Step 1 Lay solid foundations - api.macmillanenglish.com

Step 1 Lay solid foundations

1 The start Attention curve 9 Who, why, what, how 9 Grammar: will, be going to, would like to 12

2 The finish Signal, summary, conclusion, closing remarks 14 Grammar: Present perfect 16

3 Structuring Signposting 17 Delivery: Pausing 18

4 Full presentation Analysis 19 Preparation and presentation 21 Feedback and targets 22

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1 The start Attention curve A Look at this graph. The vertical axis represents the attention of the audience and the horizontal axis shows time during an average presentation. How would you draw a curve in this graph?

B Now, look at the graph in the answer key on page 100. At which points in a presentation can the audience most easily remember what the presenter says?

Who, why, what, how A Look at the audience’s questions (1–8) and match the numbers with the type of information. Whoisthepresenter?.................... Whyareweallhere?.......... Whatishegoingtotalkabout?.................... Howishegoingtoorganisethepresentation?..............................

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B Now read the text and check your answers.

10 Step 1 Lay solid foundations

Givingapresentationisliketakingyouraudiencefromstarttofinishonajourney.Atthestart,youraudiencerequiresomebasicinformationbeforetheycanaccompanyyouonthisjourney.Oncetheyhavetheinformation,they’reonyourside,attentiveandreadytolistentoeverystepofthejourneyalongtoyourfinalmessage.

WhoIntroduceyourself.Clearly,theamountofinformationyougiveaboutyourselfandyourworkandthelevelofformalityyouuse,dependsonthepresentationyou’regiving.Forexample,forapresentationtoagroupofyourcolleagues,youprobablydon’tneedtogiveyournameandbackgroundandyoucanuseinformallanguage.Apresentationtoanewclientcanrequiremoredetailedinformationaboutyourbackgroundandexperienceandamoreformalapproach.Makesurethatyou’recomfortabletalkingaboutyourpastandpresentexperienceinsuchcases.

WhyTellyouraudienceyourdestination–thereasonthey’retheretolistentoyouandthepurposeofyourpresentation.Iftheaudiencedon’tknowwhytheyshouldlisten,theywon’thaveanyreasontoaccompanyyoualongyourjourney.The‘why’islinkedtotheconclusion,yourfinalmessage–probably,themostimportantpartofyourpresentation.

WhatOutlinetheroadmap–themainpointsthatyou’regoingtodevelopandtheorderinwhichyouwouldliketodevelopthese.Whenyouraudiencehaveaclearviewoftheroadmapyouwanttonavigate,theycanfollowyoumoreeasilyandcanalsoseeyou’replanned,preparedandeffectivelymanagingthepresentation.Therearegoodreasonsforgivingtheroadmaps,asresearchshowsyouraudiencelistenbetterandrememberbetterandmorewhentheyknowthestructureandshapeofyourpresentation.Thetechniqueweusetogivetheroadmapiscalled‘sequencing’.Thisisaverysimpletechniqueasitjustinvolvesusinglanguagesuchasone, two, threeorfi rstly, secondly, thirdly.Nevertheless,itisalsohighlyeffectiveas‘sequencing’or‘ordering’,asitissometimescalled,isaprincipleofmemorybywhichwerecallinformation.

HowPutyourselfintoyouraudience’sshoes:addressyouraudience’sneeds.Youraudiencewon’tlistentoyouasyougointothemainpartofyourpresentationiftheyhaveotherconcerns.Theymaybethinking:How long do I have to sit here? Do I have to take notes? When can I ask questions? Is there any coffee here?Itcanthereforebeusefultoanswersuchquestionsinyour‘start’sothatyouraudiencearereadytolisten.

The presentation journey

Your‘start’shouldincludethesepointsbutatthesametimenotbetoolong.Ninetysecondsisagoodguidelineasthere’sevidencethatyoubegintoloselistenersafterthisamountoftime.Youraudiencetendtolistentoyoureverywordandformanimpressionofyouintheseninetyseconds.Anaccurate‘start’helpstocreateagoodimpressionandyoushouldaimtobegrammaticallyaccurateatthisstage.

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C Read through these phrases. Write ‘who’, ‘why’, ‘what’ or ‘how’ next to each phrase. Check any vocabulary you don’t know.

1 OnbehalfofMrKeane,mayIwelcomeyoutoJacksonInc.Myname’sJoBlackandI’mresponsiblefor….................

2 Mypurposetodayisto…................. 3 I’mgoingtodevelopthreemainpoints.First,…Second,…Third,…................. 4 Letmeintroducemyself.Iam…Iama…................. 5 I’llpassroundcopiesofmyslidessoyoucanmakenotesasIgothroughthepresentation................ 6 BeforeIcontinue,letmetellyousomethingaboutmyself.................. 7 TodayIwouldliketogiveyouageneraloverviewof…................. 8 I’vedividedmypresentationintothreemainpoints.Iwouldliketobeginwith…................. 9 So,I’llbeaddressingthreemainpointsandthefirstoneisgoingtobe…Thesecondpointwill

be…Andfinallythelastpointis….................10 I’mgoingtooutlinethreeproposals.Firstly,I’ll…Then,I’dliketo…andfinally….................11 Today,I’mgoingtobringyouuptodatewith….................12 Thepresentationshouldlastaboutfiveminutes..................13 We’lltakeashortcoffeebreakatabout10.30..................14 Myobjectivetodayisto….................15 Morningeveryone.Thanksforcoming.MynameisLucaandI’minchargeof….................16 Ifyouhaveanyquestions,I’dbegratefulifyoucouldleavethemuntiltheend..................17 I’mhappytotakeanyquestionsafterthat..................18 Forthosewhodon’tknowme,mynameisCarlosLópezandI’mthemanagingdirector..................19 Wecantaketwoorthreequestionsattheendofeachpoint..................20 Youdon’tneedtotakenotesaswe’llbehandingoutpresentationbooklets..................21 Iwouldliketostartwith…Andthen…Lastly….................22 Today,I’mgoingtotellyou….................23 WhatIamgoingtodotodayisreview….................24 Pleasefeelfreetointerruptmeatanytimeifyouhaveaquestion..................25 Thereasonweareheretodayisto….................26 Morningeveryone.I’m…I’ma…at….................

D 1.01, 1.02Watch César and Zhan’s ‘starts’ to their Step 1 presentations and tick the phrases they used.


Find Your Voice

Don’t learn all these phrases now. Highlight one or two from each category that you really like or think are useful for you. Learn them by using them in your presentation practice – prepare the ‘start’ of a presentation that is typical of your work situation, using the phrases you wish to learn. When you’re ready, stand up and present your ‘start’.

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Grammar A 1.03, 1.04Watch Dan and Svitlana’s ‘starts’ to their Step 1 presentations. Complete the phrases they used to give the ‘whats’ of their presentations. Dan 1 Firstly,I...........................................somegeneralinfo… 2 Then,I...........................................totheeconomy… 3 …andthenI...........................................gointodetails… Svitlana 4 TodayI...........................................tellyouwhy… 5 I...........................................bytellingyouwhat… 6 I...........................................togivingyouafewexamples.

1 Whatformsdotheyuse? 2 Whydoyouthinkit’sagoodideatouseavarietyofforms?

‘will’

• ShallismuchlesscommonthanwillinBritishEnglishandhardlyeverusedinAmericanEnglish. • Willisamodalauxiliaryverbanddoesn’tadd-sinthethirdpersonsingular. • Weusuallyusethecontractedforminspeaking: FirstlyI’ll lookat…

‘be going to’

Note

Itisadvisablenottooveruseoneformatthestartofapresentation.Wecanusebothwillandbegoingto togivethe‘why’and/or‘what’ofapresentation.Willisusedheretogivefutureinformationandbegoing toisusedtoindicateaplan.Notethatwedon’tnormallyusewilltotalkaboutfutureeventswhichare alreadydecidedorplanned.

• Goingtocanbepronouncedasgonnaininformalspeech.ThisismuchmorecommoninAmerican English.InBritishEnglish,itcansoundinformal.

Form

will/shall+infinitive(withoutto)

Firstly,I’ll gothroughthebackgroundtotheproject.Iwill finishbyoutliningthechangeswemadetotheoriginalschedule.

Form

begoingto+infinitive

TodayI’m going totellyouwhyIchosethistopicandhowyouwillbenefitfrommyresearch.I’m going totellyoualittlebitaboutmyresearch.

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‘would (’d) like to’

• Weusewouldliketoatthebeginningofapresentationtopolitelystatewhatwewanttodo. • Avoidusingmoredirectforms,e.g.Iwantatthisstageofapresentation.Usetheseatlaterstages.

B Here are the ‘whats’ from three presentations. Change the overuse of will to create more varied and interesting ‘whats’. 1 Firstly,I’llgivethebackgroundtotheproject.Then,I’lltellyouaboutthepresentsituation andthenI’llshowthefuturechanges. 2 Myfirstpointwillbetoshowyouthestructureofthedepartment,mysecondpointwillbeour workproceduresandmythirdpointwillbesuggestionsforgreaterefficiency. 3 I’lldevelopthreemainpoints.Firstly,I’llgiveageneraloverview.Second,I’llmoveonto specificsandthird,I’lldescribetheoverallchanges.


Find Your Voice

Now look again at the ‘start’ you presented on page 11. Have you used a good variety of forms in the ‘what’ section? Revise your ‘start’. If you want, present your ‘start’ again.

Form

wouldlike(’dlike)to+infinitive

I’d like to moveontoacomparisonoflastandthisyear.I would like to giveyouanoverviewoftrademarklaw.

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2 The finish Signal, summary, conclusion, closing remarks A Read the text about the ‘fi nish’ of a presentation and answer the questions below.

1 Whydon’tsomepeoplefinishtheirpresentationseffectivelyinyouropinion? 2 Doyouagreethateverypresentationhassomekindofconclusion? 3 Haveyoueverthought‘Whatwasthepoint?’afterlisteningtoapresentation?

MakeyourfinalmessageclearStayincontroluntiltheverylastsecondandfollowthesestepsatthe‘finish’ofyourpresentation.

Firstly,pausebrieflyandsignalclearlythatyouarenowreadytofinishthepresentation.Theaudiencewillstarttolistenagaincloselyatthispoint.

Then,makeyoursummary,givingabriefoverviewofwhathasalreadybeensaid.Thesummaryisareflectionofyour‘what’andlooksback.Itshouldnotbetoolongasyouwillloseyouraudience’sattentionagain,butdetailedenoughtocoveryourpoints.Thiscanbeadifficultbalancetoachieve!Agoodsummarygivesyourlistenerstimetoreflectonthecontentandbuildsuptoyourconclusion,makingyourconclusionstronger,morepowerfulandmoreeffective.Aconclusionwithoutasummarycansoundincompleteasyouraudiencemaynothavelistenedtoeverypointduringthemainpartofthepresentationandthepurposecanbelost.Avoidgivinganyconclusionswhileyouaremakingyoursummary.

Afterthis,giveyourconclusion.Thisisareflectionofyour‘why’andlooksforwardtowhatyouwantpeopletodoorthinkafteryourpresentation.Itshouldfollowlogicallyfromyoursummary.Therearedifferentkindsofconclusions:youcanmakeacallforaction,makearecommendationorassureyouraudiencethatthey’rebetterinformed.Thisisthedestinationofyourjourneyandthemostimportantpartofyourpresentation.

Finally,makeyourclosingremarksbythankingyouraudience,askingforquestionsorpassingroundyourpresentationhandouts.

Henry trained himself in the ‘dramatic pause’.

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B Write Sig (Signal), Sum (Summary), Conc (Conclusion) or CR (Closing Remarks) next to the phrases below.

1 So,thatbringsmetotheendofmypresentation.......... 2 Letmesummarisewhatwe’velookedat.......... 3 Thankyouforyourattention.......... 4 I’llbrieflysummarisethemainissues.......... 5 I’llnowhandout…......... 6 IsuggestJohannes…andMichel…......... 7 I’dliketosummarise.......... 8 I’dliketoconcludebystronglyrecommending…......... 9 So,thatcompletesourpresentation..........10 Letmejustgooverthekeypointsagain..........11 Tosumup….........12 Itrustyougainedaninsightinto….........13 Toconclude,I’dliketoleaveyouwiththefollowingthought….........14 Well,thatcoverseverythingIwanttosay..........15 Ifyouhaveanyquestions,I’dbehappytoanswerthem..........16 Atthisstage,I’dliketogoover….........17 Inmyopinion,theonlywayforwardisto….........18 Thankyouforlistening..........19 Tosummarise,I’llrunthroughmythreetopics..........20 Inconclusion,I’dliketoleaveyouwiththefollowingidea..........

Find Your Voice

Highlight the phrases above that you really like or think are useful for you, keeping in mind the kinds of conclusion that you often have to make in your presentations. Do you … • make recommendations? • give information? • motivate? • inspire? • give a call to action? • persuade?

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Grammar A 1.05Watch the summary from the ‘finish’ to César’s Step 1 presentation. Answer the questions. 1 WhattensedidCésaruseinhissummary? 2 Doyouthinkthistenseiseffectivewhengivingasummary?Why? 3 DidCésarfollowtherecommendedprocedureinhis‘finish’? 4 Wasthiseffective?

Present perfect

• Ingeneralweusethepresentperfecttoconnectthepastwiththepresent.Theactionmay becomplete,butthetimeperiodiseithernotfinishedordefinite. So,aswehave seentoday,thereareverygoodreasonsto… • Comparewiththepastsimplewherethetimeperiodisfinishedanddefinite. So,aswesawlastweek,thereareverygoodreasonsto…

B Complete this presentation extract with the present perfect or simple past form of the verbs.Let’snowturntotraining.Manyotherinternationalcompanies(1)...................(envy)ourdevelopmentprogrammefiveyearsago.But,theinternalsituation(2)...................(be)actuallyfarfromsatisfactory.Then,eachdepartment(3)...................(make)itsowndecisions,(4)...................(set)itsownbudgetand(5)...................(appoint)itsowntrainers.Thisoften(6)...................(mean)thatstaff(7)...................(notattend)trainingthat(8)...................(be)necessaryfortheirjobs.We(9)...................(waste)bothtimeandmoney.Allinall,we(10)...................(nothave)thebestpossiblesolution.How(11)...................we...................(change)thingssincethen?Well,alltrainingmeasures(12)...................(be)centralised.Thisyear,we(13)...................(make)HRresponsibleforalldecisionsontraining.We(14)...................(allocate)onecentralbudgetand(15)...................(introduce)oneintegratedsystem.Training(16)...................(become)muchmoreeffectiveandtargeted.We(17)...................(start)tobuildmoderntrainingfacilitiesandyouaresittingtodayinourbrandnewpurposebuiltAcademy.I’msurethatyoumustagreethattodaywe(18)...................(find)amuchbetter,moreeffectiveandtargetedsolutionthantheonewe(19)...................(have)before.I’lljustquicklysummarisewhatwe(20)...................(see)sofar.

Find Your Voice

Now prepare and present the ‘finish’ of a presentation, typical of your work or study situation. • Include any phrases you want to learn. • Use the present perfect in your summary. • Make sure you give a clear logical conclusion.

Form

have/has+pastparticipleI’ve told youaboutthecurrentsituation,theproblemsandthesolutions.

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3 Structuring Signposting A 1.06Watch an extract from an interview with Dan after his Step 1 presentation. 1 HowdoesstructuringapresentationhelpDan? 2 Doyouagreewithhiscomments?

B 1.07, 1.08Phrases 1–22 below are examples of signposts. Read them and check any vocabulary you don’t know. Now, watch the main content of Svitlana and Zhan’s Step 1 presentations and tick the signposts they use.

1 Movingonnowto…......... 2 Iwouldliketobeginby…......... 3 Let’snowturnto…......... 4 Let’sstartwithmypresentation.......... 5 So,firstofall…......... 6 Now,turningto…......... 7 Now,whatabout…?......... 8 Letmemoveonto…......... 9 So,that’sthegeneralpicturefor….........10 I’dliketoconcludethispointbysaying….........11 Thisleadsmetoapoint….........

C Look at the graph and read the text below. Why are signposts important?

12 So,we’velookedat….........13 Thatcompletesmyoverviewof….........14 Let’sjustrecap….........15 So,that’sprettymuch….........16 andthisis….........17 Nextwecometo….........18 So,thatwas….........19 Mynextpointis….........20 That’sallIwanttosayabout….........21 So,thatcoversthispoint..........22 Andfinally….........

Signpostinghelpsyoustructureandshapethemaincontentofyourpresentation.Signpostscreate‘verbalparagraphs’or‘verbalsignals’andraisetheattentioncurveatthebeginningandendofeachpointofyourpresentation.Thetechniqueallowsyoutoguidetheaudiencethroughthestructureofyourpresentationlinkingonepointtothenext.Theaudiencecan’tseeyournotesandcan’tlookforwardtoseewhatiscoming.Youknowwhereyou’regoingonyourjourneyandyouneedtoguideyouraudiencebytellingthemexactlywhereyouareontheroadmapofyourpresentation.Thisisasimplebuthighlyeffectivetechniquethataddsclaritytoyourpresentations.


Howdosignpostswork?

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Find Your Voice

Get into groups of five. If your group has fewer than five people, one person can take two or more roles. Role play a presentation using the structure below.

Keep it short and simple (KISS). Concentrate on using the language and techniques you have learned so far in this step for starting, finishing and signposting. Change roles for different presentations.

Suggestions for presentation topics:

• three countries for a good holiday • three great films or books• three cars • three restaurants in your city


Delivery Pausing

A 1.09Watch an extract from an interview with Svitlana after her Step 1 presentation. How does pausing help the audience? B 1.10Watch an extract from an interview with César after his Step 1 presentation. 1 WhichadditionaltechniquesdidCésarmention? 2 Whatarethebenefitsofthesetechniquesforanon-nativespeaker? 3 Canyouthinkofanyadditionaladvantages? 4 Whydoyouthinkpausingsometimesfeelsuncomfortableforapresenter?

C Read the text about pausing and then practise saying Svitlana’s text below with pauses.

Thatiswhyidentifyingthekindsofdeviationsandstudyingthemisanecessarystepinbuildingamorejustandsuccessfulsociety.//Tosummarise,//Iwillrunthroughmythreemainpoints.//Firstly,Iwouldliketoemphasiseonemoretimetheimportanceofstudyingadeviantbehaviourofeconomicagentsasaseparatesubject.//Secondly,Iwouldliketobringyourattentiontotheimportanceofresearchingtheoriginsofeconomiccrimes//andthirdly,weneedtobeawareofdifferentkindsofdeviationsandtotrytoconvertnegativedeviationsintopositiveoneswheneverpossible.//Inconclusion,I’dliketoleaveyouwiththeideathatitisuptoyoutoimprovethequalityofyourlivesandsocietiesyouliveinbyrealisingthatyoucandealwithadeviantbehaviourefficientlybysimplyavoidingparticipatingineconomiccrimes.//Thankyouverymuchforyourattention.And,ifyouhaveanyquestions,Iwillbehappytoanswerthemnow.

Pausebeforeusingthesignposttoturntoanewpoint.Countuptoteninyourheadandbreathedeeply.Thishelpsyouraudiencetoassimilateyourinformationandgivesyouthechancetocontrolyournerves.

Person1 Person2 Person3 Person4 Person5 Start Signpost Signpost Signpost Finish Point1 Point2 Point3 Signpost Signpost Signpost

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4 Full presentation Analysis A 1.11Read the brief for the Step 1 presentation on page 21. Then, watch César’s short Step 1 presentation and look at the feedback from a member of César’s audience. Which comments do you agree with?


Pausing

Needs more pausing between some of the points.

Organisation Simple, but clear.

Don’t like all the interaction with the flip chart.

Finish

Signal

Summary

Presentperfect

Conclusion

Closingremarks

There could have been a clearer signal between the last point and the ‘finish’.

Difference between summary and conclusion was very clear. It works even though it’s a short presentation.

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Feedbackform:Laysolidfoundations

Poor OK Yes! Wow! Comments

Start

Who

Why

What

How

Variety

Seems to be very friendly and is not too nervous.

Good pausing – I like the use of the flip chart here.

Doesn’t do this.

Signposting Clear at the beginning of points, but more signposting at the end of the points.‘Let me just turn to’, ‘This brings me to my 3rd point’ – good variety.

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B 1.11Analysis and discussion help you to ‘find your voice’ for your own presentations. Watch César’s presentation again. As you watch, rate his performance in the Feedback form yourself. Remember that analysis is subjective and you don’t have to agree with the assessment in A. If you are working together with a group, discuss your analysis with the group after the presentation.

Pausing

Organisation

Finish

Signal

Summary

Presentperfect

Conclusion

Closingremarks



Start

Who

Why

What

How

Variety

Signposting

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Fullpresentationpractice:Givinginformation

SubjectandstructureChoosefromthefollowinglistorthinkofyourownsubject.• Mydepartmentand/ormycompany• Myindustry• Myuniversity• Myresearch• Mycountry

Takeanydirectionyouwishwithyourchosensubject,butdivideyourpresentationintothreeclearpartsusingthestructurebelow.

STARTPOINT1POINT2POINT3FINISH

YouraudienceYouaremakingthispresentationtoagroupofpeoplewhoareveryimportantforyourfuturecareer.Thiscouldbeyourboardofdirectors,agroupofexternalprofessors,anassessmentcentrepaneloranaudienceataninternationalconference,forexample.Describeyouraudiencebeforeyoustartyourpresentation.

Yourtargets• Tohaveafluent‘who’,‘why’,‘what’,‘how’start• Tohaveawell-structuredandsignpostedpresentation• Tofinishwellwithasummaryandclearconclusion• Toleaveagoodimpressionbygivingawell-preparedpresentation

Preparation and presentation A Read the brief and prepare your own presentation. Don’t forget to KISS (Keep it Short and Simple)!

B Give your full presentation.


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Feedback and targets A If you’re working in a group, analyse each others’ presentations, using the Feedback form below. If you’re working alone, record yourself and analyse your own performance.

Presentations diary

B Look back at your feedback on your Step 1 presentation and, if possible, watch your presentation again. Now read 1–4 below and write your diary for Step 1. 1 Whatwaspositiveforyou?Listthreeaspects. 2 Identifyonethingyoucouldimprove. 3 Identifyonethingthatdidn’tworkatallforyou. 4 Setyourselftwotargetsforyournextfullpresentation.



Start

Who

Why

What

How

Variety

Pausing

Organisation

Finish

Signal

Summary

Presentperfect

Conclusion

Closingremarks

Signposting

Photocopiable Presentations in English © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2008

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Step 1 Lay solid foundations - api.macmillanenglish.com