The best way to learn how to improve your English presentation skills is to practice the phrases and language techniques you can use in every part of your talk, no matter what the topic. Below we will look at several language tricks you can use to capture your audience, and also practice the phrases that you can implement throughout any online or in-person presentation.
Start your Presentation with a Clear and Professional Introduction
It is essential to start your presentation with the audience and purpose of your presentation in mind. Think about how your listeners will receive the content of your talk and make sure that they can clearly grasp the ‘what’ and ‘why’ of your presentation.
In other words, let the audience know exactly what you are going to present and the reason for this. What will your audience take away from your presentation? What will they learn? How are you going to convey your message?
Notice the examples below. Pay attention to how each word or phrase is used in the sentence. Don’t just memorize presentation phrases – It’s also necessary to know how to use these words and phrases in a sentence. Do we use the following phrases with a direct object? Which preposition do they take?
Good morning, everyone. Thank you for coming. I’m ….. (name) and today I’m going to be
Choose one or more of the following examples:
–reporting on the results of the latest market research survey.
–talking to you about the importance of online meetings.
–telling you about some recent changes to our office.
–showing you how to use the company’s online conference platform.
–taking a look at the recent activities in sales and marketing.
I would like to begin my presentation by
–bringing you up to date on the latest developments at the company.
–discussing the implications of our recent market research survey.
–giving you an overview of our next project.
–highlighting the advantages of expanding our scope of business.
–making a few observations about office security and potential health risks.
Then, I will go on to
–make detailed recommendations based on the findings of the study.
–talk you through the steps we need to take to implement the change.
–put the figures from 2022 into perspective.
–outline the new guidelines for hiring new staff.
–fill you in on changes to the schedule.
3 Easy Tips to Make your Audience Pay Attention
Another way to improve your English presentation skills is by using the following rhetorical devices. These will make your listeners feel more involved in your presentation!
When possible, use pronouns we, our and ourselves instead of I and you.
Compare these two sentences:
I want you to ask yourself what you can do to improve communication at work.
I want all of us to ask ourselves what we can do to improve communication at work.
2. Use question tags to make your audience feel addressed and included.
Compare these two sentences:
Being a good speaker is not just a question of grammar.
Being a good speaker is not just a question of grammar, is it?
3. Mix in a few negative questions instead of positive statements.
We always reach our goals when we work together.
Don’t we always reach our goals when we work together?
Make Sure to Signpost the Parts of Presentation
Above I mentioned the importance of having a clear and purposeful introduction to your presentation, but don’t stop there. By clearly defining the different parts of your presentation, you will make it easy on your audience, and yourself, to follow what you are saying. Let your audience know when you transition from one part of your presentation to another.
You can signpost your presentation easily and effectively by using the following words and phrases:
To move on to the next topic,
Turning now to another topic I would like to address,
To go back to what I was saying earlier,
Let me expand on that point,
If I may digress here for a moment,
To recap the main points so far,
To summarize the key issue,
Let me just elaborate on this,
Let me conclude by thanking you all for your attention.
I hope the above tips will make you feel more comfortable and confident while giving your next presentation at work, whether it is delivered online or in person. By the way, these phrases and language skills will also help you in your daily conversation and writing!