Business English Conversation and Listening

Instructor: Hsin-Hsin Cindy Lee, PhD

Basic Rules and Concepts Conversation and Listening Practices - Check Answers and

Further Practice Writing Practice Checkpoint

Introduction

Remember, when you speak in front of an audience, you become a presenter, a performer.

You, as the presenter and producer of the presentation, direct the overall performance, and your audience decides your success.

Make the presentation ‘for’ your audience, not for yourself!

Make your presentation comprehensible to your audience!

Rule 1 – Get to know your audience for making a presentation Who is your audience? What do they want to get from you? Are the topic and content of your presentation suitable

for your audience? Rule 2 – Make the presentation for your audience

Adjust the level of your language Adjust the tone and manner of your presentation for

your audience Rule 3 - Wear an appropriate outfit

Match the occasion Fit the taste of your audience

Opening Greeting the audience Introducing yourself and the topic Attracting your audience by asking questions, showing

statistics, telling stories or using audio/video effects Stating the purpose of the presentation and showing the

outline Main Content

Delivering main points, giving examples and facts Using graphs, figures instead of lengthy paragraphs Using signposts and proper body to make your points

clear Conclusion

Summarizing and making recommendations Thanking the audience and inviting questions

Opening Showing the Outline

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.

My name is _____. It’s a pleasure for

me to ____. Today, I’d like to tell

you about ___. Today we’re going

to take a look at ____.

My presentation will cover three main points: _______.

I’ll begin by ____(V-ing).

Then, I’ll move on to ____.

Third, I’d like to demonstrate ___.

Finally, I’ll be presenting a summary of____.

Giving the Main Points

By Using Signposts Conclusion

First of all, let’s look at ____.

Next, let’s move on to ____.

Second, _____ Now, please let me

show you ____. Third, _____.

Let’s conclude now by____. I’m going to conclude by

____. I’m going to finish by

______. This is the end of my

presentation. Thank you very much for

your attention. Do you have any

questions?

Listen and fill in the blanks.

People make presentations for various purposes. To inform

To inform the audience about something they aren’t familiar

E.g. HR Manager makes a presentation on company policies and rules to new entrants.

E.g. A teacher makes a presentation on a subject matter to his/her students

To persuade To persuade the audience to make a change; to

influence the audience’s opinion E.g. Sales presentation; selling a product, service, a

concept to the audience

The Case: Linda, a company’s vice president, talks to her colleagues regarding a blueprint for their business development. Activity:

Listen to the speech and answer the following questions.

What is her goal stated in the presentation? Is her presentation an informative or persuasive

one? What are the main points delivered in her speech?

1. What is Linda’s ‘one simple goal’? 2. What is the first long range goal? 3. What is the second long range goal? 4. What does she want people to do by March 2009?

Check Your Answers and Practice the Dialogues

Read the script again by using your own names.

Try to read aloud the script to practice the tone and make the presentation.

Can you produce some slides for Linda’s presentation?

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. When I came on board as VP of business development here at CTS Property Management, I had one simple goal: in five years, this firm would manage ten thousand residential units and one million square feet of commercial space.

However , let me begin by stating we don’t simply want CTS to be the biggest property management company, we want it to be the best.

For that to happen, we must have goals that will make 2009 our best year.

so far. Let’s take a look at CTS’ long-range goals.

First, we have plans to restructure our nationwide holdings, something that will lead us to even greater operational efficiency.

Second, we have decided to acquire more local properties, a move that will make us the biggest player in a growing market.

As you all know, restructuring has played a key role this past year at CTS. As you can see from Graph A in just tree months we’ve shed twelve percent of our properties in other regions.

Where does that lead us? It leads us to greater efficiency in operations. But we still have a way to go. We’re going to slash inefficiency by another ten percent by the end of March,2009.

Write your own expressions.

(1) Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.

(2) My name is _____.

(3) It’s a pleasure for me to ____.

(4) Today, I’d like to tell you about ___.

(5) Today we’re going to take a look at ____.

(6) My presentation will cover three main points: _______.

(7)I’ll begin by ______(V-ing).

(8) Then, I’ll move on to ____.

(9) Third, I’d like to demonstrate ___.

(10) Finally, I’ll be presenting a summary of____.

(1) Good morning,

ladies and gentlemen.

Hello, everyone.

(2) My name is _____.

I am _____.

(3) It’s a pleasure for

me to ____.

I’m glad to be here today.

(4) Today, I’d like to tell you

about ___.

The topic of my presentation is ___.

(5) Today we’re going to take a look at ____.

I would like to show you _____.

(6) My presentation will cover three main points: _____.I’ve divided my presentation in

to three parts _________.(7)I’ll begin by ______(V-ing).First of all, I’d like to talk about

___.(8) Then, I’ll move on to ____. Now, let’s turn the second part

of my presentation _____.(9) Third, I’d like to

demonstrate __.Last but not least, ______.(10) Finally, I’ll be presenting a

summary of____.To conclude, I’d like to say

_____.

What is the difference between informative and persuasive presentations?

How should you prepare for a presentation?

What is the common structure of a business presentation?

Can you give examples on signpost used in a presentation?

Do you have any questions?