Mastering these presentation phrases will help to ensure that your message is conveyed clearly and professionally. They’ll also boost your confidence as you prepare to present in English.
Practice using these phrases in your next presentation, and you’ll see how they help you succeed.
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Most presentations are divided into 3 main parts (+ questions):
As a general rule in communication, repetition is valuable. In presentations, there is a golden rule about repetition:
In other words, use the three parts of your presentation to reinforce your message. In the introduction, you tell your audience what your message is going to be. In the body, you tell your audience your real message. In the conclusion, you summarize what your message was.
We will now consider each of these parts in more detail.
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. You should use the introduction to:
The following table shows examples of language for each of these functions. You may need to modify the language as appropriate.
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:
Use the conclusion to:
Questions are a good opportunity for you to interact with your audience. It may be helpful for you to try to predict what questions will be asked so that you can prepare your response in advance. You may wish to accept questions at any time during your presentation, or to keep a time for questions after your presentation. Normally, it's your decision, and you should make it clear during the introduction. Be polite with all questioners, even if they ask difficult questions. They are showing interest in what you have to say and they deserve attention. Sometimes you can reformulate a question. Or answer the question with another question. Or even ask for comment from the rest of the audience.
For non-native speakers giving a presentation in English can be quite a challenge. There are just so many aspects to consider.
Firstly, the audience. Do you know them well? If so, more informal language can be used. Or are they unfamiliar to you? If this is the case, then more formal expressions should be adopted. Whether you use more formal or informal language, it is important to engage the audience through positive body language and a warm welcome. Your tone of voice and changes in intonation are additional useful tools and you might consider asking them relevant questions (real or rhetorical ).
The audience also needs to see a clear and logical structure to follow you effortlessly. Useful linking expressions, when delivered well, provide effective ‘bridges’ guiding the audience from one point to the next.
Here are 30 useful phrases for presentations in English for effective structure and linking.
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Hopefully, these phrases help you to vary your vocabulary for clear, well-structured presentations with a logical joined-up flow. The most important thing, of course, is that you are comfortable and confident in your delivery, which helps the audience feels relaxed and ready to be engaged by your subject matter. Good luck!
Rhetorical - (of a question) asked in order to produce an effect or to make a statement rather than to elicit information
Audience - spectators or listeners at a public event such as a play, film, concert, or meeting
Effectiv e - successful in producing a desired or intended result
Springboard - springboard is also something that provides an opportunity to achieve something
Handout - a document given to students or reporters that contains information about a particular subject
Q&A – an abbreviation for ‘question and answer’
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Posted: 13 February 2020
Categories:
Business English
Tips and useful phrases.
In this introduction into how to give a presentation in English I'll ask how a student of English can speak and be convincing in front of an audience. Or when speaking in a teleconference with English as the common language. When considering the English language skills required in the workplace today, the ability to give a presentation or handle yourself in English in teleconferences among your colleagues and foreign counterparts is probably one of the most important. Furthermore, this skill is also the most challenging for the non-native speaker. Giving a formal presentation means you must stand up in front of an audience, try to sell your ideas, be convincing, diplomatic, concise, knowledgeable, and all this in a foreign language!
Despite the challenges involved, more and more of my business English students are now called upon by their companies to give a presentation in English although their language level may be below an intermediate level. Presentations should be given by specialists in their particular field of work and not by those employees who simply have the best level of English.
This means that a company with international connections may have to choose someone to talk about his or her area of work even though their English language level is not proficient. However, it is possible to give presentations without having advanced English if you plan correctly, take time to practise pronunciation and key English phrases and rehearse your talk beforehand. One thing to remember is that there is an advantage to this situation. You can plan what you say before you speak - something we cannot do when in a conversation, for example. This means that like an actor in a film taking on a role of a foreign character, you can learn what you want to say before you speak and, if we are careful not to ask the audience not to interrupt, we can give a passable or even an excellent presentation. Furthermore, the intensive language learning that will take place while you are studying the expressions you will need for your presentation will provide you with a boost to your language skills s you learn how to talk about yourself as a professional, your company and its products and services.
I believe the development of presentation skills in English may be the initial step to take linguistically. Once we are able to express ourselves proficiently in this medium, we will then find we are better qualified to take part in more demanding language tasks such as the teleconference, where interaction and listening skills are also required. The following pages offer you, the business English student and company professional, advice and practical help to best prepare your presentation in English.
Good luck and most of all enjoy giving your presentations in English!
Part 1 - Pronunciation of technical vocabulary
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Giving the perfect oral presentation in English requires practice. Remember that even great orators like Steve Jobs, Abraham Lincoln, Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King became excellent public speakers through years of dedicated practice.
When preparing your presentation in English, we recommend you watching and listening to the recordings of their public speeches as an example. Check out our video lesson and some other useful tips for giving a great presentation below.
Giving a presentation in front of an audience is always stressful. Thinking about such details as the location of the presentation, equipment, materials, timing, your appearance and outfit will help you avoid nervousness.
Effective preparation requires consideration of the following things:
At the beginning of the presentation, it’s important to introduce yourself, giving your full name, position and company you represent. Some people also include their contact information on the first slide. That’s in case you want someone from the audience to contact you after your presentation. After the introduction, don’t forget to state the topic of your presentation.
“Hello, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming…” “The topic of today’s meeting is…” “Let’s get the ball rolling” “Shall we get started?”
Providing an outline of the presentation is a must, as people want to know why they should listen to you. That’s why the opening part is very important. It should be cheerful, interesting and catchy. You should know it by heart, so you don’t lose track of your thoughts even if you are nervous.
“I’d like to give you a brief outline of my presentation…” “Here is the agenda for the meeting…” “My presentation consists of the following parts…” “The presentation is divided into four main sections…” 5. Explain When the Listeners Can Ask Questions
A Question & Answer period (Q&A) usually takes place at the end of the presentation, so you have enough time to deliver the main message of your speech without being interrupted by multiple questions. If you want the audience to ask questions during or after the presentation, say so.
“There will be a Q&A session after the presentation” “Please feel free to interrupt me if you have any questions” “I will be happy to answer your questions at any time during the presentation”
Using transition words and phrases in English makes your presentation look smooth and easy to follow.
“I’d like to move on to another part of the presentation…” “Now I’d like to look at…” “For instance…” “In addition…” “Moreover…” “This leads me to the next point…”
If you are not excited by your presentation, your audience will not be excited either. When presenting, you should plan to wow your audience. Use adjectives and descriptive words as they will help to attract the audience’s attention and make your speech more vivid and memorable.
“The product I present is extraordinary.” “It’s a really cool device” “This video is awesome” “This is an outstanding example”
If you need to present numbers or some comparative analysis of algorithms for integration, use some visuals to present it. You can use charts, graphs or diagrams to make your data meaningful and visually attractive. Remember that pie charts are good for representing proportions, line charts to represent trends, column and bar charts for ranking.
“Here are some facts and figures” “The pie chart is divided into several parts” “The numbers here have increased or gone up” “The numbers change and go down (decrease)” “The numbers have remained stable”
At the end of the presentation, briefly summarize the main points and ideas. Provide the audience with your opinion and give them a call to action, let them know what you want them to do with the information you’ve shared. End of the presentation by thanking all the listeners and inviting them to the Q&A.
“Let’s summarize briefly what we’ve looked at…” “In conclusion…” “I’d like to recap…” “I’d like to sum up the main points…”
Try rehearsing your presentation using the above tips. Practice in front of a mirror or with your friends, parents or spouse. The more you practice, the better. While practicing, try not to use crutch words (examples: uhhhhh, ahhhh, so on, you know, like etc.)
Good luck with your presentation!
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Here you will learn at least 37 useful phrases for presentations in English. Improve your business English skills and feel confident when making presentations in English.
Presentation phrases for setting the scene, recapping, ending a presentation in English and more.
Listen to the podcast Speak Better English with Harry or watch it on YouTube at Learn English with Harry .
Hi there, this is teacher Harry, and welcome back to my English lessons where I try to help you to get a better understanding of the English language.
Okay, so what are we going to cover in the lesson today? Well, all of us, myself included, have to make presentations, from time to time to staff or to bosses, or to clients or customers, whoever it may be. And if you’re using English, not as your native language, then it can be a bit of a challenge. You might feel lacking in confidence. You might feel that you’re not up to the other guys.
But you can do it.
So I’m going to give you some useful phrases that you can use in relation to presentations.
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You might just simply say at the presentation particularly if it’s online,
Whatever it might be, you can adjust the words to suit the media and the medium by which you’re presenting to your guests. Staff, colleagues, clients.
And then if we talk about other useful expressions and phrases.
It’s a good idea to spend 30 seconds introducing yourself.
So my name is Harry, I work in this department, I’d like to talk to you today about…
So in those sorts of expressions, you’re setting the scene again, you’re telling them exactly what you’re going to cover. And that’s a really good idea in a presentation because then everybody knows what’s going to be spoken about.
My name is Harry, I work in the marketing department. My presentation today is about a new product. The presentation is probably going to take about 20 minutes. And if you have any questions, then please ask them as we go through the presentation.
Introducing a talk.
Now, if you want to introduce the talk, you could say:
A brief overview of the product, a brief overview of the background, a brief overview of our plans.
So you go step by step by step.
So in any presentation, visuals are really important, and they can help you.
And they can also support you if you’re a little bit lacking in confidence about the presentation itself.
And you perhaps don’t want to be the focus of everything.
So the type of phrases you might use in that context would be something like:
As I said, it helps you, it supports you and enables you to just sort of hide a little bit behind those slides that focus on the screen, not specifically on you.
Finishing off a section.
And when you want to finish off in relation to those sort of aspects, you might just summarise by saying,
So again, helpful information directly in them, how they can get in touch with you after your presentation.
Checking and moving on.
So during the presentation, we want to make sure that the people are listening, but you also don’t want to spend too much time on each particular point.
So you check their understanding so far, and then you move on. So you might say to the people,
So you pinpoint exactly what you want to cover. When you’re going to cover it and then you move on. So you check that they understand it.
I also find in these types of presentations, particularly if they’re a bit longer than a few short slides, that it’s a good idea to do some recapping.
To recap means to go over what you’ve done before. Not a huge amount of detail because you don’t want to bore them by going through everything, but you recap quite quickly.
All of those good, acceptable expressions and words that you can use.
And then when you come to the end of the presentation, you want to sign off, you want to finish them. We can say,
All nice and polite ways of informing people that this is the end.
So there’s somebody out there in the audience who’s asleep, they’ll probably wake up at that point when you say and finally or, in conclusion
Well, hopefully you’ve got something in particular that you can hold onto there. Something that can help you if you’re making presentations in English.
If you have any other queries, come to me, I’m very, very happy to help you. My contact details are www.englishlessonviaskype.com .
And indeed, if you want some help, how to make presentations, if you want some help, how to get through interviews, or you just want general help with your English well, why not try our one-to-one online English lessons .
Thanks for listening. Join me again soon.
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So, you need to make a business presentation in English.
First of all, congratulations! To be in your position, you must have invested a huge amount of time and effort in your English language skills. You should be proud.
That said, we totally understand that giving a presentation in a second language can be a challenge. You may be worried that your audience won’t understand your accent. Perhaps you are wondering whether you need to use specific vocabulary. Maybe you’re not sure how best to handle questions from your audience.
If this sounds like you, don’t worry. In this post, we’re going to run through our top tips for acing your business presentation in English. Even if you’ve already made a few presentations in the language, we’re sure you’ll find these suggestions helpful.
So, read on to learn more. And before we start, let us wish you the very best of luck in delivering your next presentation.
As with all forms of communication, it’s vital that you understand who your audience is. Even in the business world, you can find yourself speaking to very different groups of people.
For example, if you are giving a presentation to members of another company, you would certainly be more formal than when you give a presentation to members of your own team. In each case, you need to think about what your audience will expect from your presentation.
So, before you write a word, ask yourself these questions about your audience. Who are they? What interests them? What do they need to know? What do you want them to do as a result of your presentation?
One useful tip for writing your presentation is to imagine your audience is a single person. It’s easier to write convincingly if you have a single person in mind. Try it!
Most audiences will expect you to give your presentation using formal Business English . Don’t make the mistake of confusing Business English with business jargon .
Successful Business English uses language that is simple, direct, professional and easy to understand. Business jargon on the other hand, relies on obscure phrases, clichés, and acronyms. In many cases, business jargon is complex, not very precise and a barrier to good communication .
We have some useful resources on Business English on this page . However, if in doubt, keep the language of your presentation as simple and clear as possible. It’s also a good idea to use sentences with the active, rather than the passive voice. This allows you to use fewer words, which makes your sentences shorter and more engaging.
To give an example, this is a sentence in the passive voice:
The interview was failed by over one third of applicants.
Now compare this sentence, which is in the active voice.
Over one-third of applicants failed the interview.
To learn more about the active and the passive voice, check out this explainer from the British Council.
If English isn’t your first language, it’s more important than ever to practise your presentation before delivering it. By practising, you’ll feel more comfortable using English in a business setting. You’ll be able to work on any words or phrases you find difficult to pronounce, or you can change them to words or phrases you are more comfortable with.
Ideally, you should practise giving your presentation in front of someone else. That way you can get useful feedback on what works well, and what doesn’t. If that’s not possible, make a video of yourself giving your presentation. When you see yourself on screen, it will give you helpful insights into ways you can improve your delivery.
It may sound obvious, but don’t forget to introduce yourself at the very beginning of your presentation. It not only breaks the ice , but it’s an opportunity to get the audience on your side. If you are presenting to native English speakers, you may wish to tell them that English is not your first language – but don’t apologise for it! If anything, your audience will be impressed that you can give a presentation in a second language.
When people learn to teach in the UK, they are often told to structure their lessons in this simple way:
In other words, introduce the session by explaining what you intend to talk about. This sets the audience’s expectations – they know what’s going to happen.
You then use main part of the session to make your presentation. There are many effective ways of doing this, and we’ll cover some of these soon.
Finally, finish by summarising the most important points of your presentation. This helps your audience to remember them clearly.
One other tip, if you plan to let the audience ask questions, it’s a good idea to tell them you’d prefer to answer them at the end of the presentation. This will discourage them from interrupting your presentation at the wrong moment.
People love stories. If you can capture your audience’s imagination with a story, you can make a very powerful impression.
For example, imagine you are giving a presentation about how to commission new advertisements for your company. You want to make the point that good copywriting as just as important as good visual design.
You can either make your point directly, like this:
“Successful adverts rely on good writing as well as good design. If you change the wording of an advert, it can often result in extra sales – or fewer. Therefore, the words we choose are as important as the images we use.”.
Or you could begin with a story, like this:
“I want you to imagine it’s the year 1907. A man called Louis Victor Eytinge is in prison, convicted of murder. He’s a drug addict, suffering from tuberculosis. He’s unlikely to live, never mind get out of jail. Yet, by 1923 he walked free into a well-paid advertising job and a career as a Hollywood screenwriter. How? He had written his way to freedom. I want to use his story to show you why, if we want successful adverts, we need to commission powerful writing as well as good design.”
Which version of the presentation would you rather listen to?!
One useful tip for acing your business presentations in English is to vary the pace and pitch of your delivery.
While you don’t want to speak too fast, it’s a good idea to use a different pace for different parts of your presentation. For example, when you want to communicate a key point, speaking more slowly will help people understand that you think it is important.
Equally, it’s a good idea to vary the pitch of your voice. Try and keep this as natural as possible, but experiment with using a higher pitch when asking questions and a lower pitch when beginning your sentences. One good way to learn how to vary your pitch is to listen to UK news broadcasts – news presenters are expert at varying the tone of their voice to keep listeners interested.
Most business presentations are given for a specific purpose. You may want to convince another company to work with you. Or you may want to convince your own firm to invest in a new kind of product. You may simply be explaining to colleagues how a new training scheme will work.
Whatever the purpose of your presentation, always remember to tell your audience what you want them to do. This is a ‘call to action’. Do you want your audience to email you their ideas? Or send you a funding proposal? Or arrange a meeting?
No matter what you need your audience to do, don’t forget to tell them. And at the very end, be sure to thank them for their time!
There are many other tips we could share with you on how to ace a business presentation in English. For example, it’s never a good idea to read your presentation from a piece of paper – it’s not engaging and it means you can’t easily make eye contact. It’s also tempting to rely too heavily on visual aids like PowerPoint, but if you get it wrong your audience will read your slides instead of listening to you. On the other hand, it can really engage an audience if you ask them to work together in small groups to share ideas or solve problems.
However you choose to make your presentation, if you prepare well, speak clearly and work hard to connect with your audience, you are very likely to succeed. And if you’d like to improve your presentation skills even further, why not try live online classes with English Online ? They can help you succeed in any career where using English is essential.
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COMMENTS
The general structure of a presentation is the following: It is up to you to design these three parts. Using videos or everyday-examples can be a great way to introduce the audience to the topic. The important thing is that you capture the audience's attention from the beginning by making an interesting introduction.
11. "Let's embark on a journey through our discussion on…". 12. "I'm delighted to have the chance to share my insights on…". 13. "Thank you for the opportunity to present to such an esteemed audience on…". 14. "Let's set the stage for an engaging discussion about…". 15.
Start with a polite welcome and state your name. Follow with your job title and/or the reason you're qualified to speak on the topic being discussed. 2. State the Purpose of Your Presentation. Now that your audience knows who you are and your qualifications, you can state the purpose of your presentation.
Here are some example ideas and phrases you can use in your own oral presentation introductions: Start with a story or personal anecdote, so the audience will be able to relate to your presentation. "When I was a child…". Mention a startling fact or statistic. "Did you know the U.S. is the only country that…".
Watch on. Although these are very different methods of injecting humor at the start of a presentation, they show how infusing humor can be a powerful tool for adding a touch of personality and creating a more enjoyable presentation for the audience. 4. Keep it short and sweet.
We love them because they're the most visually appealing and memorable way to communicate. 1. Animated characters. Our first presentation example is a business explainer video from Biteable that uses animated characters. The friendly and modern style makes this the perfect presentation for engaging your audience.
Presentation Example #22: Photography. Another great way to include visuals in your presentation is using photography. There are many different ways to include images in your presentation, but this Adidas presentation example does a great job of using them as background images.
Apply the 10-20-30 rule. Apply the 10-20-30 presentation rule and keep it short, sweet and impactful! Stick to ten slides, deliver your presentation within 20 minutes and use a 30-point font to ensure clarity and focus. Less is more, and your audience will thank you for it! 9. Implement the 5-5-5 rule. Simplicity is key.
If you need more specific vocabulary, like for a presentation to the board, your manager, or a client on their finances, check out our blog post on the most common English for accounting vocabulary. 4. Prepare some visual aids. These days, most people use a slide deck when presenting business ideas.
7 Strategies to Prepare a Presentation in English. Strategy 1: Plan, Plan, Plan. I know this sounds simple but this is maybe the most important step! That's why I said it three times. Before you do or write anything, spend some time thinking about what you want to say for this opportunity to present.
Here are some phrases which you can use to structure the introduction in this way: Introduce. 1. Good morning/afternoon (everyone) (ladies and gentlemen). 2. It's a pleasure to welcome (the President) here. 3. I'm … (the Director of …) Introduce the presentation topic.
A presentation is a formal talk to one or more people that "presents" ideas or information in a clear, structured way. People are sometimes afraid of speaking in public, but if you follow a few simple rules, giving a presentation is actually very easy. This tutorial guides you through each stage of giving a presentation in English, from the ...
Fourth part of the English example presentation: the conclusion. Angus and Lyndon are coming to the conclusion of their presentations and winding up the proceedings. 8. Wrapping up the presentation. Angus: So, ladies and gentlemen, I think that covers most of the questions that you raised during my presentation.
Get your FREE Professional English Phrase Booster here: https://bit.ly/phraseboosterIn this lesson, you'll learn 40 great phrases for making a presentation i...
State your purpose. Be crystal clear about your subject matter and the purpose of your presentation. In just a few sentences, communicate the main objectives and the value your audience will gain from listening to you. Let them know upfront what to expect and they'll be more likely to stay engaged throughout.
The way you start your presentation sets the tone for the rest of it. Begin by greeting your audience and introducing the topic. Here are some phrases to get you started: 1. Good morning, everyone. Depending on the time of day, you can also say "Good afternoon, everyone" or "Good evening, everyone.". 2.
In this lesson, you can learn how to make presentations in English.Do you have to make presentations in English in your job? Imagine you have to give an impo...
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: do not hurry. be enthusiastic. give time on visuals. maintain eye contact. modulate your voice. look friendly. keep to your structure.
Effective - successful in producing a desired or intended result. Springboard - springboard is also something that provides an opportunity to achieve something. Handout - a document given to students or reporters that contains information about a particular subject. Q&A - an abbreviation for 'question and answer'.
The presentation should be given by the person who knows the subject. Despite the challenges involved, more and more of my business English students are now called upon by their companies to give a presentation in English although their language level may be below an intermediate level. Presentations should be given by specialists in their ...
Useful phrases in English: "I'd like to give you a brief outline of my presentation…". "Here is the agenda for the meeting…". "My presentation consists of the following parts…". "The presentation is divided into four main sections…". 5. Explain When the Listeners Can Ask Questions.
give a gift of learning Offer up to 50% off. setting the scene. common phrases for starting off presentations. book your trial English Lesson. introducing a talk. referring to visuals. finishing off a section. checking and moving on. recapping.
While you don't want to speak too fast, it's a good idea to use a different pace for different parts of your presentation. For example, when you want to communicate a key point, speaking more slowly will help people understand that you think it is important. Equally, it's a good idea to vary the pitch of your voice.
Such presentations take twice as long to deliver compared to the same lecture presented to an English-speaking audience, so the content needs to be halved. For the question-and-answer session following a simultaneously translated talk, always remember to take a headset onto the stage, because when a member of the audience asks a question, you ...