26.05.2015

Each of us at least once in our lives has encountered such an element of work as a “presentation”. And not only in the native language, but also in a foreign language, in this case – in English.

In order to prepare a presentation in English, you should pay attention to several important factors, which you will learn about further.

Preparing a presentation is a rather important and responsible task, and many people panic if they have to speak in English. Especially if you don’t have much public speaking experience.

Don't worry, just find yourself a good business English coach who will help you master basic expressions and grammatical structures, and can also be your “spectator” and evaluate your performance.

If you already speak English at a good level, the following tips will be useful to you in preparing a presentation in English.

Use "plain" English

By this I mean that when preparing a presentation, you should always take into account the age and intellectual characteristics of your audience. You should not use overly complex constructions, abbreviations and terms that may not be clear to everyone.

Keep your sentences as simple and concise as possible. This will make it easier for people to understand your point.

Likewise, you should not use slang expressions and jargon.

Firstly, you are speaking in front of serious people, which means your speech should also be in a more or less formal style, and secondly, you need to know when you can use this or that slang. It is better to speak simply, but correctly.

Do you agree?

So in presentations and public speaking it is worth keeping the use of these words to a minimum. It's better to just pause for a few seconds to collect your thoughts.

We are all real people, and your audience will understand you.

Speak slowly and clearly

If you need to prepare a presentation in English, especially for an unfamiliar audience, pay attention to the pace and volume of your speech.

Speak slowly, loudly enough and clearly pronounce the words, because many people have an accent, especially when they are overwhelmed by excitement (many simply may not understand what you are saying).

Breathe! This is just a presentation.

“Measure seven times...”

You probably know that visual elements are a very good assistant in presenting and conveying some information, i.e. slides with pictures, photos, diagrams, graphs, etc.

Very often we use text in slides (short notes, quotes, captions under pictures, etc.).

It is extremely important to double-check the text of your presentation, which will be visible to listeners. Dictionaries, friends, colleagues and tutors to help you!

Use more verbs

It is believed that the accumulation of nouns in a sentence “piles up” its sound. Therefore, use more verbs, preferably in the active voice.

Notice how Steve Jobs introduces his creation, the iPhone.

Use English linking words

Words like nevertheless,moreover,next,besides,firstly,secondly etc. help us connect one thought to another. Our English speech becomes smooth, logical and better understood by listeners.

Display numbers visually

If your presentation involves a lot of numbers, it is better to duplicate them on a slide or board. It can be very difficult to grasp the meaning of a number, especially if it has five, six or seven digits.

I hope you found something new and useful in this article. Good luck in preparing your presentations!

Be confident, joke, make eye contact with the audience, use body language and don't stand still.

If you want more information on how to give a presentation, overcome stage fright, use body language, prepare for post-speech questions, check out this great site PresentationPrep.com

You will need

• - Message text;
• - outline of the speech;
• - computer;
• - PowerPoint program (or other similar);
• - Images;
• - audio and video files.

Instructions

Using slides that follow each other on a screen or interactive whiteboard, it is much easier to attract the attention of the audience than using printed media (posters or handouts).

Multimedia presentations are most often created in PowerPoint, which you must first master. For those who are familiar with computers, just a few practical sessions are enough to master the operations in PowerPoint.

The slide must also contain text information. When choosing fonts, do not get carried away by their variety and intricacy. The more different fonts you use, the more difficult it will be for your audience to understand your slides. However, think about the font emphasis, subordination and text on the slides. Stick to the basic idea that dark text on a light background is best perceived.

The general tone, color splashes, illustrations, text should be combined with each other and not contradict the overall meaning and mood of the presentation.

Rehearse your speech in advance to feel confident in front of your audience. Speak loudly and clearly.

Video on the topic

Tip 2: The art of presentation. Description of charts in English

In various educational institutions we are taught English grammar and the correct construction of sentences. However, they often do not pay attention to expanding vocabulary and using spoken language. These knowledge gaps show up at the most inopportune times, such as when you are asked to write a description of a graph or diagram in English, or are required to provide such a description in an oral presentation.

To describe a graph, you need to study it - to understand whether there are peak values, whether there is a trend and a forecast. Also, you can analyze declines, rises, leveling of the indicator, how much the values ​​​​changed in percentage or natural values, etc.

All this can be done with relative ease in Russian. But what happens if the situation requires a description? In most cases, if a person has a sufficient vocabulary, but has never had the practice of commenting on graphs before, he will use limited vocabulary. Most often this comes down to a simple description of the fluctuations of a particular indicator using verbs to decrease(decrease) and to increase e (increase).

In fact, there are a lot of words and phrases in English to describe graphs. They can be divided into verbs and nouns, showing the growth or decline of an indicator, as well as adjectives and adverbs, describing the degree and speed of its change. In this case, the verbs used can be transitive (requiring after themselves a noun that answers the question “who? what?”) and intransitive. Some verbs are used in both cases, having different meanings.

1. “I saw a fox yesterday” / “I saw (who? what?) a fox yesterday” – transitive verb to see, the action goes to the item.


2. “I went to the theater yesterday” / “I went to the theater yesterday” – intransitive verb to go, the action does not transfer to the object.

The following words and phrases are used to describe performance growth:

The following expressions are used to describe a decrease in performance:

You can describe the alignment of the indicator:

There are also phrases to describe peak values:

1. Reach a peak – to reach the peak value,


2. Peak - to reach the maximum, peak


3. Top out - to reach the highest level, highest point, reach the peak


4. Reach a low point - reach the lowest point, minimum


5. Reach a through - to reach the lowest point


6. Bottom out - to be at the lowest level, to reach the lower limit

Degree of change (a slight growth / to increase slightly):

1. dramatic(ally) – sharp, significant / sharply, significantly


2. significant(ly) – significant/considerably


3. sharp(ly) – sharp/sharp


4. significant(ly) - significant/significantly


5. substantial(ly) - significant, significant, significant / significantly, significantly, significantly


6. moderate(ly) – moderate/moderate


7. slight(ly) – small, insignificant / a little, little, slightly, insignificantly, weakly

Rate of change:

1. abrupt(ly) – sudden, unexpected / suddenly, unexpectedly


2. sudden(ly) – sudden/suddenly


3. rapid(ly) – fast, swift / quickly, swiftly


4. quick(ly) – fast/quickly


5. steady(ly) – stable/steadily


6. gradual(ly) – gradual/gradually


7. slow(ly) – slow/slow

Prepositions to use:

1. a rise from$1m to$2m – growth With one before two million dollars


2. to fall by 30% - fall on 30%


3. to increase to 50% - increase before 50%


4. an increase of 7.5 per cent over last year – increase of 7.5% behind last year

The presented words and phrases will help you avoid speech errors when describing graphs. Of course, they can be used not only for oral presentations, but also for written reports.

Please note that the ability to describe a schedule in English can not only help you defend a relevant project at a university/school and correctly present information, for example, to an employer, but will also allow you to successfully complete some of the tasks in the international business English exam Business English Certificate (BEC ).

To prepare for the action itself, you may need English words indicating the necessary materials, tools and techniques for the presentation.

Screen- Screen (on which the presentation is projected)

Whiteboard(less often blackboard or greenboard) - Board

Marker- Marker

Duster- Sponge for the board

Flipchart- Flipchart

Projector- Projector

Handouts- Handouts

The following questions will help you better prepare and guide you on how to design your presentation:

Target- Why are you making this presentation? What do you want to achieve?

Audience- Who will the presentation be for? How knowledgeable are they about the topic? How many people will there be?

Room- Where will the presentation take place? In a cozy small meeting room or in a spacious conference room? What equipment is needed? Are there enough seats?

Time and restrictions- When do you make the presentation and how long will it last? Will people be too tired or hungry by this time?

Material supply- Are you planning a formal or informal style? Is it a serious approach or can you lighten up the presentation with jokes? What will you use to attract attention?

Structure- Be sure to think through the structure and logic of your speech and strictly follow it. This way you can feel more confident, and your audience will better perceive the information.

Be sure to remember the following rules and refer to them when preparing materials:

You need to carefully prepare for the presentation and rehearse it several times

The simpler and shorter the phrases, the better.
Throughout your speech, use the simplest and shortest words and sentences possible.

Avoid complex terminology and jargon, unless you are 100% sure that everyone present will understand them. Especially if not everyone speaks English as a native speaker.

Use active forms of verbs instead of passive ones.
Those. instead of the phrase “We found 100 kg of gold,” it is better to say “We found 100 kg of gold.”

Don't read the presentation! Tell it without looking at the text.
A presentation is best received when it appears as spontaneous as possible. To be sure, you can make small note cards or prepare a list of key points. But this does not have to be the full text of the presentation!

Let's consider what mandatory parts a presentation should consist of.

Introduction

What includes:

• Greetings
• Presentation of theme and purpose
• Description of the presentation structure
• Instructions when to ask questions

Main part

What includes:

• Presentation of the prepared material in strict accordance with the plan indicated in the introduction.

Conclusion

What includes:

• Summary of the above
• Your final conclusions
• Thanks for your attention
• Questions

Now that we have figured out the structure, let's look at what phrases will be useful to us in order to start, conduct and finish a presentation in English.

English vocabulary for presentations

Begin your presentation by welcoming and thanking everyone for coming:

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen- Good morning, ladies and gentlemen

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen- Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen

Good afternoon, everybody- Good afternoon everyone

Hello, everyone- Hi all

Welcome everyone- Welcome

I"d like to start by thanking you all for coming- I would like to start by thanking you all for coming

It"s great to see so many fresh faces here today- It's great to see how many new faces are here today

Let me begin by welcoming you all of you here today- Let me start by welcoming you all here today.

It's great to be here with you all- It's great to be here with you

Thank you for coming out today- Thank you for coming today

Let's talk about ourselves and the purpose of our report:

Describe to the audience what program awaits them during your speech:

Here we will look at how to start the main part of the presentation in English:

If you have completed another logical part, it is worth indicating this:

When starting a new part of your presentation, warn your audience about this so that they do not lose the thread of the presentation:

After you have provided the basic information, you need to analyze it:

To make the information better understood, give more examples:

Hello, dear friends! Today we will continue to deal with presentations in English and take another step towards turning you into 100% speakers! We've already figured out the layout of your super cool report - now it's time to tackle its structure. In English classes via Skype and on the online blog of the EnglishDom school, you have already had the opportunity to get acquainted with and practice using the standard structure of writing essays, articles, etc.

We hasten to please you - the plan for an oral presentation in English is also quite standard. But, so that you do not doubt exactly what and how to do, we will once again discuss all the points in detail in today’s article. Don't forget that the importance of a clear and effective structure for your English oral presentation cannot be overstated, as it will ensure the best understanding of the information and thus be a key factor in achieving success.

We carry out the plan

The standard, most popular and effective structure of an oral presentation in English consists of 3 parts:

• Introduction
• Main body
• Conclusion

Let's look at each part in more detail.

Introduction

Greeting

Gets the audience's attention (we attract the attention of the viewer or listener). Introduce yourself if necessary (we introduce ourselves if necessary). At this stage, phrases such as:

What

Introduce the main topic of your speech (introducing the main topic of your speech). For example, you can use the following phrases:

• "Today I will talk about"

• “I would like to tell you about.”

Why

Explains why the main topic is interesting or important (we talk about the reasons why the topic is interesting and relevant). For example, phrases such as:

• "is important because"

• “I want to tell you about because.”

Overview

Explains the main points of your speech (a quick overview of your speech). In this case, you can use phrases such as:

• “First, I"ll tell you about —”,

• "Then, I"ll talk about - ",

• “Next, I"ll tell you about — ",

• "Finally, I"ll tell you about - ".

Main area of ​​work: main body

The main part of your presentation should take up 70-80% of all time and material and is actually a road to conclusions and conclusions with stops for explanation along the way. We go along the following path:

• We clearly state the main topics and ideas of the presentation.
• We use examples and detailed information to explain each point (this includes tables, charts and other visuals).
• We use logical transitions between different layers of information (linking words).

For example, if the main body of your presentation can be divided into three main parts, we can present the information in this way:

Section 1

• Let's start with…
• So that covers...

Section 2

• Now I"m going to outline…
• So the key features are…

Section 3/4 etc.

• That brings me to...

Conclusion or “A good end to the whole thing is the crown”

Of course, it is difficult to start working on some serious task, but it is even more important to be able to complete it correctly. While learning English online, you could feel it. After all, it seems so difficult to start learning a language, but what is the pride when you finish, for example, a conversation course, right? The same can be said about your presentation - it is the final part that should amaze everyone who listened to you over the previous 10-15 minutes. A sample structure of Conclusion looks something like this:

What

Mentions the main topic again (we start by stating the main topic). For example:

• "Today I talked about"

• "My presentation was about",

• "In this presentation, I"ve told you all about ".

Summary

Summarizes the main points (we summarize). In this case, as a rule, a phrase such as “Today I have talked about” is perfect.

Emphasis

Emphasizes some key examples or evidence from each main point (we highlight or pay attention to the main examples and evidence supporting each of the arguments). So, for example, you can use the following phrases:

• "Please remember"

• "For example, I discussed ",

• “I hope you remember”,

Ending comment

Gives advice or some kind of suggestion (here there may be advice or some kind of suggestion, suggestion).

Thank you

Thanks the audience for listening (gratitude for your attention). At this stage the following phrases are used:

Questions

Asks the audience for questions (willingness to answer questions). For example: “Are there any questions?”

This is the structure of an oral presentation. If you follow it, then your thoughts and arguments will always be presented logically, and will also be as clear as possible to your listeners. Of course, if you have some kind of creative goal for the “report”, and you can afford to deviate from generally accepted norms - go for it! We are sure that in online classes you have already learned how to highlight the main arguments - use this in your presentation! And remember that almost every presentation is like fishing, where you need to hook every person in the audience! Listen to our advice, use the right structure and we are sure that you will not be left without a catch!

Big and friendly EnglishDom family

So, you were taken by surprise by the “pleasant” news. At work, your bosses joyfully announced that in a week you will have presentation. And since foreign partners will be present at the presentation, the presentation “must be in English.”

Before this, life seemed wonderful, my career was moving smoothly, but inexorably uphill, my relationship with my superiors was going well. And then at one moment you were faced with a choice - “to be or not to be?” You learned English at school, but due to lack of practice, you forgot everything you could. Presentations were held - yes, but not in English! The only question that arises in my head is: “What should I do now?”

1. First and foremost- do not panic.
2. Secondly, and this is where many people make a mistake, try to imagine in advance how the presentation will go. Based on the given prerequisites, draw up a plan for the upcoming presentation.

   A typical presentation has the following structure:

   1. Starting.
   2. Main part (introduction and focusing attention).
      • firstly;
      • second (secondly);
      • thirdly;
      • finally (lastly)
   3. Conclusion.
   4. Answering questions.

   Now that you have a clear structure of your future presentation before your eyes, you can begin to develop it in more detail.

So, third: it’s time to decide on the format of your presentation in English. This could be a formal meeting (partners arriving for the first time), or a meeting taking place in a relaxed, informal atmosphere. Depending on one option or another, phrases are selected for the presentation.

Start

As a rule, the responsibility to open a meeting is taken upon by the authorities, but if you have a few “control” phrases in stock, it won’t hurt!)

main part

After the opening remarks, it is usually your turn to start the presentation. Here it will be useful to stock up on a few introductory phrases and tell about the structure of the presentation.

Introducing visual materials your presentation (usually in Power Point or any other similar program), you must also have a certain amount stock phrases, which create “transition links” between slides and help listeners not to lose the main idea contained in the presentation.

Some phrases given below will help you not get confused and focus the audience’s attention on the most important points of the presentation. The phrases are the same for any type of presentation - formal and informal.

You also need to know the basic names graphs, tables etc. in English.

pie chart– pie chart,
table- table,
bar chart- bar chart,
line graph– line diagram,
market share– market segment

It’s a good idea to learn (if you didn’t know) or remember (if you knew and forgot) some useful terms that will help you correctly convey to the listener the main idea of ​​your presentation and clearly present the information in graphs, tables, etc.:

represent- introduce, rise slowly- rise slowly go up steadily- rise steadily rise gradually– grow gradually, rise sharply- take off sharply, hold steadily- stay at a certain level

descend– decline, fall/go down/drop- fall, fall slowly- fall slowly fall steadily- steadily decline drop sharply- fall sharply

justify- confirm, currently- currently, raise the price- raise the price, compared to- compared with, revenue- income

rise by 5%– rise by 5%, drop from… to…- the price fell from... to..., go to the level of 35%- reach the level of 35%

Conclusion

Phrases that conclude a presentation, as a rule, differ little in the formal and informal versions.

Answers on questions

Of course, it is very good when the presentation is presented in such a way that no questions arise. But a bad speaker is one who has not prepared for possible questions in advance. Therefore, an important point in preparing for a presentation in English is, among other things, calculating the “weak” points of your speech and preparing answers to possible questions in advance.

However, unfortunately, it is not always possible to calculate all the issues. Therefore, it is good if you have a couple of template phrases prepared that will allow you to “pull” time a little and collect your thoughts if suddenly a completely unexpected difficult question is asked.

You can practice answering questions with any person who knows English. This could be your more advanced work colleague, an English tutor, or just a good friend.

So, I hope this article will help beginners master the art of presentation in English, gather their thoughts a little and not get confused during their speech. This will be especially important if the presentation actually contains valuable and constructive suggestions!