Text a Presentations for Business

Presentations skills are very useful - for business, sales, training, public speaking and self-development. Presentations format, media and purpose vary a lot - oral, multimedia, short impromptu presentations, long planned presentations - but in every successful presentation the principles explained here are used. Aside from presentations techniques, confidence and experience are big factors. You are not alone if the thought of speaking in public scares you. Giving a presentation is worrying for many people. Presenting or speaking to an audience regularly tops the list in surveys of people's top fears - more than heights, flying or dying.

A common physical reaction to having to speak in public is a release of adrenaline and cortisol into our system the equivalent to drinking seven cups of coffee. Our brain shuts down normal functions as the 'fight or flight' impulse takes over. Good preparation is the key to confidence, which is the key to you being relaxed. Will be reduced your nervousness by 75% as a result of a proper preparation and rehearsal, and the likelihood of avoiding errors will be increased to 95%.

Preparation and knowledge are the pre-requisites for a successful presentation, but confidence and control are just as important. Remember and apply Eleanor Roosevelt's maxim that "no-one can intimidate me without my permission". Remember also that "Depth of conviction counts more than height of logic, and enthusiasm is worth more than knowledge". People retain more if they are enjoying themselves and feeling relaxed. You have 4 - 7 seconds in which to make a positive impact and good opening impression, so make sure you have a good, strong, solid introduction, and rehearse it thoroughly . Try to build your own credibility and create a safe comfortable environment for your audience. Don't start with a joke unless you are supremely confident - jokes are high risk things at the best of times, let lone at the start of a presentation. The average attention span of a an average listener is only 6-8 minutes, so intersperse your material with ‘spice’ and a variety of stimuli, media and movement to maintain maximum interest. Memorize a couple of good quotations, and always credit the source. It is important to give your presentation depth and texture, as well as keeping your audience interested.

Be daring and bold and have fun. Use props and pass them around if you can. The more senses you can stimulate the more fun your audience will have and the more they'll remember. Examples of 'spice' that can be used to bring your presentation to life and keep your audience attentive and enjoying themselves are the following:

• Stories

• Questions

• Pictures, cartoons and video-clips

• Sound-clips

• Audience participation exercises

• Quotations

• Props

• Examples

• Analogies

• Statistics (which dramatically improve audience 'buy-in' if you're trying to persuade)

• Your body language, and the changing tone and pitch of your voice.

For longer presentations, if you're not an experienced speaker, you must schedule a break every 45 minutes or so for people to get up and stretch their legs, otherwise you'll be losing them regardless of the amount of spice you include. Take the pressure off yourself by not speaking all the time. Get the audience doing things, and make use of all the communication senses available. For instance; the use of visual aids generally heightens retention of the spoken word by up to 70%.

Extensive sections of text can be read more quickly in serif font because the words have a horizontal flow, but serif fonts have a more old-fashioned traditional appearance than sans serif. If you need to comply with a company type-style you'll maybe have no choice anyway. Whatever - try to select fonts and point sizes that are fit for the medium and purpose. Use no more than two different fonts and no more than two size/bold/italic variants or the whole thing becomes confused. If in doubt simply pick a good readable serif font and use it big and bold for headings, and 14 - 16 point size for the body text. Absolutely avoid capital letters in body text, because people need to be able to read word-shapes as well as the letters, and of course upper case makes every word a rectangle, so it takes ages to read. Upper case is just about okay for headings if you really have to.

See 'tricks of the trade'in the marketing and advertising section for lots of tips and secrets about presenting the written word. Create your own prompts and notes - whatever suits you best. A single sheet at-a-glance timetable is a great safety-net for anything longer than half and hour. You can use this to monitor your timing and pace.

When preparing to the presentation, clearly identify your subject and your purpose to yourself, and then let the creative process take over for a while to gather all the possible ideas for subject matter and how you could present it. Use brainstorming and *mind-mapping. Both processes involve freely putting random ideas and connections down on a piece of paper - the bigger the better - using different coloured big felt pens will help too. Don't write lists and don't try to write the presentation until you have picked the content and created a rough structure from your random collected ideas and material.

When you have all your ideas on paper, organize them into subject matter categories, three is best. Does it flow? Is there a logical sequence that people will follow and you’ll be comfortable with? Use the rule of three to structure the presentation; it has a natural balance and flow. A simple approach is to have three main sections. Each section has three sub-sections. Each of these can have three sub-sections, and so on. A 30 minute presentation is unlikely to need more than three sections, with three sub-sections each. Presentations almost always take longer to deliver than you think the material will last. You must create a strong introduction and a strong close. You must tell people what you're going to speak about and what your purpose is. And while you might end on a stirring quotation or a stunning statistic, you must before this have summarized what you have spoken about and if appropriate, demanded an action from your audience, even if it is to go away and think about what you have said.

When you have structured your presentation, it will have an opening, a middle with headed sections of subject matter, and a close, with opportunity for questions if relevant. Practice it in its rough form. Next you give it a 3^rd dimension by blending in your presentation method. This entails the equipment and materials you use, case studies, examples, quotations, analogies, questions and answers, individual and syndicate exercises, interesting statistics, and any kind of presentation aid you think will work. Take nothing for granted. Check and double-check, and plan contingencies for anything that might go wrong. Plan and control the layout of the room as much as you are able. Make sure everyone can see the visuals displays.

When you start your presentation, you should be firm, confident and in control; the floor is yours, and the audience is on your side. Introduce yourself and tell them what you are going to tell them. Tell them how long it will take you to speak and that they are welcome to ask questions afterwards (if you're nervous about being thrown off-track during your presentation it's okay to ask them to save their questions until the end). By the time you've done this introduction you've established your authority, created respect and credibility, and overcome the worst of your nerves. If you're just giving a short presentation then by the time you've done all this you've completed a quarter of it! Remember, if you are truly scared, the only way to overcome your fear is just to do it. One thing should be kept in mind: "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger." (Friedrich Nietzsche)

Remember also, initial impact is made and audience mood towards you is established in the first 4-7 seconds. Be aware of your own body language and remember what advice you got from your friend on your practice run. You are the most powerful visual aid of all, so use your body movement and position well. Don't stand in front of the screen when the projector is on. If people talk amongst themselves just stop and look at them. Say nothing, just look. You will be amazed at the effect, and how quickly your authority increases. (This silent tactic works with an entire unsettled audience too.) If you want a respite or some thinking time, asking the audience a question or involving them in an exercise takes the pressure off you, and gives you a bit of breathing space. Pausing is fine. Knowing that a pause now and then is perfectly fine will help you to concentrate on what you're saying next, rather than the pause. Keep control, no-one will question your authority when you have the floor, so don’t give it up. If you don’t know the answer to a question say so and deal with it later. You have the right to defer questions until the end (on the grounds that you may well be covering it in the presentation later anyway, or just simply because you say so). Close positively and firmly, and accept plaudits graciously.

Exercises

I. Match the words and word groups from the first column with their translation from the second column:

impromptu presentations scare(v) audience to speak in public confidence rehearsal pre-requisite to make a positive impact comfortable environment average attention span intersperse stimulus (pl. stimuli) quotation props schedule visual aids serif bold/italic variants 14 - 16 point size for the body text Heading (n) safety-net to monitor your timing and pace

(Само)уверенность варианты шрифта: жирный или курсив Визуальные вспомогательные материалы Включить (в расписание) Выступать публично заглавие, заголовок Импровизированная презентация Пересыпать, разнообразить чем-л. предохранительная сетка (для акробатов и т.д.) Предпосылка Произвести благоприятное впечатление Пугать Раздаточный материал Репетиция следить за временем и темпом выступления Слушатели Среднее количество времени, когда аудитория слушает внимательно Стимул Удобная окружающая обстановка Цитата шрифт шрифт размером (14/16) для основного текста

II. Before doing the following exercise, revise the grammar material regarding the two non-finite verb forms - Infinitive and Gerund. Complete the sentences with the correct form given in brackets and translate into Russian.

1. We must… you that your payment is overdue. (inform /to inform/informing)

2. We have … overtime. (do/to do/doing)

3. Do you mind … the window? (open/to open/opening)

4. Catherine managed … an important customer. (acquire/ acquire/acquiring)

5. We look forward … from you soon.(hear/hearing)

6. Jane is busy … invitations for our company's anniversary celebration.(write/to write/writing)

7. Could you let me …my sentence? (finish /to finish/finishing)

8. It is hard … certain customers. (please /to please/pleasing)

9. Let me begin by … you something about our company's history. (tell /to tell/telling)

10. We risk …a lot of money. (lose /to lose/losing)

Text B

Extract from a Company Performance Presentation

Ladies and gentlemen,

It has been another excellent year for the company as our businesses have continued to grow. As you will see from the balance sheet and the accompanying financial statements, our financial performance has improved significantly. We are particularly proud of our sales record and of the fact that we are able to report a 6% increase in revenue during the period. Thanks to this and to the success of various cost reduction initiatives, our net profit is substantially higher and consequently our shareholders have benefited from a significant rise in dividends per share.

Our continuing commitment to the environment, and our policy of ensuring the long term sustainability of the resources that are used in manufacturing have contributed to our recent success in the new export markets in Eastern Europe where concern for the environment is growing. Our performance in toxic waste reduction has been significantly improved and we are now on target to meet EU requirements.

In the line of our success in the East European markets, a further investing there is being planned and additional local subsidiaries are going to be set up. However, our performance in some areas has been affected by continuing economic uncertainty and also by the fact that quotas restricting sales of certain products have been introduced. On the recommendation of our advisers, we have decided to go ahead with plans to issue shares on the Stock Exchange. Our Chief Financial Officer will be responsible for implementing this new programme in the second half of this year.

Exercises

I. Read and translate the text. Underline the sentences where Passive Voice is used.

II. Match the words and word groups from the first column with their translation from the second column:

balance sheet financial statements financial performance sales record increase in revenue cost reduction initiatives commitment to the environment long term sustainability export markets toxic waste reduction target to meet EU requirements subsidiaries to set up economic uncertainty quotas to introduce to issue shares on the Stock Exchange to implement

экспортные рынки экономическая нестабильность цель финансовый отчет финансовые показатели устанавливать, учреждать увеличение валовой выручки соответствовать требованиям ЕС сокращение токсичных выбросов приверженность идее бережного отношения к окружающей среде показатели объема продаж (статистика продаж) квоты инициативы по сокращению затрат (издержек) дочерние компании долгосрочная устойчивость выпустить акции на продажу на фондовой бирже выполнять, претворять в жизнь вводить балансовый отчет

Unit 6

Text A

Business Communication

Communication plays an important role in business. It acts as the bridge for the business between company and the provider. Provider is one, who provides job opportunity to develop the business. Through the communication, you can express your ideas. Without new ideas, business cannot be carried out in a healthy way. To convey your thoughts and new ideas, communication is essential. A brilliant man without communication is like a beautiful picture remaining in dark. For example, an efficient customer service makes the business profitable. If your customer service is good, then many people prefer your products.

Communication used to promote a product, service, or organization; relay information within the business; or deal with legal and similar issues is known as business communication. It is also a means of relying between a supply chain, for example the consumer and manufacturer. Business Communication encompasses a variety of topics, including Marketing, Branding,Advertising,Public relations, Corporatecommunication,Onlinecommunication, and *Event management. It is closely related to the fields ofprofessional communicationandtechnical communication. The channels of communication business is conducted through are various, they include theInternet, Print (Publications),Radio,Television,Ambient media, Outdoor, andWord of mouth. Business Communication can also refer to internal communication. Acommunications directorwill typically manage internal communication and messages sent to employees. It is vital that internal communications are managed properly because a poorly crafted or managed message could foster distrust or hostility from employees. There are several methods of business communication, including:

• Web-basedcommunication, such as web conferencing that is used to conduct livemeetingsorpresentationsvia theInternet. In a web conference, each participant sits at his or her owncomputerand is connected to other participants via the internet. This can be either a downloaded application on each of the attendees computers or a web-based application where the attendees will simply enter aURL(website address) to enter the conference;

• E-mails, which provide an instantaneous medium of written communication worldwide. Historically, a variety of electronic mail system designs evolved that were often incompatible or not interoperable. With the proliferation of theInternetsince the early 1980s, however, the standardization efforts of Internet architects succeeded in promulgating a single standard based on theSimple Mail Transfer Protocol(SMTP), first published as Internet Standard 10 in 1982. Modern e-mail systems are based on astore-and-forwardmodel in which e-mail computer server systems, accept, forward, or store messages on behalf of users, who only connect to the e-mail infrastructure with their personal computer or other network-enabled device for the duration of message transmission or retrieval to or from their designated server;

• Reports, which are documents characterized by information or other content reflective of inquiry or investigation, which is tailored to the context of a given situation and audience. The purpose of reports is usually to inform. However, reports may include persuasive elements, such as recommendations, suggestions, or other motivating conclusions that indicate possible future actions the report reader might take. Reports can be public or private, and often address questions posed by individuals in government, business, education, and science. As for format, reports range from a simpler format with headings to indicate topics, to more complex formats including charts,tables,figures,pictures,tables of contents,abstracts,summaries,appendices,footnotes,hyperlinks, andreferences;

• Presentations, which are a very popular method of communication in all types of organizations, usually involving audiovisual material, like copies of reports, or material prepared inMicrosoft PowerPointor *Adobe Flash. Presentation is the process of showing and explaining the content of a topic to an audience. A presentation program, such asOpenOffice.org Impress,Apple KeynoteorMicrosoft PowerPoint, is often used to generate the presentation content.

• Video-conferences (also known as a video-teleconference) are a set of interactive telecommunicationtechnologieswhich allow two or more locations to interact via two-way video and audio transmissions simultaneously. It has also been called visual collaboration and is a type ofgroupware. It differs fromvideophonein that it is designed to serve a conference rather than individuals;

• Business correspondence is also referred to as an important part of communication. If you've been involved in any business even for the shortest time you have already realized that business correspondence is a huge part of it. No matter how high or low you are on the corporate ladder, you deal with all those letters,emails,faxes,memoson a daily basis.

Exercises

I. Match the words and word groups from the first column with their translation from the second column:

deal with encompass сustomer relations Web-based communication live meetings incompatible proliferation of the Internet store-and-forward model tailored to the context persuasive elements web-based application

Веб – приложение деловые встречи в режиме реального времени деловые записки иметь дело с модель промежуточной буферизации несовместимые охватывать распространение Интернета связи при помощи Интернета связи фирмы с отдельными клиентами элементы убеждения приспособленный к данному контексту

II. Fill in the following sentences with the correct form of the Participle. Before doing that, let us revise a simple rule:

The following two kinds of participles are especially important for Business English:

Participle	Example
Present Participle (Participle I) (-ing form)	a typing secretary a writing girl
Past Participle (Participle II) (the 3d form of the verb)	a typed letter a written letter

1. Thank you for your ………. offer. (interesting / interested)

2. We hereby send you the ……… contract. (signing / signed)

3. Thank you for your letter ………30 March 2005. (dating / dated)

4. …………….. please find our order. (enclosing / enclosed)

5. …………. responsible for the project, I put all my energy into it. (being / been)

6. Do you know the man ………. to Tom? (talking / talked)

7. We hereby return the ………. items. (damaging / damaged)

8. The goods were more expensive than ………. (expecting / expected)

9. ………….. up my desk, I found Mister Thompson's business card. (tidying / tidied)

10. ……………. abroad, she hardly ever sees her family. (working / worked)

III. Define the Present and Past Participles in the text below and translate it into Russian:

Observations at the Airport

On a recent airline flight I was an upset customer. I was arriving on a late inbound flight and connecting with the last flight out on the same airline, but the connecting flight left without me! At first, I was furious when told to wait in a line of 300 people to resolve my problem. But I used my time to “people watch”, and I made some valuable observations. I saw that the customers who approached one ticket agent with a smile, sense of humor or other positive behaviors were walking away in a positive state. The agent looked and sounded kinder and more empathetic when helping those folks. The customers who approached another agent with a visibly sour attitude seemed to evoke a negative response from the agent, and they walked away looking angry.

Both sets of people had similar intentions—to get their problem resolved. But the people who approached the agent angrily got a much less satisfying response. Whatever their intention, the message they sent evoked a negative response. I decided to emulate the other group of people, the ones who approached the agent with a smile and a positive attitude. The result—I walked away with a newly scheduled flight and some upgrades as the airline’s way of making amends. This illustrates a principle of *neuro-linguistics—The real meaning of a message is the response it triggers. Knowing this, you can control the experience your customers have when they come to you for service. They may choose to behave rudely, but don’t let it trigger a negative response in you, the way it did with the ticket agent I observed. Remember that dissatisfied customers all have the same goal in communicating with you—to get their problem resolved. The ones who are trying to achieve that goal by using rude behavior are going about it the wrong way, maybe because they mistakenly think it’s the best way to get results. Treat them in a pleasant, positive manner, and in most cases you’ll succeed in triggering a positive response from them. This is worth repeating: no matter how customers approach you about their need or problem they all want the same thing: to achieve customer satisfaction. Don’t take their negative behavior personally, because they’re not being rude for rudeness’ sake. As a person who works with customers, your behavior should be guided by a belief that you can leave the customer in a better state than when they approached you. You can do that by using a positive, upbeat manner and language to evoke a positive response in your customers.

IV. Answer the following questions:

1. What is the basic idea of the text?

2. Can the principle of service described in this story be applicable to any company`s practice?

3. Do you sometimes have to deal with “hard” customers? What kinds of efforts do you make so that they would leave your office quite satisfied?

Text B

Business Correspondence

In a letter, the emphasis is on a high quality appearance. Letters have to be typed or word-processed accurately on the company`s headed paper with a smart, clear lay-out. International mail tends to be slow and in some countries the post is unreliable. Important documents can be sent by registered mail – or they can be sent by courier. People have to write business letters on daily basis. There are numerous reasons to write a letter. Some of them are enumerated below. So, you may need to write a letter when:

• When you are looking for a job, and after finding a suitable job advertisement you apply to a company with a letter;

• When you confirm that the order has been received and that it will be executed in accordance with what was stipulated in the order;

• You want information from a company;

• If you pay by cheque, this kind of letter should accompany the cheque;

• You regret having given the buyer cause for complaint.

• When payments are outstanding;

• When you write a reply to an inquiry giving prices and other information that has been requested;

• When the goods are ready for dispatch, and you (as a seller) confirm this;

• The goods did not correspond the expected quality, they arrived too late or were damaged; etc.

According to the purpose of the letter there may be quite a number of different kinds of letters, specimen of some kinds will be presented further on to be translated and analyzed. The following kinds of business letters can be regarded as the main ones: letters of request, notification letters, memo letters, letters of advice, information letters, letters of complaint, letters of adjustment, letters of apology, covering letters, letters of confirmation, letters of guarantee, enquiry letters and replies to such letters (or letters-offers), letters-orders and letters acknowledging orders, letters of guarantee, advertising letters, etc.

E-mail (electronic mail) is a way of sending messages between computers. The message appears on the screen and can be printed out if necessary.

Internal mail within a company or between branches of the same firm is usually in the form of memos: these can be brief handwritten notes or longer, word-processed letters. Most firms use special memo pads for internal messages. A memo to a senior English-speaking member of staff may need as much care as a letter to a client. The style that is used depends on the practice within the company and on the relationship between the people involved.

Questions:

1. What is considered to be very important in a letter?

2. Is there only one kind of letters?

3. What are the reasons for you to write a business letter?

4. What kinds of letters can be regarded as the main ones?

5. In what form is internal mail within a company?

6. What does the style used in memos depend on?

Below there are several business letters for you to study and translate into Russian:

(1)

Application for an Advertised Post

Dear Sir,

I should like to be considered for the post of secretary in the sale department currently advertised in the Morning Mail.

I enclose a *CV which gives full details of my qualification and career.

For the last three years I have been in charge of secretarial duties at the Texas Oil corporation. During that time the department work force and productivity have increased. My responsibilities have included typing letters for sale managers, maintaining orderly film, helping the customers, printing new leaflets and price-lists, assisting the sales manager with trade shows and promotion activities.

I am familiar with your company from reading the business press, and should be grateful to discuss the post in person.

Yours faithfully,

G.Brooks

CV* - all words, word groups, abbreviations, etc. t indicated with the symbol (*) are included into the Reference Material of the manual, some others may be found in the English - Russian Dictionary.

(2)

Offer of Employment

Dear Mr G.Brooks,

We are glad to offer you the post of secretary in the sales department with effect from Monday 1 June.

The position is subject to a probation period of two months in which you will undergo two-week training followed by a trial period. Following the successful outcome of the probation period, you will be offered a permanent post.

During the first month you will be paid a weekly wage of ₤ 200. After the post is confirmed you will go on to a monthly salary of ₤1400.

We are looking forward to seeing you on Monday 1 June at 9a.m.

Yours faithfully, Personnel Manager

Peter Bright

(3)

A Settlement of Mutual Accounts

Dear Mr Rogers,

Re Your Account № 7125 – dated 20 May 2001

We were a little disturbed to receive the above account for goods delivered to us in April.

As we are sure you are aware, we always pay for our goods in cash, and on 24 April, when the goods in question were delivered, we gave the driver ₤944.00 in full payment. A photocopy of the receipt given to us by your driver, jack Briggs, is enclosed.

Would you please be kind enough to check your records and then confirm to us that our account is clear.

Yours sincerely

Jenny Bateman (Miss)

Partner

(4)

Changes in Employees` Salaries

Dear Colleagues,

As from 1 October 2007 the company is planning to increase your salary by 2% per annum. This increase is not as high as we would have hoped, but unfortunately it is all we can afford in these difficult trading times. We are trying to avoid any redundancies and a modest pay rise is the only option open to us.

We hope you will understand the current situation and that you will work with us to make the company as profitable as possible in the months to come.

Yours sincerely

Angle Young

Personnel Manager

(5)

Letters dealing with banking

Dear Sir,

We shall be opening a London branch of our business at premises which are being prepared for us at 982 Cheapside, London, E.C.J.

We wish to open a current account with you for the use of the manager of this branch. The manager`s name is Mr. George Edward Stevens, and he will be authorized to sign cheques on our behalf. These cheques will also carry the signature of the branch cashier, Mr. Edmund Burke.

Will you please make an appointment for these gentlemen to visit the bank in order to complete the necessary formalities and provide specimen of their signatures? This appointment can be made directly with Mr. Stevens, who is already at the Cheapside address.

We refer you to the British Clydeside Bank, Glasgow, who will be pleased to answer any enquiries you wish to make. We take it that you will not require any further references. As soon as we hear from you we intend to open the account with a cash deposit of ₤ 5000.

Your faithfully,

G.W.Wilson,

Managing Director

(6)

Letters asking for insurance quotation

Dear Sirs,

We are in the process of purchasing some premises on the Rowbottom Trading estate for use as a light engineering works. The purchase will be completed on the 20^th next month and we wish to arrange for the necessary insurance covers to be operating from that date.

Will you therefore please send us insurance quotations for the following :

Risk Amount of insurance Premises or property

Fire ₤50,000 Factory including office building

“ ₤75,000 Factory contents including machinery

“ ₤6,000 Garage (separate building)

“ ₤4,000 Garage (contents)

Burglary ₤10,000 Factory stores

We also require insurance cover against loss of profits resulting from fire, for the sum of ₤25,000.

The premises are situated at the corner of Wellby and Tyrone avenues and were previously occupied by Windflow, *Ltd.

We shall be glad if you will let us have the quotation within the next seven days.

Yours faithfully,

Ted Simpson,

Managing Director

(7)