Starting a Presentation

In modern English, Presentations tend to be much less formal than they were even twenty years ago. Most audience these days prefer a relatively informal approach. However, there is a certain structure to the opening of a Presentation that you should observe.

1.Get people's attention

2.Welcome them

3.Introduce yourself

4.State the purpose of your presentation

5.State how you want to deal with questions

Get people's attention

If I could have everybody's attention…

If we can start…

Perhaps we should begin?

Let's get started.

Welcome them

Welcome to Microsoft.

Thank you for coming today.

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.

On behalf of Intel, I'd like to welcome you.

Introduce yourself

My name's Jane Shaw. I'm responsible for travel arrangements.

For those of you who don't know me, my name's Tom Stotter.

As you know, I'm in charge of public relations.

I'm the new Marketing Manager.

State the purpose of your presentation

This morning I'd like to present our new processor.

Today I'd like to discuss our failures in the Japanese market and suggest a new approach.

This afternoon, I'd like to report on my study into the German market.

What I want to do this morning is to talk to you about our new mobile telephone system.

What I want to do is to tell you about our successes and failures in introducing new working patterns.

What I want to do is to show you how we've made our first successful steps in the potentially huge Chinese market.

State how you want to deal with questions.

If you have any questions, I'll be happy to answer them as we go along.

Feel free to ask any questions.

Perhaps we can leave any questions you have until the end?

There will be plenty of time for questions at the end.

Of course, these are only suggestions and other language is possible. Even within this limited group of phrases, just choose a few you feel comfortable with and learn and use those

(Mark Powell "Presenting in English ")

Text 4. Discuss the text below.

Speaking in Public: Something to Chew On

Christine Quinn, New York City councilwoman, was caught on TV chewing gum while she was standing behind the mayor. When it was her turn to present, she folded the gum in her cheek. Yuck! Not a pretty sight and not very professional. And this from someone who wants to be the next mayor of New York City. It certainly diluted her image. Gum chewing will quickly destroy the executive presence of any leader.

Before Kate Middleton married Prince William, her family was invited to a major event where the Queen was present. When the camera moved in for a close up, Kate’s mother was seen chewing gum. It didn’t matter that it was for reducing cigarette craving. It was perceived as insulting and low class.

When giving a presentation, never chew gum. It may seem like a little thing but it’s not. And little things make a great impact. A good rule of thumb is to carry hard candy instead of gum. In most social situations, gum chewing is not polite, it’s disrespectful, and certainly a distraction to the listeners. It competes with your message. The audience will remember the behavior over the words. When viewers saw the Christine Quinn video, they laughed. This is not the image you want as a public speaker unless you’re a humorist.

The best strategy is to avoid chewing gum and let the audience chew on your ideas.

UNIT 3

Text 1. Read and translate the text consulting the dictionary if necessary

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14