Learn English Professionals

In the previous lesson you looked at techniques such as chunking and tripling as well as the importance of word stress when giving a presentation. These areas are explored further in this lesson along with some other useful techniques for improving the delivery of your presentations.

In the last lesson you looked at how chunking helps to break up the text naturally. It helps you to pause in the right places and to put the stress on the right words in a sentence.

Here we look at how recognising word partnerships leads to a better understanding of how a text is constructed and therefore how it should be presented.

In each diagram there is a key word that forms strong partnerships with some of the words listed below. Write the words into the boxes to complete the diagrams and form natural word partnerships.

~~choice~~ economy markets budget funds vision
availability appeal offer network

Can you add any more word partners for each keyword?

Try to learn vocabulary items with their word partners rather than always just as single words.

Look at these other word partnerships. The words that form these partnerships are not individual items in these examples; they form whole expressions or chunks. This is important to recognise as you do not want to split up these expressions by pausing unnaturally in the middle. It is also important to know which part of each expression should be stressed.

Use the following expressions to complete the extract from the presentation below.

deal with the consequences

accept their offer

in the long run

willing to compromise

after all

let’s face it

[2.01]____________ , we all know that changes need to be made. [2.02] ____________, this company embraced change at the outset and became a leader in its field precisely because it recognised the changes taking place in society. It may not be easy and tough decisions will need to be made. But
[2.03] ____________ the company will benefit from the changes we make now, as long as we are brave enough to meet the challenge. If we hesitate we must be prepared to [2.04] ____________ : redundancies, closures and ultimately perhaps even the loss of the company. I believe we should [2.05] ____________. That does not mean I am [2.06] willing to compromise on quality and standards, but nor am I willing to hide from the facts.

Look at the expressions used in the exercise above and indicate where the stress should be placed.

Although constantly repeating yourself in a presentation is not a particularly good idea, repetition can be used to great effect.

Look at this example from the previous activity:

That does not mean I am willing to compromise on quality and standards,
but nor am I willing to hide from the facts.

The presenter repeats willing to as an effective way of making a point.

Look at another simple way of using repetition effectively:

More and more people are turning to us for advice.

Here, by simply repeating more, the sentence has more impact.

Use the repetition phrases in the box to complete the sentences in this exercise.

3.01	The new laws will make it ___________________________ for us to remain competitive.
3.02	This latest trend is ________________________ encouraging.
3.03	_________________________ we increase our chances of success.
3.04	They’ve spent _____________________ in order to meet new government environmental regulations.
3.05	But, ________________________________

/millions and millions/ /very, very/ / is it reasonable? Is it fair? /

/harder and harder/ /every minute of every day/

Opposites attract. In the context of a presentation, simple opposites can be used as dramatic contrasts which will attract your audience’s attention.

Match the two parts of each example below to create six dramatic contrasts.

4.01	Just one year ago hardly anyone had heard of him.	A	we were out in the real world doing something about it!
4.02	While you were sitting in meetings thinking about taking action,	B	it’s a question of ‘when’
4.03	To keep our customers	C	stand up and fight for what you believe in.
4.04	Instead of sitting back and letting it happen	D	our competitors will exploit it for us.
4.05	It’s no longer a question of ‘if’ they enter the market	E	Today, the whole business world sits up and listens whenever he speaks.
4.06	If we don’t exploit our advantage	F	we need to lose our arrogance.

Presentations often include statistics or other details that are difficult for an audience to understand clearly. In such cases it may be helpful to provide an image that communicates the information in a way that can be easily understood.

In the following example, the presenter ( a French man living and working in New Delhi, India) uses the audience’s knowledge of their own city to create a more easily identifiable image of the distance involved.

We all know that to complete a marathon you have to run 26 miles. That’s like running from India Gate to the airport ... and back!

It is difficult to picture long distances without something more concrete to compare them with. By using well known landmarks, the speaker is able to give the audience a strong image to help them picture the distance more easily.

Can you adapt the marathon example by creating a more easily identifiable image for an audience from your own town?

Take some time to review this lesson to record words and expressions that you think will be of use to you in the presentations you have to give. Make a list in the space below.

In this lesson you have:

	looked at how word partnerships can help you to chunk effectively and to pace your presentation delivery more effectively.
	used repetition in a way that helps to reinforce a point.
	worked on the technique of dramatic contrast to communicate a particular point more effectively.
	created easily identifiable images to bring statistics to life for your audience.

The next e-m@il lesson – the final lesson in this series on presentation skills – looks at body language and using visuals to create a more dynamic presentation.