Information, organize it, decide on a structure.

Sara: Yes, get a good structure, I agree. Then once the structure is

okay, you need to visuals, any graphs, you know, that sort

of things.

George: Yes, the visual supports.

Sara: Then, you could write it all out. At least the introduction –

just to practice it. Some people write out everything, some

don’t. It depends.

George: I think that’s a good point. But practice is really very

important. A key part of the presentation is to actually

practise it, to give the presentation – practise until you

could go it just from notes. Then well … what else?

Bob: Check all the language, keep it simple, make sure there’re

no mistakes on the visuals. Spelling and all that.

Hal: And I think you should check that the room is okay, check

the equipment is okay. And maybe also PowerPoint. If you

use PowerPoint, make sure your computer and the disc, or

the data projector, make sure it all works.

George: Yes, using presentations software can help enormously.

RECOMMENDATIONS

DOS AND DON’TS IN PREPERATION

Here are some tips for a stand-up presentation (one person talking to an audience)

> Find out about the audience: how many people there will be, who they are,

why they will be there, and how much they know about the subject.

> Find out about the venue and the facilities: the room, the seating plan, the

equipment, etc.

>Plan the content and structure, but don’t write the complete text of the

presentation

> Write notes on sheets of paper, not on cards.

> Try to memorize the first five sentences of your talk

> Prepare visual aids: pictures, diagrams, etc.

> Rehearse your presentation (practise it so that it becomes very familiar) with

friends or colleagues.

THE STRUCTURE OF THE PRESENTATION.

An easily understood structure is based on the old presentation motto of

“Tell’em, tell’em, and tell’em,” That is, tell them what you are going to tell

them about; tell them about it, then tell them what you have told them.

You might think this is repetition, but it is necessary when you consider that no one will listen to your every word, so you have to touch on the big issues more than once. When you next watch the TV news, notice how they use this principle. They tell you what the story is about, then tell you the story and finish with summary, conclusion. They keep your interest by varying the words and language in the introduction, the body and the end.

STARTING PRESENTATIONS. INTRODUCTION.

1. Any introduction should have three parts:

# Purpose – explain why you are here

# Benefit – tell the audience what’s in it for them, why they should listen/get

engaged

# Structure – list the areas that you intend to cover – your agenda.

Purpose, benefit and structure can be in any order. Choose the order that

will have maximum impact on your audience.

2. Decide whether each sentence in the Useful Language box is “formal” or “informal”? Write “Formal” (F) and “Informal” (I).

USEFUL LANGUAGE

Introducing yourself	On behalf of myself and “Focus Advertising”, I’d like to welcome you.
	Hi, I’m Dominique Lagrange. Good to see you all.
Introducing the topic	This morning I’d like to outline the campaign concept we’ve developed for you.
	I’m going to tell you about the ideas we’ve come up with for the ad campaign.
Giving background information.	I’ll give you the background and talk you through the results of the market study.
	I’ve divided my presentation into three parts.
Inviting questions.	If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to interrupt me.
	If you’re not clear about anything, go ahead and ask any questions you want.

3. Read the openings of the following presentations and decide which one is formal and which one is informal.

Presentation 1.

Good morning everyone, on behalf of myself and Focus Advertising, I’d like to welcome you. My name’s Sven Larsen. I’m Commercial

Director. This morning, I’d like to outline the campaign concept we’ve developed for you. I’ve divided my presentation into three parts. First, the background to the campaign, next the results of our market study, thirdly, the concept itself. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to interrupt me.

Presentation 2.

Hi, I’m Dominique Lagrange. Good to see you. As you know, I’m Creative Director of DMK. I’m going to tell you about the idea we’ve come up with for the ad campaign. I’ll give you the background and talk you through the results of the market study and tell you about our concept. If you’re not clear about anything, go ahead and ask any questions you want.

Presentation 3.

Good afternoon everyone. I’m glad you could all make it. My name’s

Sonia Padron Perez and I’m the sales manager here at DMC Wood.

I’d like to start by giving you a short overview of today’s

presentation.

First of all we’re going to look at the sales figures for last year.

Then we’ll see how our competitors did during the same period.

After that we’ll look at how this has affected our share prices, and

finally we’ll see what we intend to do about this in the future.

If you have any questions, I’ll be happy to answer them at the end

of my presentation.

So, let’s start with the sales figures.

Presentations -signs and stepping stones. Signposting language

4.Read the following phrases which can be useful in making presentations They .

are some kind of signposts and stepping stones in making the presentation. Do

the translation of the statements below.

1) I’d like to start by giving you a short overview of today’ presentation.

2) First of all, we are going to look at the sales figures for the last two years.

3) After that we’ll look at how this has affected our share prices.

4) Moving on to our share prices, the next slide shows us …

5) Let’s go back and look at the first slide again.

6) I’d like to finish by showing how we aim to reach this target.

5.Read the beginning of a presentation on the marketing plans for a new

telecommunication system produced by Telco. Answer the questions:

1.Is it a good introduction? Why? Why not?

2. Is it possible to identify the structure of the talk?

Speaker : Thank you for coming today. As you know, I want to talk about

the marketing plans. Brand identity is a key issue, and what is meant is

how we are seen by our customers and our products are recognized and

what our consumers think of us as a company. And I should also say

what Telco means for them. And advertising is part of it, of course,

though not something I am going to talk about now except to say that

as for brand image, it’s important in that area too, advertising that is.

6.Read the second example of an introduction to a presentation.. This one is about

plans to develop a new production plant in Taiwan. As you read think about

these points:

1.Is it a good presentation? Why? Why not?

2. What is the structure of the talk?

Speaker: Okay, thanks. I’m here to talk about the design proposals for the

production plant at Taipei. My talk will be in three parts followed by

30- minute discussion. I’m going to start with the background to each

proposal – something about our negotiations with Taiwanese

government – then in the second part I’ll go over the main

characteristics of each proposal, Proposal One and proposal Two.

Then in the third part I’ll highlight some key considerations we have

to bear in mind. Finally, I’ll end with an invitation to ask questions or

make any comments you like. Okay? So to begin with, a few words

on the history.