Lecturer Daria Protopopescu PhD
University of Bucharest
English Department
Bucharest, Romania
INTRODUCTION
 Think about the presentation beforehand
 Do use PowerPoint
 Face your audience at all times
 Be very clear about how much time you have
 Be very clear about your key message
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 E-mail your presentation to the event
organizers in advance
 Make copies of your slides available
 Ensure that the slides look good
 1st slide: announce the title of your
presentation
 2nd slide: seize the attention of your audience
 3rd slide: set out the structure of your
presentation
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 Each theme should be the subject of a
small number of slides
 Each slide should normally contain
around 25-35 words
 Each bullet point should consist of an
intelligible phrase
 Make appropriate use of pictures
 Last slide: set out all appropriate contact
details
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TIPS FOR A GOOD PRESENTATION
 Keep things simple — keep them on target
 Tell your audience where you’re going
 Think headlines, not labels
 Involve the audience
 Finish strong
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TIPS FOR A GOOD TALK
1. Be neat
2. Avoid trying to cram too much into one slide
Don’t be a slave to your slides.
3. Be brief
Use keywords rather than long sentences
4. Avoid covering up slides
5. Use a large font
6. Use color to emphasize
7. Use illustrations to get across key concepts
May include limited animation
8. Make eye contact
9. Be ready to skip slides if time is short
10. Practice !!
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SKILLS
Content: the amount of information the speaker wants
to deliver;
Structure: involves a logical sequence of ideas;
Human component: the presenter’s voice, body
language, good understanding of the audience, etc.
Presentations = ways of communicating ideas and
delivering information to a target audience.
= show results of the research done in a
certain domain, interpreting facts and transferring
them into persuasive ideas in a logical manner.
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Content of the presentation
 The presenter: collects information and
delivers it.
 A good presentation = minds how much
information the target group could take
as well as the human limits in focusing on
one particular topic.
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General Structure
The structure of an effective presentation follows a certain
scenario:






Introduction
Background
Proposal 1
Proposal 2
Key considerations
End-discussion
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Requirements (1):
In order to make presentations effective one should try
to meet the following requirements:
 To know if the audience is made up of specialists or
amateurs;
 To have clear objectives and structure;
 To provide a link between parts of the presentation;
 To hold the attention of the audience;
 To summarize and conclude the main issues;
 To make recommendations;
 To invite for questions and discussions
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Requirements (2):
 To select the most appropriate visuals;
 To have rehearsed the presentation beforehand;
 To use formal / informal style according to the type of
presentation;
 To have checked the room and its equipment.
Criteria for organizing presentations:
 logical progression of ideas, clear development;
 sequential description of processes, chronological order of
events, i.e. background  present  future.
 For each of the elements of a good presentation there are a
few specific phrases.
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Introduction
 Greeting:
 Good morning / Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.
 Subject:
 I plan to say a few words about …
 The subject of my talk is …
 I’m going to talk about…
 The theme of my presentation is …
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Structure
 I’ve divided my talk into (3 parts):
 First,…
 Second, …
 Third, …
 In the first part …
 Secondly …
 Finally…
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Timing
Announce the time your presentation is going
to take:
e.g. 1) My talk will take about ten minutes.
2) The presentation will take about two
hours, but there’ll be a twenty
minute break in the middle.
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Policy on questions and discussions
 Please interrupt if you have any
questions.
 After my talk there will be time for a
discussion and any questions.
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The main body
Ending the introduction:
e.g. 1) So that concludes the introduction.
2) That’s all for the introduction.
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Beginning the main body
 So, first…
 To begin with,…
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Main body
 Listing
There are two things to consider. First… second…
On the one hand, there are … On the other hand, we can see
 Sequencing
There are four stages involved. At the beginning/ later/ then/
after that/ finally
 Ending the presentation
 Ending the main body: That’s all I want to say for now,
on/about…
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Summary and/or conclusion
I’d like to finish with:
 a summary of the main issues;
 some remarks based on what I’ve said;
 some conclusions
 some recommendations
 a brief conclusion
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Concluding
There are a few conclusions
What we need is…
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Inviting questions and/or
introducing discussion
 Now, I’d like to invite your comments…
 So, now, we have five questions and
discussion.
 Feel free to ask questions and make
recommendations.
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MORE TIPS
Differences between presentations
and reports, essays, etc. = the human
component.
The human impact ensures the
success of a presentation.
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Body language
 An appropriate posture communicates
that you know what you are talking
about, that you are involved and that you
do believe in what you are
communicating.
 Good eye contact conveys credibility,
interest and arouses the interest of your
audience.
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• Facial expressions such as a friendly
smile, confidence and openness will
win the interest of the target group.
• Voice is also an important tool. One
should pay attention to his/her tone,
volume and pitch.
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• Pace/Rhythm is important in order to
capture the audience’s attention.
• Making
presentations
involves
rehearsal;
• Control your nervousness. It leads to
losing voice control, inappropriate body
posture, and ultimately, losing the
audience’s interest.
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Good techniques
Bad techniques
 Competent presentation
 Overrunning time
 Vigorous management
 Slides out of sequence
 Organized material
 Unreadable/Fuzzy Visuals
 Enthusiastic tone
 Stumbling over word clusters
 Clear Style
 Irrelevant anecdotes
 Addressing the wrong
audience
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Types of visual support are as follows
depending on the topic and the audience:
film/video, picture, diagram, chart, pie chart,
table graph, line graph; equipment: slide
projector/OHP/flip chart/whiteboard/metaplan board.
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A few specific phrases when using
visual aids:
Introducing a visual
 I’d like to show you…
 This chart represents…
 Here you can see the growing tendency in …
 Have a look at this transparency
Describing the speed of change
 A dramatic/ significant increase/fall
 To increase/fall markedly/ dramatically/ slightly
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Comparisons
 Let us compare the…
 This graph/pie chart/table compares X with Y
 Let us compare X to Y
 As far as the comparison of X to Y is concerned, we can
argue/state/claim that…
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Good techniques of using visual
supports
 Visuals must be well prepared/ well chosen/ clear/ to the






point
Visuals can be used in combinations, e.g. OHP + flip charts
Visuals should be written in appropriate colours to make
a contrast with the background
Keep text to minimum
Use pauses in order to give the audience time to
understand the picture/graph
Do not use too many visuals
Never show a visual until you want to talk about it.
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Recap (1)
 Make sure the devices work and are plugged beforehand;
 Talk and face the audience, no the screen;
 Keep the presentation focus on the main objectives;
 Speak, do not read!
 Use the appropriate printing format and style so that
anybody could see the text:
 Use appropriate graphs;
 Focus only on the main figures, dates, etc;
 Move quickly from slide to slide;
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Recap (2)
 Position yourself on the side of the screen;
 Feel confident, comfortable;
 Use appropriate tone, pitch of your voice;
 Use on sentence at the end of each slide to make the link to
the next slide;
 Try to anticipate the questions in the end;
 Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse!!!
 One word of caution: print your PPT presentation in case of
electricity failure!!!!!
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Task (1)
In any presentation the beginning is crucial. Certainly some things are
essential and others are useful. Here is a list of what could be included in
an introduction. Mark them according to how necessary they are using the
following scale:
Essential
Useful
Not necessary
1
2
3
4
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a) Subject / title of talk
b) Introduction to oneself, job title, etc.
c) Reference to questions and / or discussion
d) Reference for the program for the day
e) Reference to how long you are going to speak for
f) Reference to the visual aids you plan to use
g) The scope of your talk: what is and is not included
h) An outline of the structure of your talk
i) A summary of the conclusions
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Task (2)
Read the comments from the audience who are listening
to a presentation. What caused the problem in each
case?
 a) ‘What on earth is he talking about?’ ‘I’ve no idea!’
 b) ‘Hey, Peter! Wake up! He’s finished!’
 c) ‘Read that! I’d need a pair of binoculars!”
 d) ‘Speak up! I can’t hear a thing!’
 e) ‘Summarize four main points? I only noticed one!
Have I been asleep?’
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Conclusions
a. use a good ice-breaker;
b. research your audience: their needs and
expectations;
c. be clear about what you are trying to achieve;
d. structure this into readable format.
e. use PowerPoint slides or posters;
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f. practice thinking about who your audience
are, what you want them to get out of the
presentation, about content and style;
g. rehearse, rehearse, and rehearse;
h. control your nerves;
i. test the equipment before the presentation;
get familiar with it;
j. anticipate the questions that your audience
might ask in the end.
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The skills required for good presentations
combine inborn skills and acquired skills. Like
most things, it simply takes a lot of preparation
and practice. The presenter should find the
perfect balance between content (cohesion and
consistency of the topic) and the human
element.
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REFERENCES
Books and journals
 Dennis Becker (1993), Powerful Presentation Skills
 Ellen Kaye (2002), Maximize Your Presentation Skills: How to Speak,
Look and Act on Your Way to the Top
 Ian MacKenzie, (2002), English for Business Studies, CUP
 Jordan P, (1998),English for Academic Purposes, CUP,
 Robert L. Jolles (2005), How to Run Seminars & Workshops:
Presentation Skills for Consultants, Trainers and Teachers
 Simon Sweeney, (2002), English for Business Communication, CUP,
Websites
 The Presentation Skill Guide & Articles on Presentation Skills, 2012
www.effectivepres.
 Presentation Skills Book Review , Nancy Duarte, 2008,
sixminutes.dlugan.com/presentation-skills-.
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Practical example
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFJg1T2hMk8
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Lecturer Daria Protopopescu PhD
University of Bucharest
English Department
7-13 Pitar Mos Str.
Bucharest, Romania
Email: dariapro@yahoo.com
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