22 Presentations I

To learn about: presenting skills, learning stgles

To learn howto: structure a presentation; introduce a presentation;
prepare visual aids
To practise: wriling and giving the f irst part of a presenlation

Lead in
. Do gou have 1o make presentations?
. Are theg generallg formal, or informal?
. Who do gou present to - colleagues, superiors, current or potential clients, investors?
How does this affect what gou sag?

Discussion
. What makes a good presenter?
. What makes a good presentation?

I t',
ll
I

The
@
I crn't see these at the
[ | Hmm, the projector doesn't'[
t x\rù-.(t,1'

I nact. can uou? ] I seem t0 be working' Well' I , tllrlac:HENT

\ co:ti',-TÂNT
'
\ ^l

;in
fr)-**' f nevermind... )
È.1

" Life is just one big presenlation for you, isnl it? "
Reading: Learning stUles
1 In ang presentation, it's important to think about gour audience and how theg are going to
understand gour message. Different people have different learning stgles, which affect
how theg respond to presentations. Do gou know what gour learning stgle is? Look at the
statements in the boxes [1-3J below and decide which box contains the most statements
that are true for gou.

tfolio,
L
0ur
10, anc
I I l.rrn bg watching.

I I remember things I have seen.

E lrememberthings bg picturingthem in mg mind.
E t tina it easg to remember people's faces.
person
lent anc
I t tinO graphs, charts and diagrams verg useful'

sibilitg I I neeO to write things down to remember them.

I I prefer written directions or instructions 1o spoken ones.
I I usuallg lake noles during lessons, talks and presentations.
E t often highlight or underline texts while reading them.
 [ | l.rtn bg listening.
L--l I rememberthings I have hearc'
I t tit e taking part rn discussions.

I ttina it easg to remembervoices a'd music

L-l t'* good at remembering the words to songs
I I prefer listening to a good lecture to reading about the same material

I prefer spoken directions or instructions to wrilten ones'

I

I t aon,t usuallg take notes during lessons, talks and presentations.

L-l I sometimes lalk 1o mgself or think out loud

3
I llu.rn bg doing.
L--l I remember things I have done.
I t Oon't like sitting still for a long llme and need regular phgsical
activitg.
I t matre a lot of gestures and movements while talking'
I I often stand close to people and louch them while talking 1o them.

E t tf int and solve problems and get ideas while doing phgsical
activitg'
I quicklg notice if a chair is uncomfortable'
I

I I often plag with kegs, coins, pens or other small objects in mg hand'

L-l I like working wilh tools.

2 Now match the boxes [1-3) to the statements about learning stgles [a-cJ below.

a people with a mainlg kinaesthetic learning stgle are at a disadvantage when theg har:
to sit still during a presentation.
b lf people in gour audience have a mainlg ylsuol learning slgle, uou can help them
b9

using visual aids in Uour presentation.

c Those with a mainlg auditorg learning stgle are usuallg at an advantage when
learnini
through a Presentation.

r Visual aids
1 Read the two slides giving information about effective use of visual aids.
a
q} Slides should be:

* . ready (there should not be a long pause while you look for
them, or turn on the equiPment)
q', large and clear, not too detailed, and visible to the whole of
fil your audience
displayed for long enough for the audience to read them
(you should not use more than one a minute)

laid out clearly, in bullet points rather than long sentences

or paragrapns.
' rw \lwwpw4 qwllw twwl! wu! qfl+l t w.w l!ryNqt trwwr alt\l 4! | w w4wrywwvr|4trtw

IO2 j.:t\\' ,)'" Presentdtions 7

 You should check the equipment before starting. For example:
Does the projector work?

Can you connect your laptop to the projector?

Can everyone see you and the screen, or do you need to move
the chairs?

ls their any light reflecting on the screen - do you need to close

the blinds or dim the liqhts?

Now rewrite the following paragraphs as slides, each containing five bulleted pieces of
information.
A good introduction usuallg contains a welcome to the audience, and thanks them for
coming. l1 states the subject or title of the presentation and ils purpose. lt outlines the

structure of the presentation, often bg giving a list of the main points to be covered.
It will usuallg state how long the presentation will take, and tell the audience when
the speaker would like them to ask questions: at anU time, or et the end.
The end of a presentation should include a clear signal that the speaker has f inished
)
or is about to finish the last point, so that angone who has lost concentration will
;-eg have realise that the main part is almost over. The speaker can then repeat the main points
of the presentation â final time, and draw some logical conclusions. This means that
E'r bu speakers often make their most important points three limes: in the introduction,
theg saU thal lheg are going 1o sag something; in the middle parl, theg sag it; and
.Ê3rntn9 at the end, theg saU that theU have said it. The ending generallg includes thanks for
listening, and an invitation to ask questions.

Visual aids can also contain charts, graphs and diagrams. Do gou knowthe names for
the different tgpes [a-c] shown below?
410
I
B

4
3

I
0

Presentotions 7 i)!t1i: ,l l.
 Useful phrases
1 Complete the phrases forthe introduction ofa presentation usingthe correct form ofthc
words from the box.

draw go hesitate see

feel have save take

a|fthere,sanUthinggoudon'tunderstand,p|easedon'1-tointerrupt.
b l'd like to Uour attention to ...
c l'm to talk for about 15 minutes.
d l'd appreciate it if gou would anu questions until the end.
e As gou can ---this slide ...
from
f Mg presentation
- will_ about 20 minutes.
g l'd like
- Uou to _ a look at this ...
h Please free to ask questions at ang time.
-
2 Now put the phrases into the teble below. you will add more phrases later.

1 Greet the audience:

2 Introduce uourself:

3 Give the title or subject of gour presentation:

4 Tell the audience the length ofgour presentationi

i

I
'1
5 Describe the structure ofgour presentation:

6 Referto visual aids:

7 Tell the audience theg can interrupt:

I Request that the audience asks questions at the end:

104 Unit 2? Presentotions I

 Listening: The introduction
I ofthe 1 You re going to listen to a n introduction to e presentatio n a bout conservative portfo lio
a

strategies. Before gou listen, think of phrases that could be used for the following things:
1 Greeting the audience
2 Introducing gourself
3 Giving the title or subject of gour presentation
4 Describing the structure of gour presentation

2 Now listen to the introduction and answer the questions below.@)

1 Which things from the list
[1-4] above does the speaker do?
2 What phrases does she use to do them? Add them to the Useful phrases lable opposite.
3 Does she use ang other phrases that can be added to the table?

3 Listen again, and complete the slide that the speaker shows while describing the
structure of her presentation. @D

Conservative portfol io strateg ies

a

You are goingto prepare an introduction to a short presentation. Yourteacherwill help gou
1o choose a subject from page 135. Use some ofthe phrases from the Useful phrases and
Listening to link gour ideas l0gether.

The full presentation will contain three or four parts, so gour introduction should mention
this. Do not write evergthing Uou are going to sag - onlg make a few notes. Remember that
the aim of the activitg is to practise the phrases - the actual content is less important at this
stage. Do not prepare a whole presentation.

Remember: it is not onlg what Uou saU that is importanl, but also how gou sag iÎ - gour
presentation stgle. You should appear relaxed, positive and confident.

PreSentatlOnS 7 t:,ttt r). 105

têên
; ofthe
ernment

lection.
r debts,
24 Presentations z
To learn about: the parts of a oresentation
To learn how to: end a presentation; deal with questions
To practise: making a complete presentation
:h
larget Lead in
nize the
. How long do Uou think Uou can concentrate lotallU on what someone else is saging,
ablg also
without thinking about angthing else?
rB,5dttr5,
. What is the ideal length of time for a presentation?
Iting in a
/ners to
Discussion
astrophtc
Which of the following comments about presentations do gou agree wrth?

'Beginnings and endings of

preientations are often very similar. 'It's important to link the different
)rs +itlwPÆtww parts ûf your presentation, with
; have standard phrases.'
srons,
aff, iiait i,rliti
'The central part or main
i
:].:i:t. :
itt:it'
tn i::l
body of the presentation is the
II

^in^l
vrPql
rnost difficult to prepare.'
v\yt+fltqqftliw

'No one in the audience

concentrates all the time
during a presentation.'

'Dealing with questions is

one ofthe easiest narts of the
,', presentation.'

'In many presentations,

the main points are repeated
three times.'

Presentdtions 2 :inri;! \
 Listening 1: Parts of a presentati0n .Jst
1 Listen to the following extracts from a presentation about f inancial derivatives, and -tE':
complete rhe phrases used to signalthe beginning and end of the different parts' @@ i

0K, so as I said, [1]

financial futures, [2]

options ...

t3l_- that was interest rate swaps. t7) E

futures, so that comPletes So
exchange rate swaûs mnu
the first part of mg talk. t4l
oplions ... which... - gr$l

-- ]E

2 Listen again to check gour answers. @E

Use some ofthe phrases from Listening to introduce and end four parts of a presentation'
1

on the subject gou chose in Unit 22. Decide what the lopics ofthe different parts are, and
practise sentences to begin and end them.

Listening 2: The end of a presentation

1 You are goingto listen to Paula Foleg, who gou heard in unit 22, concluding her
presentation about conservative portfolio strategies. Before gou listen, match the stager
ofthe end of a presentation with the phrases from Paula's Presentation.
1 Begin to summarize the main information
2 Draw some logical conclusions from what has been said
3 Thankgouraudience
4 Invite gour audience to ask questions

a 0K, that's all I have to sag about capital preservation and accumulation, so now l'lljus:
summarize mg three main points again.
b Does anUone have ang questions or comments?
c So, to conclude, I have lwo recommendations'
d Thank gou all for gour attention'

2 Now listen to the end of the presentation. What are Paula's two recommendations?

712 Utli\'à4 Presentdtions 2

 Useful phrases
no lere are some more phrases for ending presentati0ns:
c@ So, to sum up ...

I'll end bg emphasizing the main points.

Thonk gou for gour time.

Thonks for listening.

ond now l'd like to invite gour questions.

...
Now I'd be interested to hear gour comments.
Now we hove twentg minutes for discussion.

Prepare an ending to the presentation gou started in Unit 22. Your ending should include a
summaru, a conclusion, and an invitation to the audience 1o respond. Use the phrases from
Listening 2 and the Useful phrases above.

r Dealing with questions and troubleshooting

I
tatron,
.,,r-i,,iji.
.::t:l-]ï;;irl
z.
a
Dealing with questions
The question and answer section can
be the most difficult part of a I explained evergthing
and presentation because you can't perfectlg clearlg, so
Ê prepare for it. whg are theg asking
;liriiir: questions? !

a
çî Flere are some tips:
e slages . lù(Ielcome questions and listen carefully (and look at the questioner).
. Do not interrupt the speaker.
. Clarify the exact meaning of the question if you are not sure.
Examples:
Sorry, Could you repeat that please?
I didn't catch that.
Sorrg, I'm not sure if I'oe understood exactly ...
'lljust If I've understood you correctly, you want to know '. . Is that right?
. Take time to think (though not too long) before you answer, if necessary.
. Be as brief and direct as possible.
' Be polite.
. Check that your questioner is satisfied with your answer.
Examples:
Have I answered gour question?
;.
Does that anszaer your question?

Presentotions 2 \ln\t 74
 Sometimes, it is impossible to answer a question, because:

ç a lt is not relevanl to Uour presenlatlon Fih

z- b You simplg don't know the answer
c You don't want to give the information
uiltt

3
>
In which of the situations above could gou use these answers?

1 l'm afraid I don't have that information with me'

Call

2 l'm afraid I'm not in a position to comment on that'

:-si(
s 3
4
l'm afraid that doesn't reallg relate to mg presentation. Perhaps Uou could
discuss that with Mr X.
That's a diff icult question to answer in a few words' Could we talk about it
-g
Ltr

--É>
later?
5 Can I check on that and get back to gou?

Troubleshooting
to
2 ln presentations, it's important to be prepared for the unexpected, but it's impossible
situations' As well as
predict everg situation. Decide what gou would sag in the following
phrases from this unit, gou could also use some of the language from unit 10 [chairing
a

with
meeting), unir 11 [Cnecling and confirmingJ, unit 19 [ClarifgingJ, unit 20 [Dealing
conflictJ and Unit 21 [DiPlomacgJ.

1 You want to start, but evergone is talking'

2 Somebodg at the back can't hear gou.
3 You tru to use the projector, but nothing happens'
4 Somebodg cân't understand what gou're saging'
5 Somebodg asks gou a question on a verg sensitive subject'
6 You have a menlal block and can't rememberthe next thing gou planned to sag'
7 Somebodg asks gou a question bul gou don'Î understand what theg sag.
I Somebodg interrupts uour presentation [although in the introduction, gou asked for
questions at the endJ.
9 Somebodg interrupts gou and starts talking about a completelg different
topic'

-^tl tl
-d

NOT HIN6 'r: il,

Prepare a 10-15 minute presentation on the toplc

gou chose in Unit 22.Your presentation should follow
the form outlined there and in this unit. Pag attention
@ :ar'

to the structure of gourtalk, the introduction, the

different parts of the information gou present,
the summarg and conclusion. Prepare slides to
accompânu gour presentation.

"And that, as you can see,

iit1i1 2,1 Presenlotions 2
explains nothing."
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