Useful Language and Guidelines: Presentations

General Guidelines

• Prepare and practice.
• Breathe deeply.
• Stand tall.
• Find a few people to look at.
• Face the audience, not the screen.
• Do not read a script.
• Project your voice.
• Do not speak too quickly.
• Use pauses, stress, and intonation to emphasize important points.
• Make sure your audience understands any abbreviations you use.
• Limit “fillers” in your speech.

Effective Introduction Techniques

• Ask a question.
• Tell a story.
• Give some surprising information.
• Establish your credibility.
• Give an overview and/or state your goals.

Expressions for Attracting the Audience’s Attention

• My name is… / I’m …
• Today, I’m going to be talking about …
• In this presentation, we’re going to show you…
• How many of you…?
• Please raise your hands if you…
• Did you know that …?
• Here’s a statistic that may surprise you.
• Let me show you our plan.
• Here’s an overview of…
• My goal is to …
• Here’s what our objectives are today.