英文簡報 Presentation in English

At the very beginning, please introduce yourself.

Hi, I’m _____ [name] from _____. [company name / dept.]

I’m in charge of _____. [work scope]

There’s a good chance that I give a presentation on a weekly or even daily basis.

Things I would most like to learn from the lessons are_____ [your objectives]

Question: Make/give/deliver/do a presentation? Are they all correct? What’s the difference?

My understanding is that “make a presentation” refers to “creating” a presentation (although we wouldn’t use the word “create”) and that “give a presentation” refers to the actual talking. What do you think?

Lesson 1 – Get prepared

<Student should read aloud this paragraph for your teacher>

Delivering a presentation can be difficult, exciting, energy-draining, fun, or all four together. This does not mean that you start lecturing in the parking lot, rather it means that when you are in the parking lot of the building where you are about to give a presentation, you are as ready as you are going to be—whether you have prepared for it or not.

How to Start a Presentation? Don’t Overthink It.

The audience is seated.  The lights dim and the room quiets.  

All too often, this is what is heard to open a presentation:

“Hi, thank you for having me.  It is my honor to be here with you today.

My name is _______, and I am going to be speaking to you today about_______.”

It is Okay. Safe, but ineffective.

Lesson 2 – Start your presentation

<Student should read out this paragraph for your teacher>

A good way to open a speech is to just [1]dive right into a story. No pleasantries, no introductions, just start telling a story. This immediately commands the audience’s attention.

• Before I start, I should probably explain that…
• To explain why I chose this topic, …
• To give you some background information, …

What if you don’t have many stories? Well… A short attention-grabbing statement works the best. Jokes and personal anecdotes are not only unnecessary, they are inappropriate.

What are your first words?

• If I could have your attention, please.
• Hi, everyone. Let’s get started.
• Let’s get the ball rolling[2].

[1] Dive in/ Dive into = to plunge into some matter or activity
Example: The professor dove into his research.

[2] Get/Set/Start the ball rolling! à to begin or start something

Keep the focus on YOU and your presentation, not the PowerPoint

Have you ever seen a presenter turning his back to the audience to read the slides? How did it look to you?

When you are presenting, make sure to control the presentation and the room by walking around, drawing attention to you and what you are saying. You and your speech are the presentations; the slides are just there to aid you.

Speak to your audience.

The more directly you address your audience, the more involved they will feel.

Lesson 3 – deliver your presentation

<Student should read out this paragraph for your teacher>

You have worked so hard at creating your presentation with compelling key messages and images. However, even the most interested listener will wander off mentally at least once during your presentation.

How do you keep your audience engaged and following the presentation?

<Student should prepare your answers to fill in the blanks>

• Are there any questions at this stage?
• Before moving on, I’d just like to mention that… [your example]
• I think I’ve covered that point, so now I want to speak about… [your example]
• I’d like to move on to another part of the presentation… [your example]

Last words matter

While it is important to grab your audience at the beginning, what you do at the end can make all the difference in your presentation’s overall impact and success. A closing in a presentation should be short and clear. It should summarize your key points. And, most importantly, it should be powerful.

Lesson 4 – close your presentation

<Student should read out this paragraph for your teacher>

The aim of the opening of a presentation is to attract the audience and make them have a good impression about the presentation. Whereas the aim of the closing of a presentation is to persuade the audience to remember key messages you have delivered in your presentation.

There are three strategies massively used at the closing to recapture your audience’s attention and help them connect with you and your topic.

• A short summary

Simple, straightforward and particularly effective when giving an informational talk.

For example, if your presentation has three takeaways, just summarize those three quickly.

• I hope I have convinced you that… [your example]
• I’ve talked about three main areas.
• To sum up… / To summarize…[your example]