Presentations useful phrases

Listen to the introduction to the topic and then move on to the tasks.

After you complete this part of the lesson you will be be abe to use a lot of expressions that you may need while giving a presentation in English. Please remember, that working on useful expressions takes time and practice. It is important for you to repeat the phrases as many times as you can. You also need to be able to pronounce the expressions correctly, so if you are not sure how to pronounce a word or a full phrase, check it in an online dictionary.

This material will help you give a great presentation in English. You will know what to say to open your presenation, how to move from one topic to another, how to finish your presenatation and deal with questions. You will also familiarise yourself with a lot of useful vocabulary.

In the exercise below you will find some useful phrases for different stages of a presentation. Fill in the gaps with the vocabulary given and then move on to the next exercise which will help you repeat and revise the phrases you have just studied.

Now, imagine that you are about to give a presentation. What would you say in the following situations?

1. You want to say your name.
2. You want to inform the audience that you should start the presentation.
3. You want to tell the audience that they can ask you questions but after you finish.
4. You want to present the aim of your presentation.
5. You want the audience to look at the first slide.
6. You want the audience to focus on something that is on your slide.
7. You want to change the topic and focus on another issue.
8. You want to let the audience know that it is time for a summary.

At the start of your presentation, you should make it clear whether and when you would prefer to deal with questions – as you go along or at the end of the presentation. The following exercise gives you examples of popular expressions used to handle questions and the stage during a presentation. After you complete this exercise, think of the following:

1. When would you answer a question that relates to something you have just said? Would you answer it immediately?
2. When would you answer a question that relates to something that you plan to cover later? Immediately or later when you get to that point in your presentation?
3. When would you answer a question that is outside the topic of your presentation? Would you answer it immediately or make a note of the question and come back to it afterwards? Or, maybe you would skip it completely?

Now, imagine that you are giving a presentation and you need to react. What would you say?

1. Somebody wants you to reveal some secret information.
2. Somebody just asked you about something that is totally not related to the topic and you are running out of time.
3. Somebody asked you a very good question and you inform the person you will answer it soon.
4. Somebody asked you a question and you just don’t know the answer, you need to think it over.
5. Somebody asked you a question about something that you do not specialize in.

Download the exercise below and correct the mistakes that you will find there. It is a summary of the useful phrases you have practised before.

Additionally, do the quiz below. It will help you practise the phrases you have studied in this lesson. Repeat the phrases out loud as many times as you can.

And make sure you know the English equivalents of the sentences below.

Finally, do you know what to say/do when:

1. you welcome and greet the audience,
2. you introduce yourself,
3. you say what your topic is and you state the objective of the presentation,
4. you present the structure of your presentation,
5. you sequence the main points of your presentation,
6. you are asked a question,
7. you want to finish your presentation.