Giving a presentation

1. You have to give a presentation. Here are some things to do at the begging of a presentation:

• Welcome the audience.

• Tell the audience the subject of the presentation.

• Introduce the main points one by one.

• Introduce each point in detail.

2. Read the short introduction to a presentation:

Good morning everyone. It’s nice to see so many of you here today. I hope you can all hear me OK.

The subject of my presentation today is our marketing plan for the next three years. Basically, there are three main points I want to talk about. If you look at the first slide, you can see them listed there. First, I’m going to tell you about our new product range aimed at the teenage market. Secondly, I’ll talk about each of the products and our plans for marketing them. And finally, I’d like to talk briefly about the competition.

OK, let’s start with the first point, our new product range…

Tasks and exercises:

1. Look at the beginning of this presentation. Which of the steps a-k does the speaker go through, and in what order? (He does not go through all of the steps mentioned.)

1. thanks the audience for coming

2. tells the audience if / when they can ask questions

3. tells a story

4. states a problem

5. offers an amazing fact

6. introduces himself

7. greets the audience

8. greets latecomers

9. tells latecomers where there are seats available

10. brings the audience to order

11. asks if everyone can see the data projection screen

12. asks if everyone can hear at the back

13. asks a question

14. announces the structure of his talk

OK, it's two o'clock. Let's make a start. Good afternoon everyone and thank you all for coming. My name's Steve Suarez and I'm a head of the Anglo-Latin American Chamber of Commerce. This afternoon, I'm going to talk to you about doing busi­ness in Latin America. I'm going to begin by giving an overview of the different markets in Latin America, and then look in more detail at two key markets that I know a lot of you are interested in: Brazil and Mexico. I'll talk for about 45 min­utes, and then we'll open up the session for a general discussion. But if you have any questions while I'm speaking, please feel free to ask them at any point. Can I just ask how many of you have been on business to Latin America? Can we have a show of hands? Thank you.

When I was in Rio last year, I was being shown round the city by an importer of European machine tools. We were having a beer together when he said, 'You know Steve, the problem with exporters who try to break into the Brazilian market is that they approach Brazil as if it was just like the Spanish-speaking countries of South America. But I can tell you, it's a very different kind of market, that's for sure!'...

2. Prepare the beginning of a presentation on a subject of your choice.

Unit 8 Team building Business brief

In constructing teams, it's important not just to get talented people, but the right combination of talents. In the famous phrase, 'it's important to have a great team of minds, rather than a team of great minds'. Meredith Belbin sees these types as necessary in teams, whether in business or elsewhere:

• The Implemented who converts the team's plan into something achievable.

• The Co-ordinator, who sets agendas, defines team-members' roles and keeps the objectives in view.

• The Shaper, who defines issues, shapes ideas and leads the action.

• The Plant, who provides the original ideas and finds new approaches when the team is stuck.

• The Resource Investigator, who communicates with the outside world and finds new ways to get things done.

• The Monitor Evaluator, who evaluates information objectively and draws accurate conclusions from it.

• The Team Worker, who builds the team, supports others and reduces conflict.

• The Completer Finisher, who gets the deadlines right.

This model lends itself better to some business situations than others, but the idea of roles and competencies in a team is important, whateverform these take in particular situations. Some organisations are more hierarchical and less democratic than others, and team members are obviously expected to behave more deferentially in the former. Senior managers there have the traditional leader's role: what they say goes. In other organisations, power is more devolved, and managers talk about, or at least pay lip-service to, the empowerment of those under them: the idea that decision-making should be decentralised to members of their teams.

In addition to the traditional organisation, we increasingly find virtual organisations and virtual teams. People are brought together for a particular project and then disbanded. Here, in addition to Belbin's types above, the role of the selector/facilitator is crucial.

Stages of team life

The typical team is said to go through a number of stages during its existence.

1. Forming. The group is anxious and feels dependent on a leader. The group will be attempting to discover how it Is going to operate, what the 'normal' behaviours will be: how supportive, how critical, how serious and how humorous the group will be.

2. Storming. The atmosphere may be one of conflict, with rebellion against the leader, conflict between sub-groups and resistance to control. There is likely to be resistance to the task, and even the sense that the task is impossible.

3. Norming. At this stage, members of the group feel closer together and the conflicts are settled, or at least forgotten. Members of the group will start to support each other. There is increasingly the feeling that the task is possible to achieve.

4. Performing. The group is carrying out the task for which it was formed. Roles within the group are flexible, with people willing to do the work normally done by others. Members feel safe enough to express differences of opinion in relation to others.

5. Mourning. The group is disbanded; its members begin to feel nostalgic about its activities and achievements. Perhaps they go for a drink or a meal to celebrate.

All this may be familiar from the groups we encounter, and play our role in managing, in language training!

PS: How to write a business letter see Unit 3.