Expressions used in a presentation-Practice 2

You are preparing some cards to guide you through your presentation and you just dropped them on the floor. Pick them up and put them in the right order. 

Expressions used in a presentation-Practice 1

You are preparing a very important presentation. Prepare some cards and write a leading sentence to help you remember the beginning of each step.

Steps in giving a presentation in English

1.     Welcoming

Good morning and welcome to [name of company, name of conference hall, hotel, etc.].

Thank you all very much for coming today.

I hope you all had a pleasant journey here today.

2.       Introducing yourself

My name is Mark Watson and I am responsible for …

My name is Mark Watson from [name of company], where I am responsible for …

Let me introduce myself; my name is Mark Watson and I am responsible for …

3.     Introducing your presentation

The purpose of today’s presentation is to …

The purpose of my presentation today is to …

In today’s presentation I’d like to … show you … / explain to you how …

In today’s presentation I’m hoping to … give you an update on… / give you an overview of …

In today’s presentation I’m planning to … look at … / explain …

4.     You can also outline your presentation to give the audience a clear overview of what they can expect:

In today’s presentation I’m hoping to cover three points:

Firstly … , after that we will look at … , and finally I’ll …

In today’s presentation I’d like to cover three points:

Firstly … , secondly … , and finally …

5.     Explaining that there will be time for questions at the end

If you have any questions you’d like to ask, please leave them until the end, when I’ll be happy to answer them.

If there are any questions you’d like to ask, please leave them until the end, when I’ll do my best to answer them.

6.     Starting the presentation

To begin with …

To start with …

Let’s start by looking at …

Let’s start by looking at …

I’d like to start by looking at ….

Let’s start with / start by looking at …

7.     Closing a section of the presentation

So, that concludes [title of the section] …

So, that’s an overview of …

I think that just about covers …

8.     Beginning a new section of the presentation

Now let’s move on to …

Now let’s take a look at …

Now I’d like to move on to …

Next I’d like to take a look at …

Moving on to the next part, I’d like to …

Moving on to the next section, let’s take a look at …

9.     Concluding and summarising the presentation

Well, that brings us to the end of the final section. Now, I’d like to summarise by …

That brings us to the end of the final section. Now, if I can just summarise the main points again.

That concludes my presentation. Now, if I can just summarise the main points.

That’s an overview of …  Now, just to summarise, let’s quickly look at the main points again.

10.                       Finishing and thanking

Thank you for your attention.

That brings the presentation to an end.

That brings us to the end of my presentation.

Finally, I’d like to finish by thanking you (all) for your attention.

Finally, I’d like to end by thanking you (all) for coming today.

I’d like to thank you (all) for your attention and interest.

11.                       Inviting questions

If anyone has any questions, I’ll be pleased to answer them.

If anyone has any questions, I’ll do my best to answer them.

If anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask them now.

If anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask them and I’ll do my best to answer.

12.                       Referring to a previous point made

As I mentioned earlier …

As we saw earlier …

You may recall that we said …

You may recall that I explained …

13.                       Dealing with (difficult) questions

I’ll come back to that question later if I may.

I’ll / We’ll come back to that question later in my presentation.

I’ll / We’ll look at that point in more detail later on.

Perhaps we can look at that point at the end / a little later.

That is a very good/valid/interesting point, let's come back to it later/let's put a pin in it.

Other phrases and key presentation language

word, phrase	meaning, function
briefly	‘very quickly’
take a look at	‘look at’
take a brief look at	‘quickly look at’
return to	‘go back’, ‘explain again’
I’ll outline	‘I will explain’
here we can see	to draw attention to a specific point on a slide
as you can see here	to draw attention to a specific point on a slide
(let’s) move on to	to start a new subject
(let’s) continue with	to start a new subject
(let’s) continue by looking at	to start a new subject
to illustrate this point	when giving an example
let’s, we can, we will	using ‘we’ and ‘us’ instead of ‘I’ connects you to your audience

Source: Speak Speak

Chairing a meeting- Common expressions

1.     Dealing with formalities

As a chair, you'll probably want to first welcome people to the meeting, ask if they all have an agenda, then get down to business.

"Thank you everyone for coming today."

"I've called a meeting to discuss…"

"The purpose of this meeting is to…"

"Has everyone received a copy of the agenda?"

"Let's get started."

2.     Dealing with the agenda

The chair leads the participants through the points in the agenda, which might contain the following sections:

1. Apologies for absence (apologies from those people invited to the meeting but who can't attend)

"I've received the following apologies for absence from…."

2. Minutes of the previous meeting (people check to see if the notes from the last meeting are correct)

"Can we take the minutes as read?"

3. Matters arising (people report on what they have done as a result of the last meeting)

"Are there any matters arising from the last meeting?"

4. Action points (the main points for discussion)

"I'd like to go to point one on the agenda."

5. AOB (Any other business: people can make any additional points before the meeting finishes)

"Is there any other business?"

6. Date of next meeting

"I'd like to propose that we meet again on…"

"I think that just about wraps it up for today…"

"Thank you everyone for coming."

3.     Keeping the meeting focused on the objectives

"We're getting a little sidetracked here. Can we stick to the main points?"

"Let's not get off the subject."

"Can we get back to the agenda?"

4.     Moving on to a different point

"Could we move on to item 2 on the agenda?"

"If nobody has anything else to add, perhaps we could look at the next point."

5.     Deferring action

"I think we should leave this for now."

"Can we come back to this point later?"

6.     Asking for people's opinions

"I'd like to give the floor to…"

"Does anyone have anything else to add?"

"What are your views on this?"

7.     Asking for agreement or a vote

"Can we have a show of hands?"

"Can we put this to the vote?"

"Are we in agreement on this?"

8.     Clarifying and summarising

"So, in a nutshell, you're saying…"

"Could I just clarify something here…"

"I'd just like to summarise the key points."

"So, to summarise…"

Source: English at Home

Writing polite e-mails Practice 5

Turning informal into formal

Informal – Thanks for emailing me on 15th February
Formal – 

Informal – Sorry, I can’t make it.
Formal –

Informal – Can you…?
Formal – 

Informal – Can’t help you right now. We need to talk later.
Formal –

Informal – I will answer you…
Formal –

Informal – Did you finish the report?
Formal –

Informal – I won’t be able to finish this project on time.
Formal –

Informal – This is too expensive
Formal – 

Answers

Writing polite e-mails Practice 5 -Answers

Turning informal into formal

Informal – Thanks for emailing me on 15th February
Formal – Thank you for your email dated 15th February

Informal – Sorry, I can’t make it.
Formal – I am afraid I will not be able to attend...

Informal – Can you…?
Formal – I was wondering if you could….?

Informal – Can’t help you right now. We need to talk later.
Formal – Would it be OK if I call you back later? What time would be good for you?

Informal – I will answer you…
Formal – I will come back to you…

Informal – Did you finish the report?
Formal – Have you had a chance to look into/start the report?

Informal – I won’t be able to finish this project on time.
Formal – I am afraid the deadline is going to have to be postponed a few days. However, rest assured we are making a great effort to deliver the report as soon as possible.

Informal – This is too expensive
Formal – I’m afraid this proposal exceeds our economic estimate./ I’m afraid we cannot afford to carry out the project at this price.

Writing Polite e-mails 2

GREETINGS

Dear sirs,/[name]

Good morning / evening,

Hello

Hi,

IF YOUR E-MAIL IS THE ANSWER TO ANOTHER ONE

Thank you for your e-mail.

Thank you for the quick answer/response.

As an answer to your e-mail…

Regarding last week’s e-mail...

ASKING FOR SOMETHING

I was wondering if I/you could…?

I would be grateful if you could…

I was hoping you could…

Would you mind…?

Could you please…?

INTRODUCING A SUBJECT

Regarding…

Concerning…

ASKING FOR AN ANSWER/AN ACTION

I would really appreciate if you could give me an answer by eod…

Could you please get back to me by…/asap.

I would really appreciate any help you can provide.

CLOSING

Looking forward to your reply/ hearing from you…

Yours faithfully/sincerely,

Many thanks (in advance/for your help…).

Than you (very much).

Kind/best regards,

Best,

Regards,

ACRONYMS COMMONLY USED IN E-MAILS
Ooo	Out of Office
Eod	End Of the Day/End of Discussion
Asap	As Soon As Possible
Btw	By the way
Fyi	For Your Information
BR	Best regards
Ta	Thank you

Writing polite e-mails Practice 4

1.    What kind of sentence is each of them?

2.     What is the register of each of them? (Formal, friendly…)

3.     Finish the sentences.

1.      I would really appreciate…

2.      I would be very grateful…

3.      We would be glad if…

4.      We look forward to…

5.      I regret to tell you…

6.      I am afraid…

7.      Have you had a chance to…

8.      I was wondering…

9.      Would it be OK if…

10.  What are the chances that…

11.  Please find my answers….below

12.  Please do not hesitate…

13.  I will get back…

14.  I have tried to reach you…

15.  Can we reschedule…

16.  As for today…

Writing polite e-mails Practice 3

Write an e-mail for each of these cases. According to the situation, use a more or less formal register.

1.       It’s April. You have just seen this great offer online, a long weekend in Stockholm return flight + hotel at a very affordable price. You were not supposed to go on holidays until summer but you don’t want to miss this cheap getaway. You certainly have the right to take some days off but your boss is not a very friendly person. Write him a polite e-mail asking if you can take a few days off.

2.       You have asked your colleague for some help understanding a report that is a bit outside your area of expertise. You really need to get his feedback to continue your work. You told him you were in a hurry but a week after you still haven’t got an answer. Send him a reminder asking about the state of it. The purpose of the e-mail is pushing him a bit but it should nevertheless be polite.

3.       Your data provider has sent the monthly report. The new intern must have done it because you spotted lots of mistakes. Write an e-mail and tell your main contact in a polite way.

4.       You just got a written proposal from your supplier with an exorbitant price. You are really looking forward to carrying out this project but you cannot afford it. Tell them in a polite e-mail that you need them to give you a better price.

5.       Your client is in a hurry to get some report from you. You know that you won’t be able to deliver on time no matter how many hours you put into it. This is a new client so you really want to make a good impression and this is not a good start. Write an e-mail to your client giving them the heads up.

Answers: there is no such thing as the perfect e-mails but there are certain ways to sound more polite. Check out some Tips for Writing Polite E-mails here.

E-mail 6- Spot the mistakes

Hi Laura,

I come back at you regarding two studies conducted on 2014 with PO numbers still pending, those are 26610526 and 26610625. It would be very urgent to have them asap as they have been conducted quite time ago (our account department is demanding for them).

  

Can you please take a look at them and come back to us with the MAR numbers?

If you need farther details on the studies, do not hesitate in contact us.

Thank you very much in advance and best regards,

Jack.