Module 1.3 Improving the Communication Skills: Oral Presentations

1. What is a presentation?

A presentation is a formal talk to one or more persons that “presents” ideas or information in a clear, structured way. All presentations have a common objective: they are given in order to inform, train, persuade or sell. The key factors of any successful presentation are:

• the audience;
• the contents of the presentation itself;
• and the presenter.

The starting point should always be the audience. If you consider their needs and interests you cannot get off to a bad start even if you face the fear of public speaking.

  

2. Standard Presentation Structure

A well-organized presentation with a clear structure is easier for the audience to follow. It is therefore more effective. You should organize the points you wish to make in a logical order. Most presentations consist of three parts, followed by questions: The beginning is ideal for an attention grabber or for an ice breaker. The end is great to wrap things up or to end with a grand finale.  

I’d like to talk today about…
↓ 

I’ve divided my talk into…
↓  

My presentation will last / take about ... minutes. If you have any questions, please…
↓ 

Let’s start with …
So that covers …
↓

That brings me to …
Let’s leave that there …
  ↓

… and turn to …
 ↓

To sum up …
↓ 

To sum up / In conclusion 

3. Beginning Your Presentation in English

The introduction phase sets the tone and expectations of a meeting or presentation. Although very often the presenter will typically introduce him/herself to the audience, on other occasions a colleague or chairperson may introduce the speaker. It is followed by the topic introduction. Here are some tips (SP-LOQ) how to succeed in it.

   

4. Effective Openings

Effective Openings

Communication experts are all agreed that the first three minutes of a presentation are the most important. They talk about ‘HOOKS’ – simple techniques for getting the immediate attention of the audience. Here’s how the experts suggest you ‘hook’ your audience:

Give them a PROBLEM to think about: Suppose your advertising budget was cut by 99% tomorrow. How would you go about promoting your product?

Give them some amazing FACT: According to the latest study, by 2050 only one in every four people in Western Europe will be going to work. And two will be old age pensioners.

Give them a STORY or personal anecdote: Have you ever been in the situation where you've had to negotiate with the Japanese? I remember when I was working in Nagoya and everybody had told me the Japanese don't like saying no. So, in meetings I just kept saying yeah to everything. And they hated it. It turned out yeah sounds like no in Japanese!

 Use the frames below to help you prepare effective openings, using a problem, amazing facts, or story technique

.

PROBLEM technique

AMAZING FACT technique

STORY technique

5. Oral Presentation: Layout and Useful Vocabulary

This is the standard structure of a well-organized presentation:

Eg.

Perhaps we should begin / OK, let’s get started. Good afternoon/ morning/ evening ladies and gentlemen. It's a pleasure to be here with you today. Before I begin, let me introduce myself. I’ m ... (name), a Bachelor's-degree student majoring in Financial Management in the Department of ... (name) at Novosibirsk State University of Economics and Management. This afternoon I’d like to discuss / report / present… I find the topic challenging because ... So,

I’ve divided my talk into … parts / My talk will be in … parts.

Fist …

Second

Third

Finally

That (my presentation) will take about … minutes. If you have any questions you’d like to ask, I’ll be happy to answer them.  OR Perhaps we can leave any questions you may have until the end of the presentation.

þ Этот блок четко прописывается и заучивается НАИЗУСТЬ как эффективный способ привлечения внимания к себе и своему докладу, а также как единственное средство для того, чтобы справиться с волнением первых минут выступления.

6. Good Presentation VS Bad Presentation

To master your skills of presenting in English, watch the video that shows a student giving both a bad and a good presentation. He uses constructive feedback to improve his presentation skills. The video is used in the Effective Presentations module in the Project I-DEA Curriculum.

      

7. Language of Group Presentations

Effective group presentation, delivery tips and language

How can you deliver a group presentation successfully? What are the main tips? Watch the video,  in which Ben A. Ratje shares 5 proven tips on how to create and deliver group presentations successfully. This is an essential skill that all business presenters and speakers who work with their teams need to master. As teamwork becomes a more integral part of all companies, group presentation happen more frequently and have higher importance for your career. 

      

Thus, the group should have a presentation moderator  - a Team Captain, who is responsible for introducing the group of Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) and what each of them will talk about. 

Having a strong Team Captain is crucial as they will usually start and finish the presentation. As part of starting and finishing the presentation the role of the Captain also often includes:

1. Making sure there is a strong Attention Grab (a problem, amazing fact or story) early in the presentation in order to hook the audience from the start.
2. Assigning roles within the team.
3. Introducing each presenter and their role at the start of the presentation.
4. Managing the transitions/handovers between each presenter.
5. Directing questions from the audience to the most relevant speaker as required.
6. Summarising next steps or action points after the conclusion to the presentation.

📌Top Tip: The Captain should typically be either the most senior person in the group, or the most confident speaker. They don’t have to be subject matter experts.

During the presentation members should take care to hand over to each other properly. The following language can be helpful in this:

📌 First, I will say a little about the background to ...
📌 Then Jim will ...and Ann will ...and finally Sam will ...
📌 Now, I'd like to hand you over to Jim, who will be talking about / dealing with / reporting on ...
📌 Thank you, Jim. Jim has just told you about ... Now it's my task to hand you over to Ann.
📌 Now, it's time for the conclusion and let me bring up Sam. Sam, over to you. 

If you do team presentations, here's a 50-second look at how to introduce the next speaker to set him  / her up to success.

✅ Here are some phrases and expressions you can use during a team presentation in English:

1. Introduction:

   • "Good morning/afternoon/evening, everyone."
   • "Thank you for being here today."
   • "I'd like to start by introducing our team."

2. Overview:

   • "Our presentation today will cover..."
   • "We'll be discussing..."
   • "The main focus of our presentation is..."

3. Plan:

   • "Let's take a look at the plan for today's presentation."
   • "We'll begin with..."
   • "After that, we'll move on to..."

4. Transition between Speakers:

   • "Now, I'll hand it over to [Name] who will talk about..."
   • "I'll pass the mic to [Name] to elaborate on..."
   • "Next up, we have [Name] who will be discussing..."

5. Presenting Data/Information:

   • "Let's dive into the details."
   • "I'd like to draw your attention to this key point."
   • "Here are some noteworthy findings."

6. Visual Aids:

   • "As you can see on the slide..."
   • "This graph/chart illustrates..."
   • "Let me walk you through the visual."

7. Highlighting Key Points:

   • "One key takeaway from our research is..."
   • "It's important to emphasize that..."
   • "This brings us to a crucial point."

8. Q&A Session:

   • "Before we conclude, we'll open the floor for questions."
   • "Feel free to ask any questions you may have."
   • "We welcome your input and questions at this time."

9. Conclusion:

   • "In summary..."
   • "To wrap things up..."
   • "To conclude our presentation..."

10. Closing:

    • "Thank you for your time and attention."
    • "We appreciate the opportunity to share our findings with you."
    • "If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to reach out."

📌Remember to speak clearly, maintain eye contact, and engage with your audience to make your team presentation effective and engaging.

8. Rehearsal

"If you fail to prepare, you are prepared to fail". Plan to rehearse your presentation out loud at least 4 times, and if you can get word perfect so much the better.

Rehearse against the clock. If you have to give a presentation in a short period of time then try to practice your presentation against the clock. This is particularly true when your time is limited by, say 10-15 minutes. You can add in parts from the script or take them out to fit the time. Mind the following do’s and don’ts of presenting your ideas at public. 

  

9. The Observation Checklist

Устная презентация: Оценочный лист 

Ознакомьтесь  с перечнем критериев для 5-факторной оценки устной презентации по параметрам ее планирования, структуры, наглядности, изложения содержания и общего впечатления, производимого на слушателей. Используйте Оценочный лист при подготовке собственной презентации и оценке устных выступлений в этом формате других.