8. Read the text below. Why are signposts important? how do signposts work?

Signposting helps you structure and shape the main content of your presentation. Signposts create ‘verbal paragraphs’ or 'verbal signals’ and raise the attention curve at the beginning and end of each point of your presentation. The technique allows you to guide the audience through the structure of your presentation linking one point to the next. The audience can’t see your notes and can’t look forward to see what is coming. You know where you’re going on your journey and you need to guide your audience by telling them exactly where you are on the roadmap of your presentation. This is a simple but highly effective technique that adds clarity to your presentations.

9. Phrases 1-22 below are examples of signposts. Read them and check any vocabulary you don’t know.

1	Moving on now to ...	10	So, we’ve looked at ...
2	I would like to begin by ...	11	That completes my overview of
3	Let’s now turn to ...	12	Let’s just recap ...
4	Let’s start with my presentation.	13	So, that’s pretty much ...
5	So, first of all ...	14	And finally ...
6	Now, turning to ...	15	Next we come to ...
7	Now, what about... ?	16	So, that was ...
8	Let me move on to ...	17	My next point is ...
9	So, that’s the general picture for ...	18	That’s all I want to say about ...

10. Milan has come to the end of his presentation. In pairs, look at the list (a-e) and decide on the best order for him to do these things. Then listen and check your answers (Recording 2.4).

a. □ let the audience know his presentation has finished

b. □ offer the audience the chance to ask questions about his presentation

с. □ reach a conclusion based on his research

d. □ summarise the main points of his talk

e. □ thank the audience for listening to him

12. Listen to the end of the presentation again (Recording 2.4) and complete the following phrases using between one and three words in each space.

1. _______________ recap what I’ve said.

2. I therefore ___________ that...

3. That ___________to the end of my talk today.

4. I would like to thank you for __________ attentive audience.

5. I would be happy to ___________ you may have.

13. Read the text about the ‘finish’ of a presentation and answer the questions below. Make your final message clear

Stay in control until the very last second and follow these steps at the ‘finish’ of your presentation.

Firstly, pause briefly and signal clearly that you are now ready to finish the presentation. The audience will start to listen again closely at this point.

Then, make your summary, giving a brief overview of what has already been said. The summary is a reflection of your ‘what’ and looks back. It should not be too long as you will lose your audience’s attention again, but detailed enough to cover your points. This can be a difficult balance to achieve!

A good summary gives your listeners time to reflect on the content and builds up to your conclusion, making your conclusion stronger, more powerful and more effective. A conclusion without a summary can sound incomplete as your audience may not have listened to every point during the main part of the presentation and the purpose can be lost. Avoid giving any conclusions while you are making your summary.

After this, give your conclusion. This is a reflection of your ‘why’ and looks forward to what you want people to do or think after your presentation. It should follow logically from your summary. There are different kinds of conclusions: you can make a call for action, make a recommendation or assure your audience that they’re better informed. This is the destination of your journey and the most important part of your presentation.

Finally, make your closing remarks by thanking your audience, asking for questions or passing round your presentation handouts.

1. Why don’t some people finish their presentations effectively in your opinion?

2. Do you agree that every presentation has some kind of conclusion?

14. Make a presentation of your current research.

Unit 3 Business Communication

3А

Interpersonal

and Intercultural Contacts

1. Fons Trompenaars is a Dutch expert on business and culture. He interviewed over 15,000 business people in fifty countries to find out how culture affects business life. Here are a few of the questions that he asked:

Company Culture Questionnaire

Q.1 Emotion

You are upset about something at you company.

Do you show your emotions at work?

Q.2 Respect

Do you respect someone because of their family background?

Q.3 Responsibility

You are an employee of an engineering company and work as part of a team. Another team member makes a serious mistake while he is working on a piece of machinery for an important customer.

Does the whole team take responsibility?

Q.4 What makes a good manager?

a) Does a good manager allow employees to work alone?

b) Does a good manager control everything?

Q.5 Working life and private life

Your boss asks you to help him paint his house at the weekend.

Would you help him?

Questions	Q.1	Q.2	Q.3	Q.4	Q.5
Yes
No

Work in small groups and discuss your answers, giving examples, when relevant.