PRESENTATIONS

SET YOUR OBJECTIVE

•Before planning your speech, please answer
these questions:
•What do I want to get from this speech? What’s
my objective?
•What is the public expecting from me? What is
their objective?
•How can I make the aims of the public match
my own?
GET TO KNOW THE PUBLIC
• You are speaking because people have decided it’s
worth their while to listen to you. Therefore, find out:
• How many people there will be: You need to prepare
handouts, plan movement and foresee questions.
• Who these people are: Managers or clerks? What’s their
level of expertise? This will help you decide what to
include or leave out.
• Also, you must know which type of speech they’re
expecting. Will this be an information session? A sales
pitch? The style of your words will depend on the kind
of address.
HOW LONG WILL I SPEAK
• Plan your speech for the time allowed and
carry some extra material to use if everything
goes too fast and you have minutes to spare.
Also, prepare a shorter version in case you have
to start late.
• Calculating the length of a presentation can
be tricky, so role play it beforehand. Don’t
forget to take into account the minutes you’ll
invest handing out material, showing visual
aids or answering questions.
WHO WILL I SPEAK WITH?
If you are not the only speaker, it is better
to:
• Try to contact the speakers who come
before and after you to make sure your
subjects do not overlap.
• Listen to the lecturers before you and be
prepared to alter your words if they refer to
the subjects you’re planning to cover.
Let’s organize your speech!

As a presenter, your job is to tell a story.

Make sure your presentations - both slides
and speech - work together to tell a clear
story. It should consist of essential story
elements like introduction, body and close.
The outline of your presentation might take
the following structure:
PARTS OF YOUR SPEECH
Whatever structure you plan for your
speech, it needs:
1. A short introduction where you define
what you’ll talk about.
2. A body where you develop and explain
your ideas.
3. An ending where you round off your
message and invite the public to ask
questions.
 Introduction

Introduction

Presentation Body Body

Close

Close
Introduction
Greet the audience

Introduce yourself .

Provide the outline

INTRODUCING YOURSELF OR OTHERS
Generally full name, company and AVOID making spelling or
job position. pronunciation mistakes at this point.

I’ d like to introduce myself. I’m Paul

Lipson, Chief of Maintenance for Ultimate I’d like you to meet Dr Grant. She’s the
Software. project manager at HMH.

Let me introduce Sean Pit. He comes from

I am Dr. Paul Lipson from Córdoba. I work
the Helsinki branch and will be joining our
as a research assistant in our C&S facility. sales team.

My name is Ana Kurt. I run Riversoft’s This is Richard Glenn, from MTK.
European operations.
START YOUR SPEECH
• Begin by greeting the public, smiling and saying something
nice (i.e. It’s wonderful to be here talking to you again).
• Establish a common goal, if possible by using the first person
plural (i.e.: Today we’ll find a solution to the sales problem).

INTRODUCE THE SUBJECT

• Summarise what you’re planning to say.
• A synopsis defines the subject of your speech, provides
listeners with a plan of your proposals and limits the scope of
your presentation.
• It also allows the people who are not interested to leave the
room.
WHEN WRITING YOUR SCRIPT
GET KISSED! KISS stands for: keep it short and simple.

• Use one idea per sentence and build the sentence around the
idea, since many listeners are used to short statements and find it
hard to handle several notions in one phrase. Therefore, cut long
sentences into smaller units and link them with connectors.

• Try to avoid more than one adjective per noun or more than
one adverb per verb.

• It is easier to explain complex notions by presenting ideas in

several formats so people who do not follow your point in one way
have the chance to understand it in another.
WHEN WRITING YOUR SCRIPT
REPEAT, REPEAT & REPEAT

• People have weak memories so they’ll remember

best concepts that you have repeated several times. In
fact, repetition is one of the most successful means of
teaching, so its effectiveness cannot be disputed.

• You don’t need to reiterate key points with the

same words. Instead go for analogies, quotations,
anecdotes, examples, reference to current news or jokes
to strengthen your arguments.
WHEN WRITING YOUR SCRIPT
ANALOGIES HELP LISTENERS ABSORB NEW IDEAS

• Analogies are based on the partial similarity of two things, on which a

comparison may be based. One typical example is to talk of the heart as a pump
or the economy as an engine.

• Analogies help listeners incorporate novel ideas by seeing them through

the lens of familiar concepts.

• Analogies help listeners understand subtly because it’s always easier to

grasp complicated matters by comparing them to familiar things.

• Analogies are useful when we want to give bad news without offending
anyone in particular or when we want to talk about someone without
mentioning his or her name.
WHEN WRITING YOUR SCRIPT
EXAMPLES CLARIFY IDEAS

• Examples can be presented though any of our senses (sight,

hearing, taste, touch or smell).

• Examples provide clarity through their didactic value.

• Examples add power. They show what actually happened while

backing up your proposals with tangible cases.

• Examples bring dynamism because it's easier to visualize facts

than think about theories.
WHEN WRITING YOUR SCRIPT
JOKES ALLOW THE AUDIENCE TO HAVE FUN & RELAX

• Jokes help to break the ice so they’re good to start a presentation.

They’re also useful just after a particularly dry spell in your speech, because they
will dissipate drowsiness and get the public listening to you again. In fact,
they’re an excellent method to help everyone relax after high-concentration
efforts.

• Only use jokes if you are good at telling them.

• Try your jokes out with native friends before – to make sure they work –
as humour changes from culture to culture.

• Never offend any minority, even if there are no members of that minority
present.
WHEN WRITING YOUR SCRIPT
NEWS SHOW HOW YOUR THEORY LINKS TO REAL LIFE
• Relate your talk to recent news when you want to show
that your ideas are modern and connect with daily life.

• News also allows you to develop rapport with your

audience, because they work in a similar way to quotations
by stressing on shared knowledge.

USE POSITIVE WORDS

• It’s better to say “sales are higher this year” than “sales
are not as bad as last year”. Positive words make the public
feel safer and listen more openly.
WHEN WRITING YOUR SCRIPT
INTRODUCE WEAK POINTS

• Introduce the weak points of your ideas early and openly.

• This will show you’re trustworthy and will widen your

credibility.

• Listeners think that if you’re sincere enough to mention your

weaknesses, you’re probably honest about the rest of your
arguments.

• Also, it will deter potential enemies to capitalise on your

drawbacks and will discourage uncomfortable queries later on.
WHEN WRITING YOUR SCRIPT
QUESTION TAGS

• Apply tail phrases on leading questions, since they are a

legitimate way to make listeners assert to your proposals.

• Question tags ending with negative tail phrases elicit

affirmative answers. (i.e.: She will visit us tomorrow, won’t
she?)

• Question tags ending with positive tail phrases elicit

negative answers (i.e.: You will not make this mistake again,
will you?).
QUESTIONS TAGS
 USE TRANSITIONS TO MAKE
YOUR IDEAS FLOW
NATURALLY AND LOGICALLY
Let’s take a look at our list of phrases and expressions for presentations.
Choose the ones you feel most comfortable with or you are more likely to use
 Graphs

I´d like you to see this graph. It Please observe this matrix.
shows… You’ll see that…

Have a look at this model. Let me show you a chart that

What’s wrong with it? summarizes…
 TERMS FOR GRAPHS
ADVERBS AND
VERBS UP VERBS DOWN prepositions NO MOVEMENT
INTENSIFIERS:
• Rose • Fell • Between 10 and • a little, • steady,
• Went up • Declined 12 • a lot, • were
• Increased • Dropped • From 2000 to • suddenly, unchanged,
• Grew • Decreased 2010 • sharply, • did not change,
• Rocketed • Sank • Sales rose from • gradually, remained
50% to 60% constant/stable.
• Boosted • Went down • steadily.
• Sales fell to 150
• Reached a peak • Reached a
in March
bottom
• Sales fell by 50%
 Example

The graph shows the fluctuation in the number of people at a London underground station over the course of a day.
The busiest time of the day is in the morning. There is a sharp increase between 06:00 and 08:00, with 400 people
using the station at 8 o’clock. After this the numbers drop quickly to less than 200 at 10 o’clock. Between 11 am and 3
pm the number rises, with a plateau of just under 300 people using the station.
In the afternoon, numbers decline, with less than 100 using the station at 4 pm. There is then a rapid rise to a peak of
380 at 6pm. After 7 pm, numbers fall significantly, with only a slight increase again at 8pm, tailing off after 9 pm.
Overall, the graph shows that the station is most crowded in the early morning and early evening periods.
 BRINGING YOUR PRESENTATION TO AN END
There are several ways to end a presentation. Here we recommend a few:

• Get the audience to move into action by asking them to do something specific.

• Refer back to the introduction, key point, anecdote etc.

• Summarise what you’ve proposed today.

• Refer forward to the next speaker.

• Say thanks and ask for questions.

[REFER TO OUR LIST OF USEFUL PHRASES AND EXPRESSIONS FOR PRESENTATIONS]

YOU ARE NOT ONLY TALKING WITH YOUR WORDS
Present like Steve Jobs
 AND NOW

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