Ways of criticising alternatives
There is |
no little |
prospect |
in option A. in either of the options. |
Our findings suggest there would be little prospect of ... in option C.
The survey suggests ...
In option в the prospects for ... Are remote.
Our choice is very limited: the choice between ... and ...
In either case the result would be the same.
I must warn you of the possible consequences of option A.
The company has no other choice but to We must |
accept their proposal. |
I don't want to be negative about this option but ...
There is no possibility of ... in option C.
Proposals Stating a proposal
Focus |
Stating a proposal, making it absolutely clear to the audience. Giving the reasons why you think the recommended solution is true or correct. When recommending a course of action it is particularly important to emphasize the right or even ideal solution as you see it rather than criticise the alternatives. It seems appropriate to suggest that now is the time for action. If the idea you are supporting has some weaknesses, make sure that these are presented in the first half of your argument, whereas all the persuasive factors are given in the second half. |
Ways of stating a proposal
Well, where has all that got us to? The only satisfactory option open to us is option A.
The only option which can result in prompt action which is required is...
So, my recommendation is |
to reorganise ... |
|
the first option. |
||
option B. |
||
|
||
So, I I strongly |
recommend a reorganisation. |
|
I'd like to propose |
the following. the following plan/idea/solution. a merger. |
|
that you |
reorganise ... should reorganise ... |
|
The |
proposal idea |
is to try and reorganise the company. |
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|
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I would suggest What I'm suggesting is |
a reorganisation. that we now reorganise. |
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|
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My suggestion is that we |
increase should increase |
the price. |
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|
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We really |
think feel |
this is the best way to proceed. |
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U
se
the conclusion to:
Sum up.
Give recommendations if appropriate.
Thank your audience.
Invite questions.
Focus |
A conclusion may contain a different number of sections, two at the minimum, more often three: |
Conclusion
Summary |
|
|
|
Handouts |
|
|
|
Closing courtesies |
|
Summary
Focus |
There might be two versions here, either ...
or
|
Ways of summing up
This brings me to the final part of my presentation here today. I'd like to conclude by reminding you that...
So, in conclusion, I'd like to |
emphasize ... |
go over the main points again. |
To sum up then ...
So, just to summarize. It's absolutely clear that ...
So, to summarize what has been said so far.
Let me I'd now like to |
summarize |
the main points in a few words. |
||
our findings. |
||||
|
||||
To recap |
we the company |
must ... |
||
should ... |
||||
ought to |
||||
As you've seen today, ...
So, we've considered two options today and we can say that ... .
Describing handouts before distributing them
Focus |
For presentations it is desirable to keep details to a minimum no matter how complicated the subject is. Details are better in explanatory handouts. Handouts are usually given as printed/typed sheets, copies of OHP transparencies or anything else which gives information about a particular point in a presentation, e.g. copies of documents, diagrams, all sorts of calculations, cost breakdowns, price lists etc. |
Ways of presenting handouts and distributing them among the audience
The handout explains |
what ... how ... |
The following table shows examples of language for each of these functions. You may need to modify the language as appropriate.
Function |
Possible language |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q
uestions
are a good opportunity for you to interact with your audience. It
may be helpful for you to try to predict what questions will be
asked so that you can prepare your response in advance. You may wish
to accept questions at any time during your presentation, or to keep
a time for questions after your presentation. Normally, it's your
decision, and you should make it clear during the introduction. Be
polite with all questioners, even if they ask difficult questions.
They are showing interest in what you have to say and they deserve
attention. Sometimes you can reformulate a question or answer the
question with another question or even ask for comment from the rest
of the audience.
Questions at the end of the presentation are of four main kinds:
questions you can answer on the spot
questions that require further information you don't have with you
questions you wish to avoid
aggressive questions.
The first kind is no problem and you will deal with them as efficiently as you can. For the second kind, you should acknowledge the question as useful/important/interesting and offer to send the information on, or provide another source of information, if the questioner gives you an address after the presentation. For questions you wish to avoid, you should find some formulae for politely declining to answer:
That's really too complicated an issue to discuss right now
That's beyond my brief for today
I'm not really the best person to deal with that question.
If someone in the audience is asking aggressive questions, then acknowledge their anger and politely decline to get involved:
I
can see you are upset/angry/disturbed by this, but this not the
time to engage in an argument.
State how you want to deal with questions
If you have any questions, I'll be happy to answer them as we go along.
Feel free to ask any questions.
Perhaps we can leave any questions you have until the end?
There will be plenty of time for questions at the end.
Of course, these are only suggestions and other language is possible. Even within this limited group of phrases, just choose a few you feel comfortable with and learn and use those.
Here are some ways of dealing with questions when you are the speaker.
When you don't want to answer.
To be honest, I'm not really the person to ask about that.
When someone interrupts you.
Sorry, could I just finish?
When you finally understand what they want to know.
Oh I see. So what you are asking is …
When you realise they don't understand what you said.
Perhaps I didn't make myself clear. What I was trying to say was …
If you don't want to tell everyone.
Perhaps we can talk about it when I have finished.
To close off the presentation.
If there are no more questions, we should stop there.
Language of your presentation
I
f
you want your audience to understand your message, your language
must be simple
and clear.
Use short words and short sentences. Do not use jargon, unless you
are certain that your audience understands it.
In general, talk about concrete facts rather than abstract ideas. Use active verbs instead of passive verbs. Active verbs are much easier to understand. They are much more powerful. Consider these two sentences, which say the same thing:
Toyota sold two million cars last year.
Two million cars were sold by Toyota last year.
Which is easier to understand? Which is more immediate? Which is more powerful? No. 1 is active and No.2 is passive.
During your introduction, you should tell your audience what the structure of your presentation will be. You might say something like this:
"I'll start by describing the current position in Europe. Then I'll move on to some of the achievements we've made in Asia. After that I'll consider the opportunities we see for further expansion in Africa. Lastly, I'll quickly recap before concluding with some recommendations."
A member of the audience can now visualize your presentation like this:
Introduction |
|
Body |
|
Conclusion |
|
He will keep this image in his head during the presentation. He may even write it down. And throughout your presentation, you will put up signposts telling him which point you have reached and where you are going now. When you finish Europe and want to start Asia, you might say:
"That's all I have to say about Europe. Let's turn now to Asia."
When you have finished Africa and want to sum up, you might say:
"Well, we've looked at the three continents Europe, Asia and Africa. I'd like to sum up now."
And when you finish summing up and want to give your recommendations, you might say:
"What does all this mean for us? Well, firstly I recommend..."
|
The table below lists useful expressions that you can use to signpost the various parts of your presentation. |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Function |
Language |
|||
|
Introducing the subject |
|
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|
Finishing one subject |
|
|||
|
... and starting another |
|
|||
|
Analysing a point and giving recommendations |
|
|||
|
Giving an example |
|
|||
|
Dealing with questions |
|
|||
|
Summarising and concluding |
|
|||
|
Ordering |
|
|||
Introducing oneself and the business |
|
||||
Which company are you with? Who do you represent? I work for ABC Company. I'm with ABC. I represent (the) XYZ (company). |
Where are you located? The name of our company is ... Our company is located in ... Our headquarters is in ... |
|
|||
What business are you in? We are in the computer business.
|
We're in computers. We sell ... We produce ... We manufacture ... Our major products are ... |
|
|||
Get people's attention
Welcome them.
Introduce yourself.
State the purpose of your presentation.
State how you want to deal with questions.
Getting started
If I could have everybody's attention. If we can start ... |
Perhaps we should begin? Let's get started.
|
Welcome them
Welcome to Microsoft.
Thank you for coming today.
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.
On behalf of Intel, I'd like to welcome you.