Making Better Presentations in

English by A. D. Miles

Making Better
Presentations
in English

by
Andrew D. Miles

Making Better Presentations in

English by A. D. Miles

1. SIGNAL THE
START

Start your speech with a phrase that

catches the public’s attention.



Right ladies and gentlemen



Shall we begin?



Fine everybody. Let’s get started



OK Guys. Are you all ready?

Making Better Presentations in

English by A. D. Miles

2. INTRODUCE

YOURSELF

Mention your name, position and

where you come from.



I’d like to introduce myself. I am Steve

Platt, Chief of Maintenance for

Motorway Inc.



I am Dr. Jack Smith from Barcelona. I

work as a research assistant in our

R&D facility.



My name is John Styles. I run

Riversoft’s European operations.

Making Better Presentations in

English by A. D. Miles

3. …OR SOMEONE
ELSE

Always ask people how they would

like to be introduced.



I’d like you to meet Dr Grant. She’s the
Head Surgeon at Houston Memorial
Hospital.



Let me introduce John Oats. He comes
from the Helsinki branch and will be
joining our sales team.



This is Arthur Spleen, from Marketing.

Making Better Presentations in

English by A. D. Miles

4. EXPRESS PURPOSE

Start by saying why you’re here.



I’m here today to…



What I’d like to do is…



My objective is to…



My aim now is to…

Making Better Presentations in

English by A. D. Miles

5. LIST TOPICS

Make a list of the points you’ll talk
about.



Firstly



To start



Secondly



Initially



Primarily



Then



Next



Last but not
least



Finally



To end

Making Better Presentations in

English by A. D. Miles

6. INTRODUCE TOPIC
ONE

Open every topic with an introduction.



I’d like to review…



I want to go over…



We are going to analyse…



I plan to examine…

Making Better Presentations in

English by A. D. Miles

7. LINK EFFECT TO
CAUSE

Use these expressions if you

want to highlight the effect

over the cause.



The loss was due to negligence.



The loss was caused by
negligence.



The loss resulted from
negligence.

Making Better Presentations in

English by A. D. Miles

8. LINK CAUSE TO

EFFECT

Use these expressions if you

want to highlight the cause

over the effect.



Mismanagement led to losses.



Mismanagement resulted in
losses.



Mismanagement caused losses.

Making Better Presentations in

English by A. D. Miles

9. EXPLAIN GRAPHS

Use these expressions to describe

graphic aids.



I´d like you to see this graph. It
shows…



Please observe this matrix. You’ll see
that…



Have a look at this model. What’s
wrong with it?



Let me show you a chart that
summarises…

Making Better Presentations in

English by A. D. Miles

10. DESCRIBE TRENDS

Use these expressions to talk about



Increase



Accumulate



Boost



Escalate



Hike



Raise



Rise



Shoot up



Swell



Decline



Diminish



Dip



Drop



Plunge



Shrink



Sink



Slip



Descend

Making Better Presentations in

English by A. D. Miles

11. EXPRESS
PROBABILITY

Use these expressions to express certainty.



Surety: sure, definite, doubtless, inevitable,

without question, unmistakable, certain.



Likelihood: Probable probable, likely,

seeming, expected.



Possibility: possible, conceivable, feasible.



Doubt: doubtful, improbable, unlikely,

questionable, remote, dubious, unsure.



Impossibility: impossible, unfeasible,

unrealisable, unattainable, not viable.

Making Better Presentations in

English by A. D. Miles

12. COMPARE IDEAS

Use these expressions to describe

contrast.



But



However



Nevertheless



Nonetheless



Although



Though



Despite



Despite



On the other hand



Even though



On the contrary



By contrast



Conversely



Even if

Making Better Presentations in

English by A. D. Miles

13. REINFORCE

IDEAS

Use these expressions to emphasize

ideas.



Furthermore



in addition



as well as



Besides



Too



Moreover



Additionally



likewise

Making Better Presentations in

English by A. D. Miles

14. EXPRESS
OPINION

Use these expressions to give your

opinion.



My opinion is



I would say



In my view



It seems to me that



From my angle



I see it as

Making Better Presentations in

English by A. D. Miles

15. RECOMMEND /
REJECT

Give support



I urge you to approve



We are for the idea



We back your point



We support the plan



I would go ahead



I’ll stand by you.

Hold back support



I’d deny support



I would eliminate



We should reject



We must rule out



We ought to discard



Let’s refuse

Making Better Presentations in

English by A. D. Miles

16. FINISH THE
SPEECH

Use these expressions to close your

presentation.



Move to action:

Now’s the time to / We’d better

move.



Refer back to…:

Going back to our figures / As I said

before



Summarise:

To sum up / To recapitulate

Making Better Presentations in

English by A. D. Miles

17. CLOSE THE
SPEECH

Use these expressions to wrap

up your speech



Asking for questions

Have you got any query? / Would you like

to ask?



Thanking

Thank you for / It’s been a pleasure to



Introduce the next speaker

Now, I’ll leave you with / I’d like to

introduce



Say goodbye

Goodbye / Good afternoon, everyone