- •Public speaking
- •1. Imagine that you are starting a presentation. What phrases might you use? Write down five of them.
- •2. Listen to two people and hear two ways of opening presentations. While listening, see if you can hear some of the phrases above.
- •3. Check your understanding by reading the scripts below:
- •4. Finish the following sentences with the correct phrase.
- •Imagine you are giving a presentation and using some visual aids. What phrases might you use to draw your audience’s attention to these slides? Write down five of them.
- •6. Now listen to two examples of people giving presentations. As you listen, see if you can hear some of the phrases above.
- •7. Check your understanding by reading the scripts below:
- •8. Finish the following sentences by choosing the correct words and writing them into the blanks.
- •9. Listen to someone asking if there are any questions. As you listen, try to hear some of the phrases above.
- •10. Check your understanding by reading the script below:
- •11. Finish the following sentences with the correct phrase.
- •12. Think about the presentations that you have been to. What were the characteristics of the good ones? Write down five of them.
- •13. As you listen, see if you can hear some of the tips above.
- •14. Check your understanding by reading the script below:
- •15. Finish the following sentences with the correct phrase.
- •16. Read the following article and say what new you’ve learnt.
- •17. Imagine that you are making a presentation to a large group of people working in your industry.
- •18. Look through the following articles and speak on the topic “Public speaking” Public Speaking in English: Presentations
- •Mastering The Art Of Public Speaking
- •Improving Public Speaking Skills:
18. Look through the following articles and speak on the topic “Public speaking” Public Speaking in English: Presentations
People speak in public for many reasons. One of the most common forms of public speaking is the 'Presentation'. In a presentation, we 'present' or introduce something (a product, an idea, financial results, a project etc.) to the audience. We give a presentation because we want to 'communicate' something. Generally, we want to do one of four things:
to inform
to train
to persuade
to sell
A presentation is one of the best ways of communicating our message. And because English is so widely used in international business, knowledge of the vocabulary and techniques used in an English language presentation is very useful.
1) Preparation
Good preparation is essential for any presentation. With good preparation and planning we will be fully confident. Our audience will feel our confidence. And so our audience will be confident in us. This will give us control. With control, we will be 'in charge' and our audience will listen positively to our message.
2) Structure
A good presentation has a clear structure, like a good book or film. A good presentation has:
a beginning (introduction & preview)
a middle (main message)
an end (review & conclusion)
3) Equipment
We may have any of the following pieces of equipment at our disposal:
whiteboard
flip chart
overhead projector
slide projector
computer graphics
Each of these has advantages and disadvantages. The important thing is to be the master of our equipment, not the slave. We should know and understand our equipment perfectly.
4) Visual Aids
"A picture is worth 1,000 words."
There are many types of visual aids - photographs, graphs, pie charts, maps, tables, real samples etc. But we should use visual aids with care. We shouldn’t overload our audience with too much information in a short time. A good rule is: use one image to give one message.
5) Signposting
When we read a book, we know where we are. We know the title of the book, the subject, the chapter, the end of one chapter and beginning of another, the section and even the page number. But when we give a presentation, our audience does not know where they are - unless we TELL them! We can use special language called 'signalling' or 'signposting' that helps our audience know where they are. Here are a few examples:
Let's begin by...
That's all I have to say about...
Now we'll move on to...
Let's consider this in more detail...
I'd like to deal with this question later, if I may...
I'd like now to recap...
To start with...later...to finish up...
6) Audience Rapport
We need a warm and friendly relationship with our audience. Enthusiasm is contagious. If we are enthusiastic, our audience will be enthusiastic too. We should try to make eye contact with each member of our audience. Each person should feel that we are speaking to him or her personally.
7) Body Language
Our body is speaking to our audience even before we start speaking. Our clothes, our walk, our glasses, our haircut, our expression: it is from these that our listeners form their first impression as we enter the room.