Moving through your presentation
1. Discuss the questions.
• What makes a presentation successful?
• How can you achieve flow during your presentations?
• Do you go off topic while presenting something?
• How do you signpost what is going to happen in a presentation?
2. Look at the words related to presentation and match them to their meanings.
a) deviate
b) recap
c) takeaway
d) scope
e) breakdown
f) outline
MEANINGS:
1) description of something without details
2) the act of repeating the main points
3) start talking about something irrelevant to the topic
4) the range of the topic covered in the presentation
5) the main idea of the presentation
6) a division of information into parts so that you can see all details
3. Read some excerpts from a presentation and decide which words from ex. 2
they are examples of.
a) “We are going to cover some areas where blockchain can empower women:
from owning property to doing business internationally.”
b) “I’ve divided my presentation into three main parts: we’ll start with defining what
blockchain actually is. Then, we’ll talk about all the opportunities it gives to
women. Finally, we’ll look at some real-life examples.”
c) “Let me go over the crucial points one more time. Many women don’t have IDs,
let alone bank accounts. Therefore, they are extremely limited in who they can
work for.”
Moving through your presentation
d) “To explain this more clearly, I’m going to break this data down into the
following categories: data showing the financial status of women in these areas
before this application was introduced, the numbers that we received after the
first year and the current numbers.”
e) “Women can make P2P transactions and it will allow them to receive money
without a bank as an intermediary. Speaking of banks, in some places it’s not
even an option as banks are located far from residential areas and the absence
of the infrastructure makes it hard or even impossible to get there. Moreover,
public transport might be quite dangerous for women. Sorry, I got a bit off topic.
Back to the main point…”
f) “Basically, the main idea of my talk is to show the empowering force that
blockchain is and to emphasize the need to educate women on how to use it.”
4. Discuss the statements. Say whether you agree or disagree and explain why.
• Any deviation from the topic is bad for the presentation flow.
• It is important to present the outline as it tells people what to expect and builds
interest.
• There’s no need to recap every point before moving to the next one if you see
that people are following.
• People should be able to understand the takeaway of your presentation without
you emphasizing it.
5. Complete the phrases with one word. Sometimes two options are possible.
a) My goal is to give you a full breakdown ………. the statistics in this area.
b) ………. a nutshell, this idea is worth a shot.
c) So, I’ll begin by filling you ………. on the background to the story.
d) Let me start ………. saying just a few words about my own background.
e) And then, I’ll go ………. to highlight what I see as the main points of this topic.
f) Let me expand ………. this point.
g) The purpose is to bring you up to date ………. the main tendencies.
h) Well, this brings me ………. the end of my presentation.
Moving through your presentation
Copyrights by ESL Brains
i) Let me just run ………. the main takeaway again.
j) Since we are pushed ………. time, let’s move ………. to the results.
k) Let’s kick ………. by discussing the influence of this trend.
l) Sorry, I got carried ………. a little.
m) This ties ………. with our next slide.
6. Look at the phrases from ex. 5 and match them to their functions. Some
functions may match more than one phrase.
What phrase might you use if you need to…?
• introduce yourself
• state your purpose
• present the outline
• start
• make a connection
• elaborate an idea
• move to the next point
• go back after you deviate from the topic
• do a recap
• summarize
• indicate the end of the presentation
7. Read the sentences and rephrase the underlined parts using the phrases
from ex. 5.
a) I’d like to start by telling you about our approach.
……………………………………………………………………………………………
b) My main goal is to give you the recent news regarding the application of
blockchain in healthcare.
……………………………………………………………………………………………
c) Before we finish, I’d like to mention the key points again.
……………………………………………………………………………………………
d) To sum up, I believe this service is going to hit a home run among youth.
……………………………………………………………………………………………
Moving through your presentation
Copyrights by ESL Brains
e) Well, this is the end of my presentation.
……………………………………………………………………………………………
f) Before we move on to the main topic, I’d like to give you some background to
it.
……………………………………………………………………………………………
g) At first, I’d like to say a couple of words about our company.
……………………………………………………………………………………………
h) Sorry, I got distracted a bit. It’s outside the scope of my presentation.
……………………………………………………………………………………………
i) This graph represents the analysis of all the costs.
……………………………………………………………………………………………
j) This is the issue I’d like to talk more about.
……………………………………………………………………………………………
k) This point relates to what I’m going to say next.
……………………………………………………………………………………………
8. Prepare a part of a presentation according to the task you receive. Be as
creative as possible but make sure to use the relevant phrases from ex. 5.
9. Look at the ways to start a presentation effectively. Discuss what each of
them means.
• a problem
• amazing facts
• a story
10.Look at the phrases below and match them to the techniques in ex. 9.
a) Have you ever wondered why it is that...?
b) You may have heard about...
c) According to a new study...
d) I read somewhere the other day that...
e) Have you ever been in a situation where...? I remember when...
f) How many of you have ever...? Do you think it’s possible?
g) Did you know that...?
Moving through your presentation
Copyrights by ESL Brains
11.Work in groups. Think of an effective start for each situation.
a) a smart watch presentation
b) a sales pitch for a time-management app
c) the annual report of the company that manufactures ergonomic chairs
d) an elevator pitch at a tech conference (you would like to present your pet
project related to home security)
e) a motivational talk about developing good habits
f) presenting a new email service to the team