Improving Your

Presentations

FLAG THE START

Introduce your speech with an

attention grabbing phrase so as to
get your audience attention.

E.g.

First of all, I'd like to thank you all
for coming here today.

Hello everyone. Thanks very
much for coming along today.

Shall we begin?

OK everybody. Let's get started.

INTRODUCING YOURSELF OR OTHERS

Generally full name,

company and job position.

E.g.

AVOID making spelling or

pronuntiation mistakes at
this point.

I d like to introduce myself.

E.g.

Im Paul Lipson, Chief of

Maintenance for Ultimate
Software.

I am Dr. Paul Lipson from
Crdoba. I work as a research
assistant in our C&S facility.

My name is Ana Kurt. I run
Riversofts European
operations.

Id like you to meet Dr Grant.

Shes the project manager at
HMH.

Let me introduce Sean Pit. He
comes from the Helsinki
branch and will be joining our
sales team.

This is Richard Glenn, from
MTK.

TOPICS & PURPOSES












The subject/topic of my talk is ... (-ING or NP)

I'm going to talk about ... (NP)
My talk is concerned with ... (NP)
Id like to review (NP)
I want to go over (NP)
We are going to analyse (NP)
I plan to examine (NP)
As you all know, this company So, the question is How
we will reach that aim. (IQ)
I'd like to begin by outlining our present situation. As you
know ...(NP)
You may not know that ... (NP)

OVERVIEWS





After you give your opening statement, you should give a brief
overview of your presentation. This includes what your presentation is
about, how it is going to be organized, how long it will take and how
you are going to handle questions.
USEFUL TENSES: FUTURE FORMS AND MODAL WOULD
LINKING CONNECTORS: FIRSTLY, THEN, FINALLY,ETC.

E.g.

Im going to divide this talk into four parts/sections.

There are a number of points I'd like to make.
Briefly, I have three things to say.

I'd like to begin/start by ... (-ING)

Let's begin/start by ... (-ING)

We'll take a look at / examine / consider / develop / acknowledge / take into

the consideration / keep in mind / take into account / reckon / concentrate
on

Then, I'll tell you something about the background

Afterwards, I'll give you some facts and figures

Ill limit myself to the question of

It is also important to add that your audience will have the chance to interact if
they need to do so:

Please feel free to interrupt me if you have questions.

There will be time for questions at the end of the presentation.
I'd be grateful if you could ask your questions after the presentation.

DEVELOPMENT

Open, develop, and close each of your topics.

E.g. Lets start by analysing our current situation regarding imports.

EFFECT-CAUSE
The loss was due to negligence.
negligence.
The loss was caused by negligence.
The loss resulted from negligence.

CAUSE-EFFECT
Mismanagement led to losses.
losses.
Mismanagement resulted in losses.
Mismanagement caused losses.

Introduce visual aids and describe them in detail.

Id like you to see this graph. It shows

Please observe this matrix. Youll see that
Have a look at this model. Whats wrong with it?
Let me show you a chart that summarises

TERMS FOR GRAPHS

VERBS UP
Rose
Went up
Increased
Grew
Rocketed
Boosted
Reached a peak

VERBS DOWN
Fell
Declined
Dropped
Decreased
Sank
Went down
Reached a bottom

prepositions
Between 10 and 12
From 2000 to 2010
Sales rose from 50% to 60%
Sales fell to 150 in March
Sales fell by 50%

ADVERBS AND INTENSIFIERS: a little, a lot, suddenly, sharply, gradually,

steadily.
NO MOVEMENT: remained steady, were unchanged, did not change, remained
constant/stable.

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 oclock. After this the numbers drop quickly to
less than 200 at 10 oclock. 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.

INTRODUCING OPINIONS
 I would say that
 In my view
 From my viewpoint/point of
view/perspective
 It seems to me/us that
 I consider/believe/reckon
 Its our contention that
 Our vision is

LOGICAL CONNECTORS
But
However
Nevertheless
Nonetheless
Although
Though
Despite

On the other hand

On the contrary
Conversely
By contrast
Even though
Even if
In spite of

REINFORCING IDEAS
WHENEVER YOU NEED TO EMPHASIZE
in addition
furthermore
as well as
besides
too
moreover
additionally
likewise

FOR OR AGAINST
AGREEMENT

We are for the idea that

We support the proposal
We would go ahead
Im with you
I agree with sb on sth
We should go for this
plan

DISAGREEMENT

We should reject the idea

We must rule out
Lets refuse the proposal
They may deny
I do not agree
Im not with you

FINISHING AND CLOSING

FINISHING

CLOSING
Asking for questions
Do you have any?
Would you like to ask?
Thanking
Its been a pleasure

Now it is time to carry

out our plan
As I said before
Going back to
To sum up /Summing up
To recap

Introducing the next

speaker
Ill leave you with

Saying goodbye