Signposts for Presentations

Signposts are words or phrases that guide the listener during a presentation. They let the listener know what has happened so far, and what
is going to happen next. Below is a guide for using signposts during a presentation. It is divided into three sections: signposts for the
introduction of a presentation, signposts for the middle of a presentation, and signposts for the conclusion of a presentation. The first column
contains signposts for a formal presentation, and the second column contains signposts for an informal presentation.

Signposts for the Introduction of a Presentation

Formal Informal

Introducing yourself: •Good morning/afternoon/evening. On behalf •Hi everyone, I’m (name and title). Thanks
of (company, department, etc.), I’d like to for coming.
welcome you.
My name is (name) and I am (position).

Introducing the topic: •I’m going to give you an overview of... •I’m going to talk to you about…
•The focus of today’s presentation is… •I’m going to be talking a little bit about…
•I’m here today to talk to you about…

Outlining your presentation: •The presentation today is divided into three •I’m going to talk about three things today. I’ll
parts. First, I’ll... Following that I’ll... Finally, start with… Then I’ll talk a little bit about… I’ll
I’ll… finish with…

Inviting questions: •Please don’t hesitate to interrupt me if you •If you have any questions during the
have any questions. presentation, please ask.

Signposts for the Middle of a Presentation

Formal Informal

Introducing the first section of your •I’d like to start/begin by… •Let’s start/begin by looking at…
presentation:

Finishing a section and starting a new •Well, we’ve looked at... Now, I’d like to •Well, I’ve told you about… Now I’ll move on
 Formal Informal

one: discuss… to…

•Having discussed… I’d like to move on to…. •Well, we’ve looked at… Now, let’s talk
about…
•So, that was... Now, let’s…

Expanding or elaborating: •I’d like to expand on… •Let me tell you a little more about…
•I’d like to elaborate on… •Let me give you some more
•Let’s consider this in more detail. details/information about...

Talking about earlier or later points in later: later:

your presentation: •I will elaborate on this later in the •More on this later.
presentation. •I’m going to talk more about this later.
•I’ll provide you with a more detailed earlier:
explanation later in the presentation. •Do you remember I said...?
earlier: •As I said earlier…
•To repeat what I said earlier…
•As I mentioned earlier…

Recognizing your listeners' prior •As you may be aware of… •You might already know that…
knowledge: •As you may know… •I’m sure a lot of you know that…
•I know many of you are familiar with… •I’m sure a lot of you know about…
•I’m sure a lot of you have heard…

Focusing audience's attention on •May I focus your attention on the…You will •Take a look at this slide/chart/graphic etc.
visuals: notice that… You can see that…
•Please direct your attention to the •Okay, here we can see that…
slide/chart/etc.

Signposts for the Conclusion of a Presentation

Formal Informal

Summarizing and concluding the •Finally, let’s summarize some of the main •Let’s summarize/recap what we looked at
presentation: points. today.
•To conclude, I’d like to summarize. •Finally, let’s look back at what we covered
today.
•So, to remind you of what we looked at
 Formal Informal

today...

Inviting final questions: •Does anyone have any questions or •Does anyone have any final questions?
comments before we conclude today? •Okay, does anyone have any questions or
•If you’d like me to elaborate or clarify comments?
anything we covered today, please ask.

Responding to tough questions: a question you don’t have the answer to: a question you don’t have the answer to:
•I want to answer your question completely, •I don’t have that information with me. Can
but I don’t have that information with me right you give me your email and I’ll send you an
now. Could you give me your email after the answer later today?
presentation so I can send you a complete a question you didn’t understand:
response? •Could/Can you repeat that, please?
a question you didn’t understand: •Sorry, I didn’t catch that.
•Could you repeat that, please? •Are you saying that…?
•Could you rephrase that, please?
•Let me make sure I understand you
completely. Do you mean that…?

Finishing and saying goodbye: •If there are no further questions, I’d like to •Well, I think that’s about it. Thanks for
thank you very much for your attention. If listening. Please contact me later if you have
you think of any additional questions, please any additional questions or want more
feel free to contact me. information.