GENERAL TRAITS OF BUSINESS PRESENTATIONS

Presentations are memorable when the content, the visuals

supporting it and the speech delivery are outstanding.
Basic principles of giving a presentation:
Keep It Short & Simple: the total length, the dimensions of each part,
and even the length of each sentence.
Know the audience: what they already know, what effect the presenter
wants to achieve.
Involve the audience: people remember a little of what they hear, more
of what they see, most of what they do.
Use visual aids, but do not totally rely on them. Slides with graphs
add variety and impact to the presentation; they must be relevant,
interesting, limited in number.
Never read full text lines from a slide; instead discuss the graphs or
bullet points on it.
Begin and end powerfully, as people remember the first and the last
things presented.
Explain what you intend to say, then say it, then remind the audience
of what you explained. Use the introduction to prepare your audience
for your theme. Then develop the theme. At the end, remind them of
the theme again.

STAGES OF A PERFECT PRESENTATION

PREPARATION

study the audience

prepare the presentation
organise the technical support
check the conference room
rehearse

PURPOSE

to provide instructions
to describe tools, processes, situations or products
to explain or interpret the data in a report
to raise awareness about important issues
to convince audiences/clients/potential buyers
to influence decisions
(company policy, acquisition of goods,
implementation of modern/efficient solutions)
to facilitate team work
to maintain or enhance the level of interest

PERSONALITY

involvement
dynamism
personal attitude and point of view
capacity of relating to the others and
of opening new communication channels
contagious moods

REHEARSAL

1. Repeat the text in your mind and in a loud voice when you are alone
2. Look in the mirror; if possible, record your presentation (audio, video)
3. Try to get feed-back and guidance after the rehearsal (avoid being
interrupted)

THE SPEECH
1. Write your own presentation
2. You are responsible for
Content (correct&updated information, effective, new, original
and modern perspectives)
Bibliography (rigorous and helpful)
Clarity (in demonstrations and descriptions)
Consequent attitudes the listeners manifest
3. Do not improvise and do not push your luck
=> show respect for your audience
4. Steps
I. Collect information connected with the topic (one box):
ideas, articles from newspaper and magazines, pictures,
quotations, anecdotes, objects, relevant statistics
II. Organise the material (several files, no more than 7)
Group the items of the collection according to themes
Select a key theme
Write the first draft
Eliminate redundant ideas
III. Possible final structures
A: objectives presentation objectives accomplished
B: narration: introduction story conclusion
C: problem solving: situation difficulties solutions
D: description: focusing attention importance of the topic
main message presentation of details and mechanisms
examples summary
5. Alternate activities

6. Avoid a too specialized or pompous language

7. Clear and coherent speech, suitable for note-taking
8. You may alternate
Formal/semi-formal speech,
Rigorous scientific presentations/captivating details,
Information and attitude.
9. The Summary
Reminds the main points.
Highlights the messages that the audience must understand
and remember.
Contains no new information.
10. The conclusion
Shows the logical outcomes of what has been said.
Often contains recommendations.

MATERIALS
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Relevant
Able to focus attention and to point to the purpose of the presentation
Elegant in form
Visible / audible / sufficient in number for everybody
I see and I forget, I do and I remember
You may provide check lists for guiding the audience's observation of
the materials used / displayed
7. Allow enough time for each item
8. They are auxiliaries: do not make them protagonists
9. Always be prepared with an alternative in case something should go
wrong
10. Mention their source

THE CONFERENCE ROOM

1. Visit it a day before and half an hour prior to your
presentation

2. Rearrange the furniture if necessary

3. If possible, attend somebody else's conference taking place in the same
space
4. Check the lights, the technical support and the acoustics
5. Rehearse a little in order to get used to the scenery

REAL OBSTACLES IN PRESENTATIONS

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Notes and visual aids

Body language
Understatements
Excessive / Meaningless talk
Long introduction or conclusion
Reading from the slides

THE SPEAKER

1. Be elegant, effective and practical

2. Aim to know yourself better, be yourself and
courageously use your talents
Personal life experience, opinions and attitudes can alter the
message
Present things you know and you believe in; nothing is more
powerful than the truth
Ask for feedback and do not avoid team work
Do not imitate a model
Read a lot
Get constant moral support
3. Reflect upon your previous performance

and future intentions, trying to find ways of improvement

4. Do not recite your presentation; build it with the audience
5. Do not read word by word
It distracts everybody
It shows lack of: confidence, competence, preparation
It distorts your style
If you have to read, use a marker to highlight
the most important parts
6. Do not learn by heart. Focus on key words, images and logical
demonstrations, which could be written on cards and kept at hand.
Visualise a big comprehensive picture of what you are going to say.
7. Speak clearly and loudly;
use your voice (intonation, volume) to emphasise ideas
and to create a pleasant atmosphere
8. Your non-verbal communication should convey the same message as
your verbal communication
9. Avoid redundancy and useless talk
10. Study your audience in advance:
11.
Make
number
probable questions
sure
social category
previous/next issues
there
cultural background
previous/next speakers
is interests
reasons for
expectations
needs
time

attending the presentation

prejudices
willingness to learn more

harmony between you, the message and your image (clothes, hair
style, make-up, keys or money "talking" in your pockets, etc.)
12. Do not forget to smile and use some jokes, if appropriate (avoid them
when the presentation is being translated in another language).

HANDLING QUESTIONS AFTER THE SPEECH

Inviting questions implies that the audience are less expert than the
speaker.
Beware of the total silence scenario.
Have one or two prepared questions to ask the audience.
Keep control of the meeting.

 Inviting to discussion and sharing meaningful experience is adequate

when the audience have useful expertise. Often the best solution is
implementing a combination of discussion and questions.
Be diplomatic in the interactions with the public.
Discretely manage the discussion flow.
Keep control, limit long contributions, and watch the time
In handling questions listen very carefully.
Ask for repetition or clarification if necessary.
Paraphrase the question to check you have understood it.
Take time to think - perhaps by paraphrasing the question.
Respond only to relevant questions.
Refer questioner to another authorised person
or to the bibliography if you cannot answer.
Suggest you will answer a question later if you prefer.
Check that the questioner is happy with your answer:
eye contact and a pause is often sufficient.
Do not allow one or two people to dominate.
Be polite.
Signal when time is running out: 'Time for one last question'.
At the end, thank the audience.
What to say if.
1. You want to invite questions and comments
That concludes the formal part of my talk. Thanks for listening.
Now I'd like to invite your comments.
So, now I'd be very interested to hear
your comments and opinions, and I think
we would all benefit from sharing experience.
Now we have fifteen minutes for
questions and discussion.
Right. Now, any questions or comments?
2. You understood the question but it is difficult
or impossible to answer
That's a difficult question to answer in a few words
It could be ...
In my experience ...
I would say ...
I don't think I'm the right person to answer that. Perhaps our
colleague can help ...

I don't have much experience in that field ...

3. You understood but the question is irrelevant
or impossible to answer in the time available
I'm afraid that's outside the scope of my talk/this session. If I
were you I'd discuss that with ...
I'll have to come to that later, perhaps during the break as we're
short of time.
4. You have not understood
Sorry, I'm not sure I've understood.
Could you repeat?
Are you asking if ... ?
Do you mean ... ?
I didn't catch (the last part of) your question.
If I have understood you correctly, you mean ... ? Is that right?
5.

You check whether your answer is sufficient

Does that answer your question?
Is that okay?

SLIDES MANAGEMENT

1. The first visual should give the title of talk.

2. The second should show the structure of talk main headings.
(Contents/Main Ideas/Key Points)
3. The ante-penultimate slide is Conclusions
4. The penultimate slide is References complying with the ap-propriate
citation rules for Bibliography and Webliography
5. The last slide reads Thank you (for your kind attention) and contains a
business e-mail contact address
6. Keep the text to the minimum amount (relevant key words which you
orally explain and elaborate on).
7. Each slide has a title, illustrations and text.
8. The background should not impede on text legibility
(therefore a picture is not advisable)
9. Never just read text from visuals.
10. Do not use too many visuals: the standard is 1/minute.
11. Click to move on to the next slide
(do not set automatic time intervals)
12. Avoid musical background
(your speech cannot be heard properly)
13. Use pauses: give audience time to comprehend and process the data
and pictures you present.
14.
Never show a visual before you talk about it.
15.
Remove the visual once you finished talking about it.

16.

Switch off equipment not in use.

17.

Use of colour
For slides, white writing on blue/green is good.
Use different colours if it improves message clarity (e.g. pie
charts)
Use appropriate colour combinations: yellow and pink are
weak colours on white.

18.

Use of room and machinery

Check equipment in advance.
Check
organisation
of
room,
equipment,
seating,
microphones, etc.
Use a (laser) pointer on the screen (not your hand).
Have a good supply of pens, in case you use a flipchart
additionally
Check the order of all items you are going to use.

19.

You in relation to your audience

Decide the level of formality and dress accordingly.
Keep eye contact at least 80% of the time.
Avoid leaning against the desk, placing your hands in your
pockets, or playing with pens
Use hand gestures made from the shoulder.
Use available space to move, unless restricted by a podium
(but not too much or too fast)

THE LANGUAGE OF PRESENTATIONS

1. Greeting
Good morning/afternoon ladies and gentlemen.
(Ladies and) Gentlemen
2. Introductions
My name is ... and I'm here to/going to ...
I'd like to :..
I will talk to you about/tell you about/explain ...
First of all, can I say thank you for inviting me here today/
coming/for your kind introduction.
3. Subject
I plan to say a few words about ...
I'm going to talk about ...

for

The subject of my talk is

The theme of my presentation is
I'd like to give you an overview of
4. Structure
I have divided my talk into (three) parts.
My talk will be in (three) parts.
I'm going to divide ...
First ...
Second ...
Third
In the first part ...
Then in the second part ...
Finally ...
5. Timing
My talk will take about ten minutes.
The presentation will take about two hours ...
but there'll be a twenty minute break in the middle.
We'll stop for lunch at 12 o'clock.
6. Policy on questions/discussion
Please interrupt if you have any questions.
After my talk therell be time for a discussion
and any questions.
7. Giving an overview of your presentation
I'll speak for about 20 minutes and leave time at the end for
questions.
Could I ask you to leave any questions until after the presentation?
Please stop me at any time if you have a question.
Please bear with me, as English is not my first language.
I'd like to divide my presentation into 3main areas/2 parts.
8. Marking the progression of ideas
I would like to start by explaining/showing/describing
I would like to start with a brief introduction/a short film/ a
quotation from/a story.
First/To begin with I'm going to ...

Now/Next/Finally I'd like to /let's I move on to/turn to ... /

at/examine/analyse ...

look

9. Signalling different parts in a presentation:

Signalling the structure makes the organisation of the talk clear, helps
the audience follow the discourse, and helps the speaker follow the
development of his/her own talk.
Ending the introduction
So that concludes the introduction.
That's all for the introduction.
Beginning the main body
Now let's move to the first part of my talk, about ...
So, first ... To begin with ...
Listing
There are three things to consider. First ...
Second ... Third ...
There are 2 kinds of.... The first is ... The second is
We can see advantages and disadvantages.
First, advantages. One is ... Another is ... A third advantage is
... Finally ...
On the other hand, the disadvantages: first, second
Linking: Ending parts within the main body
That completes / concludes ...
That's all (l want to say for now) on ...
Linking: Beginning a new part
Let's move to (the next part which is) ...
So now we come to ...
Now I want to describe ...
Sequencing
There are (seven) different stages to the process: First / then /
next / after that / then (x) /after x there's y, last ...
There are two steps involved. The first step is ....
The second step is ...
There are four stages to the project. At the beginning, later,
then, finally ...
I'll describe the development of the idea.
First the background, then the present situation, and then the
prospects for the future

10. Referring to visual aids

As you can see from this chart/diagram, ...
If you look at this graph/picture, you can see ...
This map/slide illustrates/shows ...
11. Concluding
Transition from the last part of the body to the summary/ conclusion:
Right, that ends (the ..third part of) my talk.
That's all I want to say for now on ...
Beginning the summary and/or conclusion
I'd like to end by emphasising the main points.
I'd like to finish with a summary of the main points/ some
observations based on what I've said/ some conclusions/
recommendations / a brief conclusion.
Concluding
There are two conclusions / recommendations.
What we need is ...
I think we have to ...
I think we have seen that we should ...
Finally/In conclusion I'd like to say that ..,
I'd like to end/finish I by saying .../with a brief summary of ...
12. Questions and Answers
So, if you have any questions, I'll do my best to answer them.
So, if there aren't any more questions, I'll end there.
Thank you very much for listening.

"EXCUSES" FOR
UNSUCCESSFUL PRESENTATIONS
1. The audience
was not interested
criticized my opinions
wouldn't listen to my speech, demanding diagrams, examples,
samples or pictures
2. The board of directions never liked me anyway
3. The time was too short
4. I had no chance to prepare the presentation properly
5. Nobody wanted to know the whole truth
6. There should have been a microphone, a projector, a screen
7. What can one expect from a presentation scheduled right after lunch?

TIPS

=> EXPRESS A POSITIVE ATTITUDE AND TURN

CIRCUMSTANCES INTO ADVANTAGES
=> FOCUS ON THE QUALITY OF YOUR WORK
=> SHOW A HIGH SENSE OF RESPONSIBILITY
(IT IS YOUR FAULT IF PEOPLE DO NOT PAY ATTENTION)

NEGATIVE