Presentation tips
Structuring a presentation
Most formal – and many informal – presentations have three main parts and follow this simple formula:
Tell the audience what you are going to say! = Introduction
Say it! = Main part
Tell them what you said! = Conclusion
Useful vocabulary
Welcoming the audience
Good morning/afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.
Hello / Hi, everyone.
First of all, let me thank you all for coming here today.
Introducing yourself
Let me introduce myself. I’m …. from…
For those of you who don’t know me, my name‘s…
Saying what your topic is
As you can see on the screen, our topic today is…
Today’s topic is…
What I’d like to present to you today is…
The subject of my presentation is…
You also tell the audience (briefly) how the talk is structured.
I’ve divided my presentation into three (main) parts: x, y, z..
First (of all), I’ll be looking at…, second…, and third…
I’ll begin by explaining…
Then / Next / After that, I’ll go on to …
Finally, I’ll offer some solutions.
referring back As I mentioned before,…
summarizing a point I’d like to sum up the main points.
Talking about (difficult) issues:
to identify the problem, to deal with the problem of, to solve the problem. References to other points:
in connection with / concerning, according to.
Adding ideas:
in addition to…, Moreover / Furthermore, As well as that, Apart from.
Signalling the end of the presentation
As a final point, I’d like to…
Summarizing the main points
To sum up then, we…
Just to summarize the main points of my talk…
Recommending or suggesting something
We’d suggest…
In my opinion, we should…
What I’d like to suggest is…
Inviting questions
Are there any questions?
We just have time for a few questions.
USING VISUAL AIDS EFFECTIVELY
1 Prepare each visual carefully and separately.
2 Check whether the visual really shows what you are saying.
3 Make sure your audience can read the visual (font size and colours).
4 Find effective headlines.
5 Keep design and content simple.
6 Use bullet charts for text.
7 Reduce text to a minimum.
8 Always prepare audience for visuals.
9 Present information clearly and logically.
10 Use the same key words and phrases you used on your bullet charts.
11 Remember the rule of six.
The Rule of Six
When presenting text on overheads or PowerPoint slides, it is a good idea to use the rule of six which means:
∙ a maximum of six lines per slide
∙ a maximum of six words per line
Talking about visuals
Explaining a visual
Let’s now look at the next slide which shows…
First, let me quickly explain the graph.
You can see that different colours have been used to indicate…
Highlighting information
I’d like to focus your attention on…
Let’s look more closely at…
GIVING A PRESENTATION
PRESENTATION DIRECTIONS
PREPARATION AND PROCEDURE:
Step 1. Study the list of basic words and phrases and practice using them in the sentences of your own. Use these words and phrases while giving a presentation of your own.
Step 2. Determine the key points of your presentation.
Step 3. Make an outline of your presentation or lecture. The main items are:
Introduction.
The main body.
It includes 3 or 4 key points followed by explanation and examples.
Conclusion.
Step 4. Make slides using PowerPoint programme to support your presentation.
Note:
Each slide should contain not more than five or six key statements.
Tables and graphs are preferable to words.
The text should be easily readable in distance.
Step 5. Arrange slides in the following order:
The topic of presentation or lecture and the name and position of the speaker / lecturer, (one slide);
The outline of the lecture (one slide);
Several slides illustrating the key points of the lecture;
IV. Summary (one slide).
Step 6. Make your presentation.
Step 7. Be ready to answer questions on the topic of your presentation or lecture