· Have you ever had difficulties with getting started your presentation?

· What do you think is the difference between getting off to a good start and getting off to a bad start of your presentation? Enumerate ideas and experiences that show the difference.

Exercise 2.1. The text below describessome tips on an effective start of your presentation. Complete the text using the words and phrases in the box.

Giving a presentation in English is a real challenge, even for those who have a good knowledge of the language. Presenters need a skill set and a level of professionalism and confidence that means they can do much more than just “get by”.

Giving a presentation is like taking your audience from start to finish on a journey. At the start your audience require some basic information before they accompany you on this journey. Once they have the information, they’re on your side, attentive and ready to listen in every step of the journey along to your final message.

v Who

(a)_____. Clearly, the amount of information you give about yourself and your work and the level of formality you use, depends on the presentation you’re giving. For example, for a presentation to a group of your colleagues, you probably don’t need to give your name and background and you can use informal language. A presentation to a large audience at a meeting or a conference can require more detailed (b)_____ about your background and experience and more formal approach. Make sure that you’re comfortable talking about your past and present experience in such cases.

v Why

(c)_____– the reason they’re there to listen to you and the purpose of your presentation. If the audience don’t know why they should listen, they won’t have any (d)_____ along your journey. The “why” is linked to the conclusion, your final message – is probably the most important part of your presentation.

v What

(e)_____ the roadmap – the main points that you’re going to develop and the order in which you would like to develop these. When your audience have a clear view of the roadmap you want to navigate, they can follow you more easily and can also see you’re planned, prepared and effectively managing the presentation. There are good reasons for giving roadmaps, as research shows your audience listen better and remember better and more when they know (f)_____ of your presentation. The technique we use to give the roadmap is called “sequencing”. This is a very simple technique as it involves using language such as one, two, three or firstly, secondly, thirdly. Nevertheless, it is also highly effective as “sequencing” or “ordering”, as it is sometimes called, is a principle of memory by which we recall information.

v How

(g)_____: address your audience’s needs. Your audience won’t listen to you as you go into the main part of your presentation if they have other concerns. They may be thinking: How long do I have to sit here? Do I have to take notes? When can I ask questions? Is there any coffee here? It can therefore be used to answer such questions in your “start” so that your audience are ready to listen. Your “start” should include these points but at the same time not be too long. (h)_____ is a good guideline as there’s evidence that you begin to lose listeners after this amount of time. Your audience tends to listen to your every word and form an impression of you in these ninety seconds. An accurate “start” helps to create a good impression and you should aim to be grammatically accurate at this stage.

Read & Reflect