Unit 1   ACADEMIC PRESENTATION

I. INTRODUCTION


The introduction is a very important - perhaps the most important - part of your presentation. This
is the first impression that your audience have of you. You should concentrate on getting your
introduction right.

It usually consists of:

1. GREETING

2. INTRODUCING ONE´S NAME AND    POSITIONS

3. TOPIC / TITLE / SUBJECT

4. PURPOSE

5. TIME

6. OUTLINE

7. VISUAL AIDS

8. QUESTIONS


Complete this introduction with words from the list.


questions         talk about        look at         points of view    thank you

go along          hear                 brief                finally


Good morning and ___________ for being here today. My name’s Rebeca Pomponio and I’m responsible
for student language programmes. What I’d like to do today is _______ the new system of languages
taught at this university. I´m going to be _____________, about ten minutes, not more. I’m going to
____________ the language programmes from three _________: firstly, what languages we offer;
secondly, the system of courses; and _____________, the exam requirements. I will also show you a
few bits from the videoconference we had three days ago. If you have any ___________, just
interrupt me as I ____________ . Your point of view may well be different, and we’d like to
___________ from you.


II. MAIN BODY

The body is the 'real' presentation. If the introduction was well prepared and delivered, you will
now be 'in control'. You will be relaxed and confident.

The body should be well structured, divided up logically, with plenty of carefully spaced visuals.

Remember these key points while delivering the body of your presentation – are they DOs or DONTs?

  * hurry
  * be enthusiastic
  * give time on visuals
  * use plenty of special effects in visuals
  * maintain eye contact
  * modulate your voice
  * keep to your structure
  * read from your notes
  * remain polite when dealing with difficult questions

STYLE

Academic speaking is similar in many ways to academic writing, however, it is less complex and
objective than written language. Spoken language has shorter words, less grammatical complexity, it
is lexically less dense and it has a less varied vocabulary. Spoken language is different from
written language for many reasons. One important reason is that it usually has to be understood
immediately whereas written language can be read many times.


III. CONCLUSION

The ending, similarly to the opening, is the vital element of an oral academic presentation. It
helps create the final impression on what you have been talking about and it is also the part most
likely to be remembered by the audience. The final section should reinforce and re-emphasize the
main points of your speech or highlight the importance of specific ideas you have presented. Such a
summary will be followed by a conclusion, which is an original idea drawn from effective arguments.

Use the conclusion to:  1. Sum up   2. Conclude     3. Thank your audience    4. Invite questions

Make full sentences by matching the correct halves.

a) Before we come to an end,             1. there are two key theories.

b) I’d be glad to answer                      2. we start the discussion now.

c) To summarize,                    3. by quoting a well-known saying.

d) We can conclude                4. we should try the second method.

e) In my opinion,                    5. your questions now.

f) I’d like to suggest                6. I’d like to thank you for your attention.


(Adapted from Effective Public Speaking – CJVA1S)


Useful phrases

1. Introducing the topic

This morning I'm going to... (talk about...) Today I'd like to... (describe...)

The aim of my presentation this morning is to... (explain...)

I've divided my presentation into... /My talk will be in...(three parts).

First, I'd like to... (give you an overview of...)

Second, I'll move on to.../then I'll focus on...

After that we'll deal with.../Finally, we'll consider...

2. Referring to questions

Feel free to/Do interrupt me if there's anything you don't understand.

If you don't mind, we'll leave questions till the end.

3. Introducing each section

So, let's start with... (the objectives...) /   Now let's move on to... (the next part...)

Let's turn our attention to... (the question of) /  This leads me to... (my third point...)

Finally,... (let's consider...)

4. Summarizing a section

That completes my... (description of),/ So, to summarize,... (there are five key points...)'

5. Referring

I mentioned earlier... (the importance of...)/  I'll say more about this later./ We'll come back to
this point later.

6. Checking understanding

Is that clear?/Are there any questions?

7. Referring to visual information

This transparency/diagram shows...   If you look at this graph you can see.../What is interesting
in this   slide is...    I'd like to draw your attention to... (this chart...)

8. Referring to common knowledge

As you know.../As I'm sure you are aware...

9. Concluding

That concludes my talk./ That brings me to the end of my presentation.

If you have any questions, I'd be pleased/I'll do my best to answer them. / Thank you for your
attention.

          10. Dealing with questions

That's a good point./I'm glad you asked that question. /I'm afraid I don't have the information at
present.