listen to the cassette to check your answers before ooking in the key at the back of the book. This provides you with useful listening practice and a model of good delivery as well as the correct answers. 5. How to become a good presenter 1, LEAVE NOTHING TO CHANCE Check everything before you are due to speak ~ room, seating, visibility, acousties and equipment. 2. 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. 3. 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 4. 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. 5. 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 ful. 6. BE CONCISE Keep your sentences short and simple. Use deliberate pauses to punctuate your speech. 7. SPEAK NATURALLY Don’t be aftaid 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 8. 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. 7presenting in engish LACKFOAUCTION presenting in english 9, TREAT YOUR AUDIENCE AS EQUALS Never talk down (of up)'te your audience, Treat them as equals, no matter who they are. 10, 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. 11. TAKE YOUR TIME Whenever you make a really important point, pause and let the fll significance of what you have said sink in... before you move on. 12, 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. 13. LET YOUR VISUALS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES Good visuals ate 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. 14. 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. 15. 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. 16. ENJOY THE EXPERIENCE ‘The secret of being an excellent speaker is to enjoy the experience of speaking ~ try to enjoy the experience! 17. 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 yout message across better 18. FINISH STRONGLY ‘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.presenting in enstish S@CTIOM I getting started Getting Started How to make an immediate impact on your audience “Could you talk: amongst yourselves . .. . it looks as if I've left my notes in my hotel.”presenting in english Ll getting started Introductions TASK 1 Below you will find two alternative ways of introducing yourself and the subject of your presentation — one fairly formal, the other more friendly. At each stage choose the expression you would feel more comfortable using and highlight it. FAIRLY FORMAL. Erm, perhaps we should begin. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen On behalf of ..., may I welcome you to... My name's... For those of you who don't know me alteady, Tm responsible for... This moming I'd like to... discuss report on... and present... If you have any questions you'd like to ask, Vl be happy to answer them or Pethaps we can leave any questions you may have until the end of the presentation. MORE FRIENDLY OK, fee's get started. ‘Morning, everyone. Thanks for coming. Im... As you know, :. Pm in charge of ... What I want to do this morning is... talle to you about .. tell you about and show you. Feel free to ask any questions you like as we go along. And don't worry, there'll be plenty of time left over for questions at the end. How happy would you he taking questions a) during your presentation 6) at the end? TASK 2 Now put together an introduction of your own using some of the expressions you chose above. presentation. Remember how important it is to he totally confident about this part of your 10