MED Magazine

MED Magazine - Issue 24 - November 2004

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

Introduction

Good presentations in English require not only careful preparation and planning but special language too. These activities will help you learn and practise words and phrases you’ll need to give a presentation. Use the Macmillan English Dictionary when completing the exercises.

Activity 1

Read this overview on presentations.

Presentations have a certain purpose. People who give presentations aim to:

•	inform
•	persuade
•	sell
•	teach or train

Businesses commonly use presentations to improve their prospects and profile with clients or customers. For example, in the hotel industry, presentations are used for promotion of conference packages to potential corporate guests. Marketing and sales managers present their hotels as suitable venues for meeting facilities and overnight stay along with ideal entertainment. They offer special rates and benefits to persuade companies to hold their conferences at their hotels.

For a presentation to be effective for hotels or any business, organisation is essential. To deliver a good presentation, follow these important steps:

•	assess your audience beforehand
•	prepare handouts
•	utilize visual aids
•	give a clear introduction
•	explain your objective
•	say the length of your talk
•	state the main points
•	emphasize the unique selling points (USPs)
•	give a brief summary
•	take questions

By following these basic steps you’ll be able to build your confidence in giving enjoyable and successful presentations.

Activity 2

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

a	to aim to intend or hope to achieve something
b	to persuade _______________________________________________________
c	prospects _______________________________________________________
d	profile _______________________________________________________
e	promotion _______________________________________________________
f	conference _______________________________________________________
g	potential _______________________________________________________
h	corporate _______________________________________________________
i	venues _______________________________________________________
j	facilities _______________________________________________________
k	overnight _______________________________________________________
l	rates _______________________________________________________
m	benefits _______________________________________________________
n	to hold _______________________________________________________
o	to deliver _______________________________________________________
p	to assess _______________________________________________________
q	to utilize _______________________________________________________
r	to state _______________________________________________________
s	to emphasize _______________________________________________________
t	summary _______________________________________________________

Activity 3

The following sentences describe the presentation given by a sales manager. Complete each sentence with a word from activity 2. Make sure that you use the correct form of the word.

a	The sales manager prepared by assessing the people who would come to his presentation.
b	In his presentation he _________ to inform his audience about new city tours.
c	He hoped to _________ the people to try the exciting tour packages.
d	The sales manager clearly _________ the main benefits to his audience.
e	He _________ the USPs of his tour company.
f	He didn’t forget to _________ visual aids during his presentation.
g	Finally, he gave a _________ of the main points.