MED Magazine

MED Magazine - Issue 25 - December 2004

Top Tips for Business English
Teaching presentation skills: activities
by Rosemary Richey

Introduction

Giving a good presentation in English requires careful attention to the right language. The following activities will help you learn and practise words and phrases that deal with presentations. Use the Macmillan English Dictionary when completing the exercises and checking your answers.

Activity 1

Read these sentences that talk about presentations. Mark them with T for True, or F for False.

a	_T_	Presentations are typically used in sectors such as banking, tourism, engineering and law.
b	___	For any type of business, the only intention of a presentation is to make a deal.
c	___	The introduction of a presentation is used to outline the issues that will follow.
d	___	The main points in a presentation need to be transparent and obvious to follow.
e	___	The summary of a presentation should bring up new selling points.
f	___	In engineering, people make presentations to talk about findings from research.
g	___	Team leaders in engineering often use presentations to give an update on the status of a project.
h	___	Speaking in a monotone in a presentation makes the audience very attentive.
i	___	Engineers rely on visual aids to support and to document information.

Activity 2

Look up the underlined words taken from activity 1 in the dictionary. Write a synonym or short explanation for each.

a	sector a part of a country's economic or business activity____________
b	intention _______________________________________________________
c	to make a deal _______________________________________________________
d	to outline _______________________________________________________
e	transparent _______________________________________________________
f	obvious _______________________________________________________
g	to bring up _______________________________________________________
h	findings _______________________________________________________
i	research _______________________________________________________
j	update _______________________________________________________
k	monotone _______________________________________________________
l	attentive _______________________________________________________
m	to rely on _______________________________________________________
n	to document _______________________________________________________

Activity 3

Look at the words taken from activities 1 and 2. Form new words then check the forms and meanings of these words with the dictionary.

a	attentive	attentively, attention
b	to document
c	intention
d	obvious
e	rely on
f	research
g	transparent

Activity 4

Complete these sentences with words or phrases from activities 2 and 3. Make sure you use the correct form of the word.

a	His presentation was transparent and easy to follow.
b	In her presentation the project manager informed the audience about the latest ________ of the team's ________ .
c	The figures presented were considered disappointing and ________ .
d	The audience listened _________ during the entire presentation.
e	It is our _____________ to give you the highest quality engineering services.
f	They both work in the engineering ___________ .
g	The aim of the presentation was to ___________ with the clients.
h	His presentation was supported by evidence well ___________ .