Business English- Starting Presentations Politeness Competition Game

Starting presentations politeness competition game

What is wrong with all the phrases below?

Getting people’s attention/ Getting started

(cough cough cough/ tap tap tap). Quiet please./ Listen to my presentation

 

Greeting

Hiya!/ Wassup?/ Yo!/ Alright?/ How’s it going boys and girls?/ Hey guys and gals!

 

Connecting personally with the audience/ Showing awareness of the audience

You all look really bored, so…/ You all look really tired, so…/ I’m sure you know absolutely nothing about my topic, so…/ Wow! Ten people!/ Good to see all the usual faces!

 

Sharing personal information/ Introducing yourself

(just say your first name, pointing to your chest with both thumbs)/ You all know me, right?                                      

 

I already told some of you that I… but you probably don’t remember that.

 

Giving the title/ topic of the presentation

This is the topic (pointing at the screen).

 

Hooking the audience

Hands up if you own fewer than five pairs of underpants./ It’s a bit of a dirty joke, but…/ I bet you ten dollars you can’t guess…/ Look at this number. Amazing, right?

 

Outlining your presentation

Explaining the structure/ organisation/ parts of your presentation

I’ll cover this, this and this./ After all that boring stuff, I’ll…/ Then at last I’ll…

 

Talking about timing

I should be able to get it done in five minutes or so.

 

Explaining your policy on the audience asking questions

Please don’t interrupt.

 

Explaining the aim(s) of your presentation/ what you want to achieve

What the hell could I possibly hope to achieve by presenting this? Well,…/ Why would I choose such an idiotic topic? Well, my goal is…             

 

Ending the introduction and moving onto the body of the presentation

Right! Everything clear? So, let’s go!/ First, look at this.

 

Choose a phrase above. Take turns making it more and more formal/ polite (usually meaning longer and longer), until you can’t go any further. Discuss which of those versions is most useful for your own presentations, then do the same with other phrases above.

Ask about any phrases which you don’t understand, are not sure of the formality of, etc

Without looking above, put the lines below into order by formality by putting numbers next to them, starting with “1” for the most informal one (= the one that was above).

 

Getting people’s attention/ Getting started

• (cough cough cough/ tap tap tap). Quiet please./ Listen to my presentation
• I’d like to get started, if I may.
• If everyone is ready, I’d like to get started, if at all possible.
• Can I have your attention, please?
• Please listen to my presentation.
• Can I have your attention?
• Let’s make a start./ Can I start?
• Well then. Let’s make a start, shall we?/ Can we get started?

 

Greeting

• Good morning/ afternoon/ evening (everyone).
• Good morning/ afternoon/ evening ladies and gentlemen.
• Good morning/ afternoon/ evening ladies and gents.
• Hello everyone
• Hi everyone
• Hi/ Hi guys
• Hiya!/ Wassup?/ Yo!/ Alright?/ How’s it going boys and girls?/ Hey guys and gals!

 

Connecting personally with the audience/ Showing awareness of the audience

• I’m flattered that you would come here on such a nice sunny day./ I’m honoured that so many people have come to my presentation today.
• I’m sure you are all a little sleepy after lunch, but…/ I know some of you have heard my presentation before, but…/ I guess you are probably thinking about lunch, so…
• It’s nice to see so many familiar faces./ Thank you so much for taking to time to come to my presentation.
• You all look really bored, so…/ You all look really tired, so…/ I’m sure you know absolutely nothing about my topic, so…/ Wow! Ten people!/ Good to see all the usual faces!

 

Sharing personal information/ Introducing yourself

• (just say your first name, pointing to your chest with both thumbs)/ You all know me, right?
• (just say your first name, pointing to your chest with the fingers of an open hand)
• As some of you already know, my name is (name)./ I think you all know my face but perhaps not my name, which is…/ I think most of you know me, but I’ll start by introducing myself anyway.
• As you should know, I’m (name)
• I’m (name).
• My name is (name).
• Please allow me to introduce myself./ I’ll begin with a brief personal introduction.

 

• I already told some of you that I… but you probably don’t remember that.
• I think you already know…, but you may not know that I…/ Today’s topic is a good one for me because…
• You might not be aware of the fact that I…

 

Giving the title/ topic of the presentation

• As I think you are already aware, today my presentation topic is…
• I’m gonna chat about…/ I’m not sure if this is a good topic, but…/ The only thing I could think of to talk about is…
• I’ve been invited here today in order to share with you…
• This is the topic (pointing at the screen).
• Today’s topic is…/ My presentation is about…/ The subject of this presentation is…/ I’m going to discuss…
• What I’d like to talk about today is…/ What I’d like to explain in my presentation is…

 

Hooking the audience

• Hands up if you own fewer than five pairs of underpants./ It’s a bit of a dirty joke, but…/ I bet you ten dollars you can’t guess…/ Look at this number. Amazing, right?/
• How many people here…?/ Have you ever wondered…?/ Did you know that…?/ … once said…/ I can’t overemphasize the importance of this topic…
• I’d like to commence with a quotation, if I may./ To pique your interest,…/ I’d like to begin with some data of particular interest, specifically…
• Just yesterday this topic was in the news because…/ I think this is an important topic because…/ There’s an interesting quote on this subject, which is that…/ There’s an amazing statistic that…            
• Please raise your hand if…/ Few people know that…
• There is a famous joke on this topic which goes…/ … said something funny about this… / Did you see yesterday in the news that…?/ Can you guess…?/ You won’t believe what… said about this, which was…

 

Outlining the presentation

Explaining the structure/ organisation/ parts of the presentation

• Having finished that,…/ My presentation will conclude with…
• I’ll cover this, this and this./ After all that boring stuff, I’ll…/ Then at last I’ll…
• I’ve divided my presentation into… parts./ First of all,…/ Second,…/ Then,…
• My presentation is divided into... parts./ Secondly,…/ After that section,…
• The presentation will commence with…/ Initially,…/ That will be followed by…/ In the penultimate part,…                        
• Topic one is…/ I’ll finish up with…

 

Talking about timing

• I should be able to get it done in five minutes or so.
• I’m going to speak for about five minutes.
• This presentation will last for approximately five minutes.

 

Explaining your policy on the audience asking questions

• If anything at all that I say isn’t 100% clear, then please do not hesitate to interrupt my presentation and ask me for clarification.
• If anything isn’t clear, it is of course okay to interrupt./ Please feel free to ask questions at any time.
• Please don’t interrupt.
• Please leave questions until the end./ Ask me questions at the end.
• There will time for questions at the end./ There will be a Q&A session at the end.

 

Explaining the aim(s) of your presentation/ what you want to achieve

• After this presentation, I really hope most of you will…/ By presenting this, I hope I can convince you that…
• By the end of my presentation, I want to prove to you that…/ My goal is to change your mind about…
• To set out the goals of today’s presentation,…/ My mission in presenting this to you is…
• What the hell could I possibly hope to achieve by presenting this? Well,…/ Why would I choose such an idiotic topic? Well, my goal is…
• Why would I choose such a strange topic? Well, my aim is to…

 

Ending the introduction and moving onto the body of the presentation

• Right! Everything clear? So, let’s go!/ First, look at this.
• Well then. If there are no questions at this stage, my presentation will commence with…
• Well, getting started with the first of those topics,…/ So, let’s really get started with…/ If there are no questions so far, let’s have a look at…

 

Check as a class or with the suggested answers.

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Suggested answers

Compare your ideas with the list below. Other answers are possible, so please check if you had a different order or thought of different phrases in the first stage.

Getting people’s attention/ Getting started

1. (cough cough cough/ tap tap tap). Quiet please./ Listen to my presentation
2. Please listen to my presentation.
3. Can I have your attention?
4. Can I have your attention, please?
5. Let’s make a start./ Can I start?
6. Well then. Let’s make a start, shall we?/ Can we get started?
7. I’d like to get started, if I may.
8. If everyone is ready, I’d like to get started, if at all possible.

 

Greeting

1. Hiya!/ Wassup?/ Yo!/ Alright?/ How’s it going boys and girls?/ Hey guys and gals!
2. Hi/ Hi guys
3. Hi everyone
4. Hello everyone
5. Good morning/ afternoon/ evening (everyone).
6. Good morning/ afternoon/ evening ladies and gents.
7. Good morning/ afternoon/ evening ladies and gentlemen.

 

Connecting personally with the audience/ Showing awareness of the audience

1. You all look really bored, so…/ You all look really tired, so…/ I’m sure you know absolutely nothing about my topic, so…/ Wow! Ten people!/ Good to see all the usual faces!
2. I’m sure you are all a little sleepy after lunch, but…/ I know some of you have heard my presentation before, but…/ I guess you are probably thinking about lunch, so…
3. It’s nice to see so many familiar faces./ Thank you so much for taking to time to come to my presentation.
4. I’m flattered that you would come here on such a nice sunny day./ I’m honoured that so many people have come to my presentation today.

 

Sharing personal information/ Introducing yourself

1. (just say your first name, pointing to your chest with both thumbs)/ You all know me, right?
2. (just say your first name, pointing to your chest with the fingers of an open hand)
3. As you should know, I’m (name)
4. I’m (name).
5. My name is (name).
6. As some of you already know, my name is (name)./ I think you all know my face but perhaps not my name, which is…/ I think most of you know me, but I’ll start by introducing myself anyway.
7. Please allow me to introduce myself./ I’ll begin with a brief personal introduction.

 

1. I already told some of you that I… but you probably don’t remember that.
2. I think you already know…, but you may not know that I…/ Today’s topic is a good one for me because…
3. You might not be aware of the fact that I…

 

Giving the title/ topic of the presentation

1. This is the topic (pointing at the screen).
2. I’m gonna chat about…/ I’m not sure if this is a good topic, but…/ The only thing I could think of to talk about is…
3. Today’s topic is…/ My presentation is about…/ The subject of this presentation is…/ I’m going to discuss…
4. What I’d like to talk about today is…/ What I’d like to explain in my presentation is…
5. As I think you are already aware, today my presentation topic is…
6. I’ve been invited here today in order to share with you…

 

Explaining the aim(s) of the presentation/ what you want to achieve

1. What the hell could I possibly hope to achieve by presenting this? Well,…/ Why would I choose such an idiotic topic? Well, my goal is…
2. Why would I choose such a strange topic? Well, my aim is to…
3. By the end of my presentation, I want to prove to you that…/ My goal is to change your mind about…
4. After this presentation, I really hope most of you will…/ By presenting this, I hope I can convince you that…
5. To set out the goals of today’s presentation,…/ My mission in presenting this to you is…

 

Hooking the audience

1. Hands up if you own fewer than five pairs of underpants./ It’s a bit of a dirty joke, but…/ I bet you ten dollars you can’t guess…/ Look at this number. Amazing, right?/
2. There is a famous joke on this topic which goes…/ … said something funny about this… / Did you see yesterday in the news that…?/ Can you guess…?/ You won’t believe what… said about this, which was…
3. How many people here…?/ Have you ever wondered…?/ Did you know that…?/ … once said…/ I can’t overemphasize the importance of this topic…
4. Just yesterday this topic was in the news because…/ I think this is an important topic because…/ There’s an interesting quote on this subject, which is that…/ There’s an amazing statistic that…            
5. Please raise your hand if…/ Few people know that…
6. I’d like to commence with a quotation, if I may./ To pique your interest,…/ I’d like to begin with some data of particular interest, specifically…

 

Outlining the presentation

Explaining the structure/ organisation/ parts of the presentation

1. I’ll cover this, this and this./ After all that boring stuff, I’ll…/ Then at last I’ll…
2. Topic one is…/ I’ll finish up with…
3. I’ve divided my presentation into… parts./ First of all,…/ Second,…/ Then,…
4. My presentation is divided into... parts./ Secondly,…/ After that section,…
5. Having finished that,…/ My presentation will conclude with…
6. The presentation will commence with…/ Initially,…/ That will be followed by…/ In the penultimate part,…                        

 

Talking about timing

1. I should be able to get it done in five minutes or so.
2. I’m going to speak for about five minutes.
3. This presentation will last for approximately five minutes.

 

Explaining your policy on the audience asking questions

1. Please don’t interrupt.
2. Please leave questions until the end./ Ask me questions at the end.
3. There will time for questions at the end./ There will be a Q&A session at the end.
4. If anything isn’t clear, it is of course okay to interrupt./ Please feel free to ask questions at any time.
5. If anything at all that I say isn’t 100% clear, then please do not hesitate to interrupt my presentation and ask me for clarification.

 

Ending the introduction and moving onto the body of the presentation

1. Right! Everything clear? So, let’s go!/ First, look at this.
2. Well, getting started with the first of those topics,…/ So, let’s really get started with…/ If there are no questions so far, let’s have a look at…
3. Well then. If there are no questions at this stage, my presentation will commence with…

 

Underline useful words and expressions for being more polite/ more formal above.

How would you define formal and informal language?

Label these things as formal (F) or informal (I):

• Abbreviations
• Idioms and slang
• Like everyday speech
• Long sentences
• Long words
• Polite language
• Short sentences
• Short words
• Unlike everyday speech

 

Change groups and play the first more and more formal game again.

Circle all the phrases above which could be suitable for your own presentation.

Draw a star next to the best phrases above for you.