Increase / fall

a dramatic

a marked sionificant

to increase / fall

dramatically

markedly

sliahtlv

Unit 7 lraa«e, impact and making an impression

Skills Checklist

Using visual supports

Visuals must be: . well prepared . well chosen . clear

Available media

Use media which suit the room and audience size. . overhead projector (OHP)

- transparencies / OHTs / slides

(Am. Eng.) . slide projector

_ slides / diapositives (Am. Eng.) • video / computer graphics / flip chart /

whiteboard

Use of visual aids

Combination of OHP and flip chart with pens

often good. First visual should give the title of talk. Second should show structure of talk - main

headings. Keep text to minimum - never just read text

from visuals. Do not use too many visuals - guide is one

per minute. Use pauses - give audience time to

comprehend picture. Never show a visual until you want to talk

about it. Remove visual once finished talking about it. Switch off equipment not in use.

Use of colour

For slides, white writing on blue / green is

good. Use different colours if colour

Improves clarity of message (e.G. Pie

charts). Use appropriate colour combinations: yellow

and pink are weak colours on white

backgrounds.

Use of room and machinery

Check equipment in advance.

Check organisation of room, equipment,

seating, microphones, etc. Use a pointer on the screen (not your hand). Have a good supply of pens. Check order of your slides / OHTs, etc.

You in relation to your audience

Decide appropriate level of formality, dress

accordingly. Keep eye contact at least 80°o of the time. Use available space.

Move around, unless restricted by a podium. Use gesture.

Unit 8 The middle of the presentation

2 Read the following passage and identify at least six recommendations about speaking technique which can help to make the message in a presentation clear.

You're lost if you lose your audience

Clear objectives, clear plan, clear signals: the secrets of presentation success

Any presentation requires a clear strategy or plan to help you reach your objectives. The aim is not to pass away twenty minutes talking non-stop and showing a lot of nice pictures. It is to convey a message that is worth hearing to an audience who want to hear it. However, how many speakers really hold an audience's attention? What is the secret for 5 those who do? First, find out about the audience and what they need to know. Plan what you're going to say and say it clearly and concisely.

A good speaker uses various signals to help hold the audience's attention and make the information clear. One type of signal is to introduce a list with a phrase like There are three things we have to consider. The speaker then says what the three things are and talks

10 about each one at the required level of detail. For example: There are three types of price that we have to think about: economic price, market price and psychological price. Let's look at each of these in more detail. First, economic price. This is based on production costs and the need to make a profit... and the speaker goes on to describe this type of price. After that, he goes on to talk about the market price and so on.

15 Another signalling technique is to give a link between parts of the presentation. Say where one part of the talk finishes and another starts. For example, a well organised presentation usually contains different parts and progression from one part to the next must be clear, with phrases like That's all I want to say about the development of the product. Now let's turn to the actual marketing plan. This technique is very helpful to the

20 audience, including those who are mainly interested in one part only.

Another type of signalling is sequencing of information. This usually follows a logical order, perhaps based on time. So a project maybe described in terms of the background, the present situation and the future. Key words in sequencing information are first, then, next, after that, later, at the end, finally, etc.

25 Still another technique which helps to emphasise key points is careful repetition. Examples are As I've already said, there is no alternative but to increase production by 100 per cent or I'd like to emphasise the main benefit of the new design - it achieves twice as much power with half as much fuel. A final point concerns timing and quantity of information. Psychologists have

³⁰ suggested that concentration is reduced after about twenty minutes without a break or a change in activity. Furthermore, audiences should not be overburdened with technical details or given too many facts to remember. It is claimed that to ask people to remember more than three things in a five minute talk is too much. Some say that seven is the maximum number of any length of presentation. Any such calculations are probably not

35 very reliable, but every speaker needs to think about exactly how much information of a particular type a specific audience is likely to absorb and to plan accordingly.

Unit8

The middle of the presentation

Language Checklist

Structure (2) The main'

Signalling different parts in a presentation:

Ending the introduction

So that concludes the introduction.

That's all for the introduction.

Beginning the main body

Now let's move to the first part of my talk,

which is about ... So, first ...To begin with ...

Listing

There are three things to consider. First ...

Second ... Third ... There are two kinds of ... . The first is ... The

second is ... We can see four advantages and two

disadvantages. First, advantages. One is ... Another is ... A third advantage is

... Finally ... On the other hand, the two disadvantages.

First... Second ...

Skills Checklist

Structure (2) ! he main body

Organisation of presentation
• Logical progression of ideas and/or
parts of presentation.
• Clear development.
• Sequential description of processes.
• Chronological order of	events,
i.e. background present	future.
Topic
Main parts Sections	Subsections
A i	a.
	b.
ii.
B i.	a.
	b.
ii.
iii.	a.
	b.
	c.
C i.	a.
	b.

Linking: Ending parts within the main body

That completes / concludes ...

That's all (I want to say for now) on ...

Linking: Beginning a new part

Let's move to (the next part which is) ...

So now we come to ...

Now I want to describe ...

y

Sequencing

There are (seven) different stages to the

process First / then / next / after that / then (x) /

after x there's y, last ... 1 here are two steps involved.

1 he first step is ... . The second step is ... 1 here are four stages to the project. At the beginning, later, then, finally ... 1 11 describe the development of the idea. First the background, then the present

situation, and then the prospects for the

future.

Lnternal structure of the main body of a complex presentation

Signalling the structure

• Use listing techniques.

• Link different parts.

• Use sequencing language.

Signalling the structure ...

• makes the organisation of the talk clear

• helps the audience to follow

• helps you to follow the development of your talk.

Unit 9 The end is near ... this is the end

Practice 2

Imagine that you have given a talk on Marketing in Japan at a conference on business trends. What would you say in these situations?

1. At the end of your presentation, move to comments / discussion / questions.

2. A member of the audience suggests that you said that many small retail outlets, small shops, had actually closed down in recent years. In fact, you said this process has been going on for a long time. Politely correct the other person.

3. Ask the audience for comments on why this has happened.

4. Agree with someone's suggestions, but suggest other factors. One is the increasing number of take-overs of smaller companies.

5. A member of the audience says the following: 'I... I understand that a report showed that 700 new soft drinks came out in Japan in 1990 and one year later 90% had failed. That's a pretty amazing figure ... ' Paraphrasing this, ask if in the USA or Europe that could not happen.

6. Someone suggests that in Japan there has always been an emphasis on quality and on products. In the West market research has been more developed. Agree, but say the situation is changing.

7. A speaker says something you don't understand. What do you say?

Practice 3

Divide into groups of four. Each person should prepare, in about two to three minutes, part of a short presentation on any topic he/she knows well.

Describe just one or two aspects of the topic in some detail for about three to four minutes. Then end what you say with a brief summary and/or conclusion. Finally, move to questions/comments or discussion.

Your colleagues should:

• ask questions

• ask for more details

• ask for clarification / repetition

• paraphrase part(s) of what you said

• offer more information based on their knowledge and / or experience.

For each contribution, respond appropriately.

Repeat the exercise until everyone in the group has been in the hot seat.

Transfer

Give the end of a presentation on a topic of your choice. Include either a summary or a conclusion and move to questions and/or discussion.

^

Unit 9 The end is near ... this is the end

Language Checklist

The end of the presentation Handling questions

Ending the main body of the presentation Right, that ends (the third part of) my talk. That's all 1 want to say for now on ...

Beginning the summary and/or conclusion I'd like to end by emphasising the main

point(s). I'd like to finish with ...

• a summary of the main points.

• some observations based on what I've said.

• some conclusions / recommendations.

• a brief conclusion.

Concluding

There are two conclusions /

recommendations. What we need is ... I think we have to ... I think we have seen that we should ...

Inviting questions and/or introducing

discussion

That concludes (the formal part of) my talk.

(Thanks for listening) ... Now I'd like to

invite your comments. Now we have (half an hour) for questions and

discussion. Right. Now, any questions or comments? So, now I'd be very interested to hear your

comments.

Understood but difficult or impossible to answer That's a difficult question to answer in a few words.

• It could be ...

• In my experience ...

• 1 would say ...

• I don't think I'm the right person to answer that. Perhaps (Mr Holmes) can help ...

• I don't have much experience in that field...

Understood but irrelevant or impossible to

answer in the time available

I'm afraid that's outside the scope of my talk /

this session. If I were you I'd discuss that

with ... I'll have to come to that later, perhaps during

the break as we're short of time.

Not understood

Sorry, I'm not sure I've understood. Could

you repeat? Are you asking if ... ? Do you mean ... ?

I didn't catch (the last part of) your question. If I have understood you correctly, you

mean ... ? Is that right?

Checking that your answer is sufficient Does that answer your question? Is that okay?

Unit 9 The end is near ... this is the end