How to Give Your Business Presentations Impressively in English?
Do you know that giving business presentations is an art ! Many well-known CEOs of top companies take several days to prepare for their presentations, just to make it look outstanding.
Are you also, looking forward to give great business presentations in English? Then this blog is certainly the one for you.
Through this blog, Ms. Sonu Goel, Founder of Café Converse, which is India’s best and fastest emerging English language institute, shares her ideas on how to give your coming business presentation splendidly in English.
Sonu Goel says to start with, let us divide your presentation into three segments : Start, middle and end.
Before you start, make sure that you have put your cell phones on silent. You certainly do not want to get a call or notifications from any of your apps while you are doing the presentation.
Be careful not to use any slang as business presentations are thoroughly supposed to be professional.
a.) Starting a Business Presentation on Right Note
Well to start with, break down this part into three smaller sub-parts: Introduction, Outline and Starting the presentation.
Introduction
First, you greet your audience. Here are some example-based phrases you can use to say hi/hello.
Good morning/good afternoon/good evening (depending on time).
Thank you everyone for coming today.
I am pleased to see you all today.
Afterward, introduce yourself.
The audience would want to know who you are? Telling the audience,with whom you develop trust early on during the presentation. If the audience trusts you, they will listen with attention and believe what you tell them. Lastly, tell the attendees why you are here and what you are presenting? Here are a few methods to do so:
§ I will be speaking about…
§ I will present the findings on…
§ The motive of this presentation is…
Here is a complete set of sample introduction:
Good morning! thank you everyone for being here today.
My name is ABC and I am a Project Manager at XYZ company. Today, I will present our analysis of the top 5 IT trends to watch in 2020.
Simple, right? In less than a minute of speaking, you have already welcomed the audience, introduced yourself, and introduced your topic. As said, this creates trust with your audience and gets them interested to see and listen to your presentation.
Now Layout the Presentation
At this stage, you would perhaps also want to give a little layout of what you would be talking about. This is as easy as presenting a slide with multiple main points you will be speaking about in the presentation.
To assist you out, here are some example you can use to begin the layout:
§ Today, we will be discussing…
§ Today, we will look upon…
§ In this presentation, we will examine/figure out/assess…
Keep this portion short. The only single slide is sufficient if you are using a PowerPoint presentation.
You will be going across each topic in detail throughout the remaining part of the presentation, so there is no requirement to provide details now. Use words such as first, next, then, etc. for this part.
Here is an example of what you may say during the layout:
Today we will be covering the top 5 IT trends to watch for in 2020. First, we will cover company revenues, during the last 3 years. This includes where the revenues are coming from, their growth, and their estimated growth. Next, we will figure out new products, services, and technologies the company is planning to introduce this year. Then, we will assess potential risks impacting the company and its stock prices. Last, we will have a look at the management presently running this company.
Now that you have ended the introductions, now get into the main part of the presentation.
b.) The Middle: The Core of a Business Presentation
Your presentation will be filled with the content, the information you know about. Here are methods to link all of that information into a great presentation.
Moving from Topic to Topic
When you are moving from 1 topic to another, it seems best if you use some kind of transitional phrase such as I mentioned earlier. Here are a few instances:
§ This leads me to the next point…
§ Let’s contemplate…
§ Now, let’s have a look at…
You could also want to talk about something you have said earlier such as what I just did earlier when I mentioned the changing phrase: I said like I showed earlier”). This “re-telling” is quite useful in making your presentation memorable. Here are some phrases you could use for this reason:
§ As said
§ As we observed earlier
§ As we discussed on earlier
Introducing Numbers, Graphs and Charts
One of the most vital and simplest ways to add value to your presentation is to use numbers. Humans remember numbers, have a look at these 2 sentences:
§ Several companies advertise on TV.
§ 80% of companies advertise on TV.
Which is easier to remember? The first statement, using the word “several,” is a positive statement and is authentic. However, it is not as appealing as the 2nd statement, and thus, not as potent.
Be aware! Numbers can be boring during presentations if there is no relevance or context. Have you ever witnessed a slide full of numbers and data tables only? The reply would be no.
The most impactful ways to use numbers are in a quote or in a graphic, like as in graph or chart. After mentioning some figures, try using one of the following to mention these numbers into context.
§ This equal…
§ This is the equivalent of…
For example, “80% of companies advertise on TV. That is the equivalent of the national revenues of each country.
If you have any graph or chart to present, use the phrases to introduce them:
§ To show this…
§ This suggests/ proves…
§ To explain this…
§ This graph indicates…
For instance:
This graph shows the relationship between modern technologies and higher values. Further, this next graph suggest that when companies spend 2 months marketing their new technology, their value increases at a higher rate compared with no marketing at all.
Giving Examples
Here’s another presentation tip: Tell stories. The only thing people remember more than numbers is a good story. Give examples and use this time to bring your presentation to life. Here are a few ways to get started:
§ For example, …
§ Contemplate…
§ A good instance of this is…
When you narrate a story in a presentation, make certain to do just that, tell it. Never read it from the slide. It is wise to simply put an image or a few important words on the slide. Do not write everything.
This is a huge mistake often made. If the audience can read all the things you will say from the slide, why must they listen to you? Thus, use images and bullet points with vital words and phrases.
c.) Summary and Conclusion
Prior winding up the presentation, rapidly ssummarize your topics and observations.
Summarize Your Presentation
Keep your summary to 1 or 2 slides. See the aim is to remind your audience of the most essential points of your presentation.
Here are some phrases you may use:
§ In brief/In conclusion,
§ To recap,
§ We have found that…
Straight after, give a short, good statement to finish. This will indicate the finding or main focus of your presentation. Finish with one powerful sentence that suggests why everyone just listened to your presentation. This phrase may start with:
§ Based on that…
§ Due to our findings…
§ Considering the present information…
So here is an example of summary and conclusion. You will find out similarities between this summary and the sample layout at the beginning:
That covers our top 5 IT trends for 2020. We have learned the revenue history as well as the projected revenue growth, because of the introduction of new products, services, and technologies. We know there are few risks with this company, including new management and fluctuating foreign currency rates, among many. Due to our analysis, we believe that these 5 trends will beat the industry segment, growing at 15-20%.
Invite Queries
You are almost done. Always remember to thank the audience for patiently listening and then ask for questions or queries. Both parts are as easy as it sounds:
§ Thank you all for actively listening.
§ Thank you for your kind attention.
§ Does anyone have any queries or questions?
When you are making and practicing your presentation, learn to guess what questions your audience may ask. This will make you better equipped for this part, which is mostly called the Q and A sessions.
Ms Sonu Goel is a professionally acclaimed certified ESL trainer from the British Council having 15 years of strong background for teaching the English language in both online and physical classes. She is dedicated to teaching of English in an interactive and practical way, whereby learners feel enriched with knowledge and experience the language hands-on. She uses creative ideas and aids to let the learning happen as organically and efficiently as possible. Ms Goel has travelled to various European countries and experienced an array of cultures and linguistic skills for the English language.
To learn more about Sonu Goel please visit : https://cafeconverse.com/best-english-tutor-coach-teacher-sonu-goel.html
