Talking about trends (Past Simple and Present Perfect)

We use the past simple to talk about a movement or trend which happened in the past and is now finished.

Signal words for the past simple are last month / year, in January, from 1997 - 2001, during the oil crisis, etc.

In April the rate of unemployment rose to 5 million.

Between May and July our export business almost doubled.

In 2003 alone China’s car production increased by 85%.

We use the present perfect to talk about a movement or trend which started in the past but is not yet finished.

Signal words are since (since August), for (for five years), this month / year or expressions with over (over the past six months).

The number of German investors has declined since 1998. (it is still declining). The US economy has grown rapidly over the past four months. (it is still growing).

Note the difference between rise and raise.

to rise (without an object)

Petrol prices rose again in May.

The number of tourists has risen to 2.6 million.

to raise sth (with an object)

The oil industry raised prices last year.

The European Central Bank has raised interest rates.

Using your voice effectively

How you say something is often just as important as what you say. You can use your voice and the way you stress words or make pauses in sentences to make your presentation more interesting and easier for the audience to follow.

Stressing words

By emphasizing particular words or parts of words you create certain effects. Notice how you can change the meaning of a sentence by putting the stress on a different word.

We all know that this is an extremely difficult market. (it’s more than just difficult).

We all know that this is an extremely difficult market. (you and I agree on this).

We all know that this is an extremely difficult market. (but they don’t).

Making pauses

You can use pauses to slow your pace down and make your sentences easier to understand. Group words into phrases according to their meaning and make pauses between the phrases.

In my opinion we should go into other markets.

In my opinion // we should go // into other markets.

On the other hand, the figures prove that we are on the right track.

On the other hand, // the figures prove // that we are on the right track.

Dealing with questions

Asking for clarification. If you do not understand the question, politely ask the person to repeat or explain it.

I’m sorry. Could you repeat your question, please?

I’m afraid I didn’t quite catch that.

I’m afraid I don’t quite understand your question.

Avoiding giving an answer. Sometimes you may not want to answer a question, perhaps because it’s the wrong time for it or the question is irrelevant. When avoiding giving an answer, make sure that your tone of voice is friendly and your reply is polite.

If you don’t mind, I’d prefer not to discuss that today.

Perhaps we could deal with this after the presentation/at some other time.

I’m afraid that’s not really what we’re here to discuss today.

Admitting you don’t know the answer. If you don’t know the answer to a question, be honest and say so. Offer to find out or name a person who can answer the question.

Sorry, that’s not my field. But I’m sure Peter Bott from Sales could answer your question.

I’m afraid I don’t know the answer to your question, but I’ll try to find out for you.

I’m afraid I’m not in a position to answer that. Perhaps Maria could help.

Conclusion

Indicating the end of your talk

I’m now approaching/nearing the end of my presentation.

Well, this brings me to the end of my presentation.

That covers just about everything I wanted to say about…

OK, I think that’s everything I wanted to say about…

As a final point, I’d like to…

Finally, I’d like to highlight one key issue.

Summarizing points

Before I stop, let me go over the key issues again.

Just to summarize the main points of my talk…

I’d like to run through my main points again…

To conclude / In conclusion, I’d like to…

To sum up (then), we…

Making recommendations

We’d suggest…

We therefore (strongly) recommend that…

In my opinion, we should…

Based on the figures we have, I’m quite certain that…

Inviting questions

Are there any questions?

We just have time for a few questions.

And now I’ll be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Practice Drills

1. What is an easy way to organize any presentation, oral or written?

2. Give an example of how you could open an oral presentation.

3. How might you close a presentation?

4. Give an expression of contrast.

5. Give a short presentation related to your own business, using the guidelines in this chapter.

6. Give two connectors used for comparison.

7. What expression could you use to emphasize something?

8. In the narrative «The Power of Language», does the author conclude with a summary an opinion, or a new idea?

9. In «Culture Shock», describe the organization of ideas.