7. Read and translate

All types of presentations consist of three basic parts: the introduction, the body, and the conclusion. In general, the introduction should be about 10-15% of your speaking time, the body around 75%, and the conclusion only 10%. The old adage is that in the introduction you tell them what you will tell them; in the body you tell them; and in the conclusion you tell them what you told them. Let’s look at each part more in depth.

The introduction is the most important part of your presentation as it sets the tone for the entire presentation. Its primary purpose is to capture the attention of the audience, usually within the first 15 seconds. The best introductions are those that are creative and original, so use your imagination! In this part you need to introduce yourself, usually just with your name, your organization. Finally, you need to state what your presentation will be about including the major points you will cover. In some cases you might want to include why you selected this topic or what you hope the audience will learn.

The body is the main part of your presentation. This is where you explain your topic and where all your information is presented. The organization of the body is critical because the audience needs to be able to follow what you are saying. A demonstration is the easiest to organize because you can simply go through the steps in order. The audience must know what is being done, how it’s being done, and why it’s being done. Illustrated talks or speeches are usually organized by arranging major points and discussing them. You should limit these major points to three to five. Arrange your points in a logical order and then give information to support each point.

No matter how you organize the body of your presentation, you must have clear transitions from point to point or step to step. There are many ways you can help the audience identify these transitions. Count on your fingers, step 1, step 2, etc. Use transition words such as then, next, finally, or one reason, another reason, or first, second, third. Pauses are a good way to emphasize transitions. Movement can also indicate a transition. Try changing your position in front of the audience or switching posters.

Your conclusion should be short and concise. It should summarize or highlight the main points you made or emphasize what the audience should have learned. After your conclusion, you need to state your sources of information. These could include books, magazine articles, or interviews with people.

Last, you need to ask for questions. Be sure that you repeat each question before you give an answer. Not only does this ensure everyone hears the question, but it gives you the chance to make sure you understood the question.

http://oregon.4h.oregonstate.edu/sites/default/files/Parts_of_a_Presentation.pdf

8. Place the following expressions in the appropriate column in the table below

1. If you have any questions, I’ll be happy to answer them.

2. Let’s summarize the main points again.

3. I’d like to report on my study into oil production.

4. In conclusion, I’d like to thank the audience.

5. I’d like to turn to something completely different.

6. Could you come back to point 2 again?

7. I’m sorry but I don’t have that information to hand.

8. The presentation is not going to take long.

9. I’m glad you asked this question.

10. If you don’t mind we’ll leave questions to the end.

11. Dear ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce myself.

12. I think I’m not the right person to answer your question.

13. If you look at the diagram you can see interesting things.

14. We will come back to this point later.

15. Let’s move on to the next point of my presentation.

16. There is a couple of points I’d like to add.

17. Could you speak up, please?

18. I will quickly recap the main points of my presentation.

19. I don’t share your opinion on this question.

20. Feel free to ask any questions.

21. I’d like to tell you about our new distillation column.

22. I can’t but agree with you.

23. Let’s turn now to our plans for next year.

24. Unfortunately, I’m already short of time.

25. I’m going to talk to you about the results of our survey.

26. The goal is to show you how to put theory into practice.

27. Let’s take a look at what we have achieved so far.

28. If I could summarize a few points from John’s report.

29. I’d like to turn your attention to this question.

Parts of presentation
Introducing yourself	Preparing the audience	Delivering the message	Winding-up (Conclusion)

9. Complete the statements in column A with the appropriate ends in column B.

	A		B
1.	I don’t see…	a.	I can’t answer that…
2.	Can I get back to you…?	b.	to comment on that…
3.	I’m not in a position…	c.	about that?
4.	I’m afraid…	d.	a very different issue.
5.	I’m sorry…	e.	the connection.
6.	I think that is…	f.	catch that.
7.	I’m sorry, but I didn’t…	g.	I don’t follow you.
8.	I see things…	h.	rather differently.
9.	I’d like to move on…	i.	to my previous point.
10.	Going back…	j.	for a moment.
11.	I’d like to digress here…	k.	to the next point.
12.	So, just to give you…	l.	questions, we can stop there.
13.	This brings me…	m.	when I have finished.
14.	I would like to give you…	n.	the main points.
15.	Perhaps we can talk about it…	o.	to the end of the presentation.
16.	Can you give us…?	p.	to make it quite clear.
17.	If there are no more…	q.	a brief overview of the subject.
18.	Let me rephrase that…	r.	an example to illustrate that?