1.
MAKING
A START - Introducing yourself and your talk
Greeting, name, position:
- Good
morning. My name’s (…). I’m ( the manager … ).
- Ladies and
gentlemen. It’s an honor to have the opportunity to address such a distinguished
audience.
- Good
morning. Let me start by saying just a few words about my background. I started
out in ...
- Welcome to
(…). I knew I’ve met some of you, but just for the benefit of those I haven’t,
my name’s (…).
Title / subject
- I’d like
to talk (to you) today about …
- I’m
going to present the recent …
explain our position on …
brief you on …
inform you about
/ describe…
focus presentation
topic paper (academic)
speech (usually to
public audience)
Purpose / Objective
- We are
here today to decide …
agree …
learn about …
- The
purpose of this talk is to update you on …
put
you in the picture about …
give you
the background to …
- This
talk is designed to act as a springboard for
discussion. Start the ball rolling.
Length
- I shall only take (…) minutes of your time.
- I plan
to brief.
- This
should be only last (…) minutes.
Outline / Main
parts
- I’ve
divided my presentation/talk into four
parts/sections. They are (…).
- The
subject can be looked at under the following
headings: (…).
- We can
break this area down into the following fields:
Firstly / first of all …
Secondly / then / next …
Thirdly / and then we come to …
Finally / lastly / last of all ...
Questions
- I’d be
glad to answer any questions at the end of my talk.
- If you
have any questions, please feel free to interrupt.
- Please
interrupt me if there’s something which needs clarifying.
Otherwise, there’ll be time for discussion at
the end.
Reference to the audience
- I can
see many of you are …;
- I know
you’ve all travelled a long way.
- You all
look as though you’ve heard this before.
- As I’m
sure you know … ;
- You may
remember …
- We have
all experienced …
- As I’m
sure we’d all agree …
2.
LINKING
THE PARTS – Linking ideas
Sequencing / Ordering
- Firstly
… secondly … thirdly … ;
- Then … next
… finally / lastly …
- Let’s
start with …;
- So that
covers ....
- Let’s
move/go on to … ;
- Now we
come to … ; That brings us to …
- Let’s
leave that (there) … ; That covers …
- Let’s
get back to …; … and turn to …
Giving reasons / causes
-
Therefore / so;
- as a
result; that’s why ;
Contrasting
- But;
-
however;
Comparing
-
similarly;
- in the
same way;
Contrasting
- in
fact;
-
actually;
Summarizing
- to sum
up;
- in
brief / in short;
Concluding
- in
conclusion;
- to
conclude;
Highlighting
- in
particular;
-
especially;
Digressing
-By the
way ;
- in
passing;
Giving examples
- For
example / for instance;
- such
as;
6. FINISHING OFF - Endings
Signaling the end
- That
brings me to the end of my presentation.
- That
completes my presentation.
- Before
I stop / finish, let me just say …
- That
covers all I wanted to say today.
Summarizing
- Let me
just run over the key points again.
- I’ll
briefly summarize the main issues.
- To sum
up …
- Briefly
…
Concluding
- As you
can see, there are some very good
reasons …
- In
conclusion …
- I’d like
to leave you with the following thought / idea.
Recommending
- So, I
would suggest that we …
- I’d
like to propose … (more formal).
- In my
opinion, the only way forward is …
Closing
- Thanks.
- Thank
you for your attention.
- Thank
you for listening.
- I hope
you will have gained an insight into …
Inviting questions
- I’d be
glad to try and answer any questions.
- So,
let’s throw it open to questions.
- Any
questions?
7. QUESTION TIME – Asking and
answering questions.
Welcoming a question
- Go ahead / Please do / Certainly.
- That’s
a good question.
- That’s
interesting.
Clarifying a question
- If I
understand you correctly, you are saying / asking …
- I
didn’t quite catch that.
- Could
you go over that again?
- I’m not
sure what you’re getting at.
Avoiding giving an answer / or taking time to think before
answering
- Perhaps
we could deal with that later.
- Can we
talk about that on another occasion?
- I’m
afraid that’s not my field.
- I don’t
have the figures with me.
- I’m
sure Mr. (…) could answer that question.
- That’s
interesting, but I’d prefer not to answer that
today.
Checking the questioner is satisfied
- Does
that answer your question?
- Is that
clear?
- May we
go on?
