Presentation tips

In the following pages you will find some useful phrases to provide you with the basic skeleton for a presentation in English.

Tips for presenting effectively

• Give yourself plenty of time to prepare the presentation and to familiarise yourself with the topic. Practice your presentation in front of a live audience, colleagues or friends for example.
• Structure your presentation logically, and briefly summarise your presentation in the introduction to make it easier for your audience to understand. Sum up the most important points in your conclusion and leave a few minutes at the end of your presentation to answer questions from your audience.
• Use visual aids such as PPT slides to highlight or demonstrate the main points of your presentation. But don’t overload the slides with information as this will detract the audience’s attention from what you are saying.
• Involve your audience by asking them questions, or drawing on examples that are familiar to them.
• Be aware of your body language. If you look relaxed and make eye contact with the audience you will come across as confident and your audience will feel relaxed too. Use hand gestures and facial expressions to emphasise your message and don’t forget to smile!
• Your voice is your most important tool. By varying your tone of voice you can engage your audience. Speaking in a monotone will make the presentation tedious whereas varying the pitch and speed at which you talk will give your presentation energy.
• Don’t be afraid to be nervous! You will inevitably be nervous the first time you present in front of a large audience. Remember that this is perfectly natural, and try and try to channel your nervous energy into an exciting presentation!

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