1 "The more you say, the less people will remember."
– Anatole France,
French novelist (1844-1924)
2 "It is easier to do the job right than to explain
why you
didn't." – Martin Van Buren, 8th American president (1837-1841)
3 "Failing to plan means planning to fail." – Brian Tracy, contemporary
American management writer
4 "Judge each day not by the harvest you reap, but
by the seeds
you
plant." – Robert Louis Stevenson, Scottish novelist (1850-1894)
5 "If you can't serve as a good example, you'll just
have to
serve as a
horrible warning." – Catherine Aird, English writer (1930- )
Task 1 Try to answer these multiple choice questions.
1. What is the main type of presentation found at
international
academic conferences?
2. When is the best time to ask questions during a
presentation?
3. What is the purpose of the main body of a
presentation?
d. t. m. i. & s. s. o. t. p. = develop the main ideas and
supporting sub-ideas of the presentation
4. When should a presenter conduct an audience
analysis?
5. Which of the following sentences would be used in
the
conclusion of
a presentation?
“I’d like to…” = “I’d like to introduce myself. My name is …” 6. When making a presentation, the speaker should
look at:
7. An introduction should:
8. In presentations, visuals are used to:
Task 2 Complete these sentences by choosing the correct verb.
1. I’d like to
you of the latest news.
2. Could you
up? We can’t hear you at the back.
3. I’ll have to
the place as I don’t have any
photos with me.
4. He’s going to
the latest results.
5. Let me
why we need to cut costs.
6. We’ll have time to
about this over lunch.
7. I couldn’t
how long it will take.
8. We will
you when the project comes to an
end.
Listen to the second part and tick the sections that are
referred to.
Part 2 – Language – “Sign Posting”
Giving Talks and Presentations 1 Introducing
Good morning, my name is … I’m a … (student … ) at … (Masaryk
University)
This morning I’m going to … (talk
about …)
Today I’d like to … (describe …)
The focus / topic / subject of my talk / paper (academic) is …
The aim of my presentation this morning is to … (explain …)
I’ve divided my presentation into …
We can break this area down into the following fields (academic)
My talk will be in … (three parts.)
First, I’d like to … (give you an
overview of …)
Second, focus on …
Then, I’ll move on to …
After that, deal with …
Finally, we’ll consider … 2 Referring to questions
Feel free to interrupt me if there’s anything … you don’t
understand / you need clarifying.
If you don’t mind, we’ll leave questions till the end. 3 Introducing each section
So, let’s start with … (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
Let me just run over the key points again.
I’ll briefly summarise the main issues
That completes my … (description of …)
To sum up …
So, to summarize … (There are five key points …) 5 Referring backwards and forwards
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
transparency
This diagram shows …
screen
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’re aware … 9 Concluding / justification
As you can see, there are some very good reasons …
I’d like to leave you with the following thought / idea …
In conclusion …
I hope you’ve gained an insight into … 10 Inviting questions and dealing with questions
If you have any questions … I’d be pleased / I’ll do my best … to
answer them.
I would welcome any comments or suggestions.
That’s a good point.
I’m glad you asked that question.
Can I get back to you on that later? I’m afraid I don’t have … (the
information at present).
I’m afraid I’m not the right person to answer that. 11 Closing
That concludes my talk.
That brings me to the end of my presentation.
That completes my presentation.
Thank you for … your attention / listening.
Listen to the last part and complete the key points.
Part 3 – Delivery – key points
1 Nerves
2
3
4
5
OPENING (Introduction & Outline11)
The introduction and outline must be designed to gain the interest of
the audience. If they are poorly prepared, the audience may lose
interest. A well planned introduction will “…set an objective framework
in which the audience will accept the information as accurate and as
significant.” (Laster & Pickett 1996:442)
Task 4 Which of the items on the checklist below would you
include in an
introduction to:
a) an internal presentation to colleagues?
b) an external presentation to a public audience?
c) both of the above
d) neither of the above
CHECKLIST:
The main parts or points you will cover
Any visuals you will use
Your name and position
The length of time you will take
The purpose of your presentation
When the audience may ask questions
The title/subject of your presentation
Task 5 Look at this introduction to a presentation. Some of the
words and
phrases are not formal enough for this type of presentation. Underline
the informal language.
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for coming. Today you’ll
find things out about the structure and running of Masaryk University.
I’ve broken up my presentation into a few bits: to kick off we’ll deal
with the various schools and faculties, then we’ll take a look at the
different courses and stuff like that, and lastly we’ll look at the
day-to-day running of the whole place. You’ll get a chance to ask
questions and discuss issues at the end of my talk, but shout out if
there’s anything you don’t get.
Can you think of a more suitable word or phrase to
replace the
informal
language?
VISUALS AND AIDS
Task 6 Choose the best answer.
1. Using overhead transparencies is a good practice, because
.
a) it reduces the time required to prepare for the
lecture
b) they are good substitutions of handouts
c) it enhances the lecture and helps the audience
to understand
2. In a presentation, the main purpose of music or audio is to
.
a) distract the audience
b) help the audience to focus
c) wake the audience up
d) provide an extra dimension of information
3. Optimally, the showing of special objects during a presentation
.
a) distracts the audience from what is being said
b) helps listeners to understand what the lecturer is
talking about
c) can significantly slow down the lecture
d) All of the above
4. The clothing that the presenter is wearing
.
a) is not an important issue, unless the lecture is
fashion related
b) is important because a formally dressed lecturer
is more credible
c) should be considered and chosen to be
appropriate to the particular audience
d) should be comfortable and not too colourful
5. Handouts are important because
.
a) they help the audience understand the main idea
b) they serve as a basic reference
c) they are useful for writing comments and notes on
d) All of the above
Listening 6.6