Preparation

C:\Documents and Settings\Andy\My Documents\pptFlash\Common Business11 Expressions B.swf
Check out some of these great tips and links (websites) for help in preparing for business presentations!
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I. Opening Statements / (Introduction)
1- First of all, I'd like to thank you all for coming here today.
2- My name is X and I am the (your position) at (your company).
Try to make eye contact with everyone you are speaking to if possible. You can also smile at individual members of the audience to put them at ease.
1- I'd briefly like to take you through today's presentation.
2- First, we're going to ...
3- After that, we'll be taking a look at ...
4- Once we've identified our challenges we will be able to ...
5- Finally, I'll outline what ...
* Points to Remember
Make sure to indicate each point on your presentation as you introduce each topic. This can be done with a slide (Power Point) presentation, or by pointing to each point on the display device (visual aid) you are using.
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II. Asking for Questions
1- Please feel free to interrupt me with any questions you may have during the presentation.
2- I'd like to ask you to keep any questions you may have for the end of the presentation.
* Points to Remember
You can also request the participants to leave questions to the end of the presentation. However, it is important to let participants know that you are willing to answer any questions they may have.
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III. Presenting the Current Situation
1- I'd like to begin by outlining our present situation.
2- As you know ...
3- You may not know that ...
* Points to Remember
'As you know' or 'You may not know that' are polite ways of informing those who don't know without offending those who do know certain facts.
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IV. Moving Forward
1- Let's take a look at some of the implications of this.
2- Taking into consideration what we have said about X, we can see that Y ...
3- The main reason for these actions is ...
4- We have to keep in mind that ... when we consider ...
5- As a result of X, Y will ...
* Points to Remember
As you continue through the presentation, often remind the listeners of the relationship between the current subject and what has been said before during the presentation.
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V. Using Visual Aids
1- As you can see from this graph representing ...
2- If you could just take a look at ...
3- Looking at X we can see that ...
*Points to Remember
Use visual aids to emphasize your main points in a conversation. Fewer visual aids that are meaningful leave a stronger impression than using a lot of visual aids that might also confuse listeners.
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VI. Mentioning Problems
1- Obviously, this has led to some problems with ...
2- Unfortunately, this means that ...
3- As a direct result of X, we are having problems with Y...
4- This also causes ...
* Points to Remember
Always provide examples of evidence to prove your point.
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VII. Proposing a Solution
1- There are a number of alternatives in this case. We can ...
2- If we had ... , we would ...
3- Had we ... , we could have ... Do we need to X or Y?
4- I think we can clearly see that we can either ... or ...
5- We have been considering ...
6- What if we planned to ....?
* Points to Remember
Use the second conditional form to consider present options and the third conditional for considering different outcomes based on past actions. Use hypothetical questions as a way of introducing considerations into the presentation.
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VIII. Listing Options
1- The solution to X is ...
2- I suggest we ...
3- Based on ... the answer is to ...
4- If we keep in mind that ... , Y is the best solution to our problem.
* Points to Remember
When providing your solutions to various problems, remember to refer to the evidence that you have previously presented. Try to make your solution a clear answer to what has been discussed during the presentation.
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IX. Considerations
1- So, how does this all relate to X?
2- How long will this take to implement?
3- How much is this all going to cost?
* Points to Remember
Use questions to introduce concerns that you know the listeners will have. Answer these questions clearly and efficiently.
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X. Summarizing
1- We've discussed many points today. Let me quickly summarize the principal points:
2- I'd like to quickly go over the main points of today's topic:
3- Before we end, let me briefly recap what we have discussed here today.
* Points to Remember
It is important to repeat the main points of your presentation quickly. This recap should be brief and, if possible, using different vocabulary than that used during the presentation. Make sure to focus only on the most important areas of the presentation.
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XI. Finishing / "Wrapping Up" the Presentation
1- Thank you all very much for taking the time to listen to this presentation. Now, if you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them.
2- I'm going to start wrapping this up, so if you want to start considering any questions you have, this would be a good time.
3- I want to thank you for being here and I appreciate your participation and interest in this subject. Are there any questions?
4- I think that's about it. I'd like to thank you all for coming in today. Do you have any questions?
* Points to Remember
Don't forget to thank everybody and leave the discussion open for further questions from participants.
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Original Source:
http://esl.about.com/od/businessspeakingskills/ss/presenting.htm
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Other useful sources (websites):
http://www.theenglishweb.com/articles/english-presentation-skills.php
http://www.englishclub.com/business-english/presentations.htm