Effective Presentations = Эффективные презентации. Практикум

Exercise5.Completethispresentationintroductionwithfollowing words: talk about, look at, point of view, questions, brief, finally, hear, act as, go along.

Good afternoon and thank you for making the effort to be here with us today. My name’s Rachel Rawlins and I’m responsible for public affairs. What I’d like to do today is 1… our recent corporate campaign. This 2… talk will hopefully 3… a springboard for discussion. I’m going to 4… the corporate campaign from three 5… : firstly, the customers; secondly, the financial institutions; and 6… , the shareholders. If you have any 7…, just interrupt me as I 8 … . Your point of view may well be different, and we’d like to 9… from you.

Exercise 6. Use one of the following expressions to replace each of the expressions in italics in this introduction: don’t hesitate, a chance, I take care, I’m delighted, sections, go through, in more depth, my purpose, divide.

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. 1. It’s a pleasure to be with you today. My name’s Gordon Matthews and 2. I’m in charge of corporate finance at our headquarters here in Brussels. 3. We are here today4. to review somekeyfiguresandtooutlinefinancialstrategyover the next five years. So what I intend to do is 5. to break down this presentation into three 6. parts: first, the financial review; second, the options facing us; and finally, the strategy I propose. If you have any questions,please7. feel free tointerruptme,butIshouldalsosaythere’ll be 8. an opportunity to discuss issues9. at greater length after my talk.

2.2. Language8

Moving on

Let’s now move on to (turn to) … . I now want to go on to … .

This leads (brings) me to … . I’d like to move to (turn to) … .

So far we have looked at … . Now I’d like to … .

8 Comfort J. Effective Presentations. — Oxford University Press, 2000; Goodale M. Professional Presentations. A video-based course. — Cambridge Univercity Press, 1998.

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Asking check-up questions

Are you with me so far?

Is everyone with me?

Is it clear to everyone?

Before I go on, are there any questions about … ?

Using Rhetorical questions

Rhetorical questions. It is often more interesting to present your ideas as questions rather than direct statements. Questions involve the audience.Theyalsomakeyourpresentationsoundmoreconversational and create anticipation in the minds of your audience. Sometimes a good way of introducing an emphatic statement is to ask a rhetorical question. Look at the patterns:

•So, just how bad is the situation? I’ll tell you how difficult it is. It’s absolutely catastrophic.

•So, just how difficult is it? I’ll tell you how difficult it is. It’s practically impossible.

Notice how the second sentences reinforce the rhetorical questions.

What should we do? (pause) How much is cost? (pause)

So, just how big is the market? (pause)

Focusing

Focusing. If you really want to get attention of your audience simple emphasis may not be enough. In English there is a way you can focus key points so that everyone knows you want them to listen to what you have to say next. Look at the examples:

•We can’t expect too much soon.

•What we can’t do is expect too much too soon.

•I’d like to approach this question from two different angles.

•What I’d like to do is approach this question from two different angles.

Notice how the ″What … is …″ pattern builds up anticipation of the audience.

What we have is a revolutionary product. What I want to know is …

What I’m saying is … What I’m trying to say is …

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Linking

We use link words, especially in formal writing, to signal the kind of connection there is between one statement and another. We also use linking expressions to guide the audience through your presentation. Linkers will also help you to vary the pause of presentation. For example, when we want to express a clear contrast between two subjects in the same sentence we can use whereas. We use although, in spite of or despite before a statement that makes the main statement seem surprising or unlikely.

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EXERCISES

Exercise7.Matchthemoreformalwords ontheleftwiththemore informal on the right.

Exercise 8. Match the more formal verbs with their less formal (spoken) equivalents.

Exercise 9. Make sentences more personal by using the active not the passive.

1.The issue of restructuring was discussed. (We …)

2.Money is being directed into the wrong accounts. (The Finance Manager …)

3. The agreement will be signed later this month. (Both companies ...)

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4.It has been found to be rather unreliable. (I …)

5.It is reported that shares are due to rise. (The press …)

6.The decision will be made more on a financial basis than on an interest’s basis. (The Managing Director …)

7. The term fulfilling career is described by many people in different ways. (Many people …)

8. The minutes were left in the conference room. (The Chairman …)

9.These terms and conditions will be discussed later. (We …)

10.Ventures of this type are often bought and absorbed. (Larger companies …)

Exercise 10. Make these sentences less personal by using the passive not active.

1.I favour a reduction in working hours.

2.The boss forced him to resign.

3.They have transferred the money via the bank.

4.We are planning an autumn sales campaign.

5.Susan will reorganize the Research Department.

6.The customer buys ten shares.

7.Many stores are offering a wide variety of takeout food.

8.The expert has been consulting the management of our firm since it was founded.

9.American governments support foreign investors.

10. The economic situation has changed the entire concept of marketing.

Exercise 11. Match the following lists of linking words.

5.for this reason

6.consequently

7.therefore

8.however

9.furthermore

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Exercise 12. Look at the following statements and transform them into rhetorical questions.

Problem — Our profits dropped by 11 % last year.

Rhetorical question — How can we stop our profits dropping this year?

1.We are under too much stress.

2.We launched a strict cost-cutting campaign last year.

3.Turnover topped 2 billion dollars again last year.

4.Our sales decreased by 20 % last year.

5.Since the merger, Time Warner’s stock has dropped 80 %.

6.By 2000, Mattel was losing $1.5 million a day and its stock prices kept dropping.

7.CompetitionfromAT&T,Verizon,andtheiPhonedrovedownsales, and Sprint/Nextel began lay-offs.

8.The Learning Company was sold by the end of 2000, but Mattel was forced to lay off 10 % of its employees in order to cut costs.

9.Soon after the merger, Nextel executives and managers left the new company in droves, claiming that the two cultures could not get along.

10.The rate of employment relative to the population of working age is steadily declined from 61,7 % in 2007, to 61,2 % in 2009 and now 61,1 % in 2010.

Exercise 13. Transform these statements into dramatic structures.

Statements — Then I’d like to talk about…

Dramatic structures — Then what I’d like to do is to talk about…

1.So we began to look for other ways of improving profits.

2.Basically, we’re trying to improve educational standards.

3.And in this overhead here I’ve put the figures showing a continued decline in unemployment.

4.SotodayI’mgoingtojustifyspendingsomuchmoneyoncosmetics.

5.So these people have taken the rate of interest over a five-year period.

6.And perhaps it is also surprising that many of the arguments have been around for over twenty years.

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7.That’s why at the moment, most mobile advertising takes the form of text messages.

8.Therefore, as marketers look for ways to keep pace with technology and media, advertising trends have changed drama­ tically.

9.As a result, thanks to YouTube, blogs, TiVo, Facebook and basic email, people are spending less time watching television commercials and reading print ads.

10.So YouTube is a vehicle to attract viewers who might not be watching as much TV, or skipping the shows in the brand’s media buy.

Exercise 14. Link the ideas in these sentences by adding an appro­ priate word or phrase.

1.That was a good meeting. Did I tell you about the match last night?

2.Our competitors are becoming stronger. One of them, Falcon, has a joint venture with a Japanese firm.

3.I’ve divided this into two parts. The issue of profit-sharing. The question of share option schemes.

4.This year we have lost market share. We expect to remain No. 1 in the market.

5.There are some vital factors to consider. The risk of a take-over bid.

6.Falcon has reduced its costs by relocating.We must consider cutting the costs of our premises.

7.We’ve had a difficult year. We’ve still made a healthy profit.

8.We expected to lose money in the Far East. This was our most profitable market.

9.The yen dropped against the dollar. We made considerable profits on the exchange rate.

10.There have been some failures on occasions. We have been very successful.

2.3. VisualAids

Using visual aids

I’d like you to look at this … . Let me show you … .

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As you can see … .

Let’s have a look at … .

Let’s look at … .

If you look at … .

This table (diagram, chart, and slide) shows … .

On the right (left) you can see … .

More dramatic

Have a look at … .

Look at … .

I’ll let you read this one … .

trends, charts and graphs Describing change

1. Upward movement:

To increase / rise / go up To grow / expand

To rocket / boom

To increase and to expand can be also used transitively. To raise can only be used transitively.

Transitive verbs can be used when we want to express an action which affects an object. Intransitive verbs cannot be used to express an action, only a result.

2. Downward movement:

To decrease / fall / drop / decline / go down To contract

To slump / collapse

To decrease and to drop can also be used transitively. To reduce and to cut can only be used transitively.

3.An end to movement:

To flatten out To level off

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4. No change:

To remain constant / stable

To stay the same / at the same level

Three other verbs — to maintain, to hold and to keep — are used transitively.

5. Degrees of change: dramatically / considerably / significantly / moderately / slightly

Sales have fallen considerably. Profits rose slightly.

6. Speed of change: rapidly / quickly / suddenly / gradually / slowly

Types of chart

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EXERCISES

Exercise15.Enterthefollowingverbsinthechartbelowaccording to the type of change they describe.

Exercise 16. Which graph illustrates the movement described in these sentences?

1.The market is showing some signs of growth.

2.The market is extremely volatile.

3.The Swiss franc is staging a recovery.

4.The lira lost ground slightly.

5.There’s been a dramatic downturn in the market.

6.There’s been an upsurge of interest in gold.

7.The share price bottomed out at 115p.

8.Sugar peaked at $400 a tonne.

9.Profits will level off at around £1.1bn.

10.Sales hit an all-time low.

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