Unit 2. PRESENTING

2.1. Starting Presentations

2.1.1. Work in small groups. Discuss these questions.

1)Do you ever have to deliver presentations? If yes, who to?

2)What is most difficult for you in public speaking?

2.1.2. Public introductions game

Take a note card, and write on it three interesting things about you that nobody could guess.

The cards will then be mixed and every student will select one of them. Your goal will be to walk around, talk to people, ask questions and find the person whose card you got.

Interview that person to get a better picture of the facts. Answer their questions about your card. You will soon be introducing one another to the rest of the team!

When you interview a person follow the logical sequence: Who? What? Where? When? How? Why?

Write a paragraph about the person:

·Begin it with a thesis statement;

·Introduce your friend in one short sentence;

·Formulate a nice greeting;

·Turn your thesis statement into three sentences about your friend, focusing on action, sequence, facts;

·Make Things Orderly;

·Connect the three facts together in some way;

·Make it very short: state the fact, add one more sentence expanding;

·Offer a few good wishes.

Then the next student takes the floor.

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2.1.3. Read the text and say which of the named types of presentations you had

to deliver.

Principles & Types of Speech Communication

Whether you are planning to propose a new business plan, lead an informative workshop or speak at a special event, you face the challenge of effective speech communication. Navigating this challenge involves understanding the common types and basic principles of presentations you can give.

Informative Presentations

Informative presentations are one of the most common types of speech communication. This type of presentation can take many forms, such as reviewing sales figures at a company meeting, leading a training session for a new device, and discussing the history of an organization. Regardless of the situation, an informative presentation always communicates information and ideas to an audience and helps shape the audience's perceptions of the subject. These types of presentations are often organized topically, as a sequence of related subtopics of the overall subject, or chronologically, as a sequence of time-related events. Depending on the topic, informative presentations can also be organized as a demonstration that shows how something occurs or works, or as an explanation that considers patterns of cause and effect or comparison and contrast. When preparing for an informative presentation, one of your most important considerations is how you can best organize your message so your audience will find it engaging and accessible.

Persuasive Presentations

With a persuasive presentation, your primary purpose is to persuade your audience to believe or act in a particular way. You may want to reinforce or refute beliefs or values of your audience. You may desire to change opinions and spur action. Persuasive presentations can take many forms, such as a sales presentation, business proposal or motivational meeting. Show consideration for your audience's perspective, offer compelling support for your ideas and bridge the distance between the two points of view. Communicate your trustworthiness and competence to the audience.

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Other Presentations

You may encounter a number of special occasions that call for the practice of effective speech communication. For example, you may be asked to give a formal introduction of a guest speaker at an event, to present an honor or award to a coworker, or to speak at a celebration, retirement, or memorial for another individual. These presentations sometimes require impromptu speaking and sometimes allow for preparation.

Basic Principles

The basic principles of speech communication remain the same, whether your purpose is to inform or to persuade, or even to speak at a special occasion. To communicate effectively with your audience, you will need to develop your subject in understandable and accessible ways, to navigate the differences between your audience's perspective and your own, and to deliver your message with a dynamic presence, engaging language and effective visual aids.

Common Problems

A few common pitfalls can occur with speech communication, including too little or too much information, lack of consideration of the audience's point of view, inadequate development of material or ideas, cultural barriers between the speaker and the audience, and poor anxiety management. Take the time to consider and address these problems prior to your presentation to help ensure effective audience engagement and delivery of your message.

2.1.4. Answer the questions to the text.

1)What types of presentations did you come to know from the text?

2)What are the most common types of speech communication? Why?

3)What is the speaker’s primary purpose with a persuasive presentation?

4)What are the basic principles of speech communication?

5)What are the common problems of speech communication?

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2.1.5. There are the beginnings of two different presentations, one of them is formal, the other – informal. Copy the sentences into the chart below in order to get two concise texts.

a.This morning, I'd like to outline the campaign concept we've developed for you.

b.My talk is in three parts. I'll start with the background to the campaign, move on to the media we plan to use, and finish with the storyboard for the commercial.

c.If there's anything you're not clear about, go ahead and ask any questions you want.

d.On behalf of myself and Focus Advertising, I'd like to welcome you. My name's Sven Larsen.

e.If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to interrupt me.

f.Hi everyone, I'm Dominique Lagrange. Good to see you all.

g.I'm going to tell you about the ideas we've come up with for the ad campaign.

h.I've divided my presentation into three parts. Firstly, I'll give you the background to the campaign. Secondly, I'll discuss the media we plan to use. Finally, I'll talk you through the storyboard for the TV commercial.

Formal presentation	Informal presentation

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2.1.6. Fill in the chart with the expressions from 2.1.4.

Introducing yourself

Introducing the topic

Giving a plan of your talk

Inviting questions

2.1.7. Presenters can use different techniques to get their audience's attention at the start of a presentation. Read the start of five presentations and match them to the techniques below.

a) tell a personal story	d) ask a question
b) offer an amazing fact	e) state a problem
c) use a quotation

1)I wonder if any of you here know the answer to this question: What's the most popular holiday destination in Europe for people under the age of twenty-five?

2)When I was on holiday a few years ago in Greece, I remember talking to the owner of a taverna. He said to me that in twenty years' time, the little island where he lived would be a popular tourist resort.

3)Let me start by giving you a statistic: ninety-two percent of all Americans do not possess a passport. Think about that, and consider the opportunity it presents to the travel industry.

4)We're facing a crisis with our market share. What are we going to do about it?

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5)Someone once said that 'travel broadens the mind'. What I hope to do in this presentation is to demonstrate how to convince the next generation of travellers that this is still true.

2.1.8. Choose one of the presentation situations below. Prepare five different

openings using the techniques in 2.1.7. Practise the openings with a partner.

1.Your company is developing a small car aimed at city workers. Audience: a group of distributors.

2.Your bank wishes to encourage young people to save money. Audience: a group of students.

3.Your firm has produced a type of torch which has unique features. Audience: a group of buyers at a trade fair.

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