Masters_part_1_2013

Unit 6

4.…. The first stage of your presentation is when you should get the full attention of your audience.

5.…. If you memorize the introduction, you will be more confident when making a presentation.

6.…. The whole text of your presentation should be written on postcards.

7.…. If you use an overhead projector, you should remember to turn it off when you don’t need it.

8.…. Remember that the content of the presentation is much more important than your presenting style.

The key is preparation. So the first step is to find out who you’re going to be presenting to. Now you need to do this on two levels. Firstly, how much does the audience know about the subject? Are they experts or do they know very little? Secondly, are you presenting to a group from the same or from different countries? And adjust your language so that everybody can understand. If possible visit the room where you’ll be giving the presentation beforehand and organize it precisely to your own requirements. Check you are familiar with the equipment, re-arrange the seating and try to make yourself feel comfortable and relaxed in it.

So, once you know who you’re presenting to and where, you’re ready to start preparing what exactly you’re going to say.

So, stage one is the opening – that all-important first few moments that can make or break the presentation. Then stage two, a brief introduction about the subject of your talk. Then three, the main body of the presentation. And four, the conclusion, which should include a summary of your talk and your final opinion or recommendations. Finally, the question and answer session.

Now the most important stage is the opening minute or so and I’d suggest that people memorize it exactly as if they were actors. Write down the opening with all the pauses and the stress clearly marked, and then record it, listen to it, and practise it again and again. This is so important because if it’s properly done, you not only get the audience’s attention immediately, but you feel confident during what can be the most frightening part of the presentation.

After that, you can start using your notes. So the first step is to write those notes. Write the whole presentation out just like an essay. Then select the key points. But read the full version over and over again until it’s imprinted in your mind. The next step is to buy some small white postcards and write no more than one or two of the key points or key phrases onto each one.

Some visual aids, like overhead transparencies, are very important of course. But most people put far too much information on them. Don’t – because it’s difficult to read and it bores the audience. Limit yourself to a maximum of five points on each.

Remember to turn off the projective when you’re not actually using it. And don’t talk to the machine or the transparency, which again lots of people do. Face the audience at all times. Finally, remember that it’s not just what you say. How you say it is just as important. Quite unlike meetings and negotiations, a good presentation is very much a performance.

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VOCABULARY

Ex.1. Translate the following word combinations into the Russian language.

1.to know the audience

2.to adjust the language

3.to give the presentation

4.to visit the room beforehand

5.to organize the room to your own requirements

6.to be familiar with the equipment

7.make yourself feel comfortable

8.all-important first few moments

9.the question and answer session

10.to include a summary of your talk

11 the main body of the presentation

12.the opening minute or so

13.to talk to the machine

14.unlike meetings and negotiations

15.to get the audience’s attention

Ex. 2. Use your English-English dictionary to find out the different meanings of the

verbs below.
make	get	talk	turn

Ex.3. Form nouns from the following words:

1. meet – …………………………	6. confident –…………………..…
2. present –………………….......	7. recommend –……………….…..
3. prepare – ……………………..	8. perform –………………………..
4. conclude –………………........	9. equip –……………………….….
5. negotiate – …………………….	10. important –…………………..….

WRITING.

Ex.4. The editor of your Russian company’s in-house magazine has asked you to write an article about a good presentation. Include information from the text given above.

DISCUSSION.

Ex.5. Comment on the following statements. In your opinion are they:

a) essential	b) helpful	c) unhelpful for a successful presentation?
1. Tell a joke at the beginning.		…….
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2.	Speak more slowly than you normally do.	…….
3.	Smile a lot.	……
4.	Involve the audience.	…….
5.	Invite questions during the presentation.	…….
6.	Always keep to your plan.	…….
7.	Move around during your presentation.	…....
8.	Use a lot of gestures to emphasize important points.	…….
9.	Read out your presentation from a script.	…….
10. Stand up when giving your presentation.		…….

8.Read the following presentation given to a company’s sales team and define the main topic of the presentation.

Good morning everyone, thank you for coming to my presentation. I know you’re all very busy, so I’ll be as brief as possible. OK then, I’m going to talk about the new chocolate bar we are putting on the market, the St Tropez premium bar. I’ll tell you about the last launch we carried out in the south west of England a few weeks ago. My presentation is divided into three parts. First I’ll give you some background about the launch. After that, I’ll tell you how we got on and assess its effectiveness.

Finally, I’ll outline our future plans for the product. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask.

Right, let’s start with the background to the launch. As you know, St Tropez is a mint and nut bar with a distinctive taste. It’s been thoroughly tested in focus groups and special attention was paid to packaging. It’s wrapped in a metallic foil. The colours are rich, strong, to give high visual impact. So, that’s the background. Right, let’s now move on to the test launch. How successful was it? Well, in two words, very successful. If you look at the graph, you’ll see the bar’s actual sales compared with forecast sales. Quite a difference isn’t there? The sales were over 20% higher than we predicted. In other words a really good result. Well above our expectations. The sales show that the pricing of the product was correct. And they show that as a premium line, the St Tropez bar should be successful nationwide. To sum up, a very promising test launch. I believe the bar has great potential in the market.

Right, where do we go from here? Obviously, we’ll move on to stage two and have a national advertising and marketing campaign. In a few months, you’ll be visiting our sales outlets and taking orders, I hope, for the new product. Thanks very much. Any questions?

Ex.6. Read the text again and answer the questions below:

1.What is the name of the product?

2.How many parts of the presentation are there in the presentation?

3.What are these parts?

4.Where did the company carry out their test launch?

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5.Was the test launch successful? How successful was it?

6.What can you tell us about the package and the colours of the product?

7.What are the company’s plans for future?

8.How can you explain the company’ success?

USEFUL LANGUAGE FOR STARTING A PRESENTATION

Introducing yourself	Good morning everyone.
	Let me introduce myself.
	My name is …
	I am a specialist in …
Referring to visuals	If you look at the graph….
	Could I draw your attention to the chart.
	If you take a look at the first year, you’ll see….
Structuring the presentation	I’m going to divide my talk into four parts.
	First I’ll give you….
	after that…. ;
	finally…..
Changing the topic	Right, let’s now move on to …
	OK, I’ll now look at …
Referring to the audience’s	As you know…
knowledge	As you are aware…
Inviting questions	If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask.
	I’ll be glad to answer any questions (at the end of
	my talk).
Concluding	To sum up….
	So, to summarize…
Giving background information	I’ll give you some background information.
	Let’s start with the background.
Ending	Thanks very much. Any questions?
	Well, that’s all I have to say.
	Thank you for listening.

Task 1. In any presentation the beginning is crucial. Some things are essential in an introduction and others are useful. Here is a list of what could be included in an introduction. Mark them according to how necessary they are using the following scale:

Essential		Useful		Not necessary
1	2	3	4	5

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Subject / title of talk	………
Introduction to oneself, job title etc.	………
Reference to questions and / or discussion.	………
Reference to the program of the day.	……….
Reference to how long you are going to speak for.	……….
Reference to the visual aids you plan to use.	……….
The scope of your talk: what is and is not included.	………
An outline of the structure of your talk.	……….

Task 2. Read the beginning of a presentation on the marketing plans for a new telecommunications system produced by Telco. Answer the questions:

1.Is it a good introduction?

2.Why? Why not?

3.Is it possible to identify the structure of the talk?

Speaker: Thank you for coming today. As you know, I want to talk about the marketing plans. Brand identity is a key issue and what is means is how we are seen by our customers and how our products are recognized and what our consumers think of us as a company. And I should also say, what they think of our products and the name …….. what Telco means for them. And advertising is part of it of cause, though not something I am going to talk about now except to say that as for brand image, it’s important in that area too, advertising that is.

Task 3. Read a second example of an introduction to a presentation. This one is about plans to develop a new production plant in Taiwan. As you read think about these points:

a)Is it a good introduction?

b)Why? Why not?

c)What is the structure of the talk?

Speaker: Okay, thanks. I’m here to talk about the design proposals for the production plant at Taipei. My talk will be in three parts followed by a 30-minute discussion. I’m going to start with the background to each proposal – something about our negotiations with the Taiwanese government – then in the second part I’ll go over the main characteristics of each proposal, Proposal One and Proposal Two. Then in the third part I’ll highlight some key considerations we have to bear in mind. Finally, I’ll end with an invitation to ask questions or make any comments you like. We’ll discuss matters arising from the talk. Okay? So to begin with, a few words on the history.

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Task 6. Work in pairs. Each of you should suggest a possible phrase of the cues below.

a)Greet your audience.

b)Introduce yourself.

c)Give the title of your talk.

d)Describe the structure of your talk.

e)Explain that the audience can interrupt you.

f)Say something about the length of your talk.

g)Say a colleague will be showing a video later.

Task 7. Read a model introduction based on suitable phrases for (a) – (g).

Speaker. (a) Good afternoon.

(b) My name’s Arnold Layton. I’m a (geophysics) for (ELF Aquitaine) with special responsibility for (analyzing new fields in the North Sea). (c) I’m going to talk about (some recent research into new methods of detecting oil in shallow waters.)

(d) I’ve divided my talk into three parts First, (research that we have done.) Then, (I’ll report on some published research from other companies), and finally (I’ll talk about what this may mean for our exploration activities).

(e)Please interrupt if at any time you have any questions or something is not clear.

(f)My talk will last about half an hour.

(g)Later my colleague will be showing a video on ….

OPTIONAL

PRACTICE 1. WRITING.

Use the outline below to prepare a brief introduction to a talk on safety for a manufacturing company.

NEW SAFETY CONDITIONS FOR PRODUCTION STAFF

1.Protective clothing.

2.Training in accident prevention.

3.Changes to working practices.

4.Questions/discussion

PRACTICE 2.

Give a one minute introduction only to a talk on any topic you like. If you cannot think of a topic, choose from the list below.

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your hometown				tourism
your favorite sport				eating out
your very first job				characteristics you need to find a good job
LANGUAGE CHECKLIST
Greeting.		Good morning/ afternoon ladies and gentlemen.
Subject.		I plan to say a few words about…
		I’m going to talk about…
		The subject of my talk is …
		The theme of my presentation is …
		I’d like to give you an overview of…
Structure		I’ve divided my talk into (three) parts.
		My talk will be in (three) parts.
		I’m going to divide …
		First…
		Second…
		Third…
		In the first part…
		Then in the second part…
		Finally…
Length		My talk will take about ten minutes.
		The presentation will take about one hour but there’ll be a
		twenty minute break in the middle. We’ll stop for lunch at
		12 o’clock.
Policy on		Please interrupt if you have any questions.
questions/discussion		After my talk there’ll be time for a discussion and any
		questions.
SKILLS CHECKLIST
Audience				– expectations
				– technical knowledge
				– size
				– questions and/or discussion
Speaker’s competence				– knowledge
				– presentation technique
Content				– what to include
				– length/depth (technical details)
				– number of key ideas
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Structure		– sequence	– beginning
			– middle
			– end
		– repetition, summarizing
Delivery		– style	– formal/informal
			– enthusiasm/confidence
		– voice	– variety/speed
			– pauses
		– body language	– eye contact
			– gesture/movement
			– posture
Visual aids		– type/design/clarity
		– relevance
Practice		– tape recorder
		– script or notes
Room		– size/seating
		– equipment (does it work?)
		– sound quality
Language		– simple/clear
		– spelling
		– sentence length
		– structure signals
	USING VISUAL AIDS. GENERAL PRINCIPLES

1.Here is a list of visual aids that are usually used in presentations. Read the words or word combinations included in the list and give the Russian translation.

	Visual
	film/video
	picture/diagram
	pie chart	Segment
Types of visual support	chart/table	row/column
	graph/bar graph/line graph	x axis or horizontal axis
		y axis or vertical axis
	lines (in a line graph)	solid line
		dotted line
		broken line
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	(slide) projector	diapositives (Am. Eng.)
		slides (Br. Eng.)
	computer tools	Laptop
		data projector
		Monitor
Equipment		PowerPoint
		Modem
		Internet download
	overhead projector (OHP)	Slide (Am. Eng.)
		transparency (Br. Eng.)
	flip chart
	Whiteboard

2.Mark these presentation tools “Essential” (E) or “Non-essential” (N) to a good presentation. Explain your choice.

a laptop	…….
a video projector	…….
a DVD player and TV	…….
a laser pointer	…….
a flip chart and pens	…….
a blackboard and chalk	…….
an overhead projector	…….
a set of handouts	…….
presentation software	…….

3. Discuss these statements:

Don’t put too much data on slides: no more than six lines of text, and no more than six words per line.

Too many visuals confuse the audience: don’t overload them with slides.

Don’t be too technical: adapt to the target audience, and don’t read out text on slides.

Help the audience to understand by introducing, highlighting and explaining the most important information.

Check all materials and equipment, and have backups for everything.

4.Read the text below and find:

a)eight advantages of using visual aids;

b)three warnings about using visual aids.

Dinckel and Parnham (1985) say that “The great danger (in using visual aids) is that presenters place the major emphasis on visual aid and relegate themselves to the minor role of narrator or technician. You are central to the presentation. The visual

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aids need you, your interpretation, your explanation, your conviction and your justification.

Visual aids can make information more memorable and they help the speaker. However, they must literally support what the speaker says and not simply replace the spoken information. It is also not enough to just read text from a visual aid.

There are many advantages to the correct use of visual aids. They can show information which is not easily expressed in words or they can highlight information. They cause the audience to employ another sense to receive information, they bring variety and therefore increase the audience’s attention. They save time and they clarify complex information.

VOCABULARY

Task 1. Find the meanings for the following listed words in your English-English dictionary (translation is possible)

	Word	Meaning	Translation
1.	pie chart
2.	map
3.	bar graph
4.	table
5.	diagram
6.	picture
7.	line graph
8.	flow chart
9.	plan

Task 2. Look at the following words. Read and translate them into Russian, then draw a picture to each word to show you understand the meaning of the words given

dotted line		curve		fluctuating line			vertical axis		broken line
	undulating line		horizontal axis			solid line

SELS – STUDY PAGE. (for doing at home, in writing)

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