103

How to make
business
presentations?

National Kaohsiung First University of Science & Technology

2014 6 16 / 10:40-12:10

Before we start...

What are the differences between making

presentations for classroom activities in
school and making presentations for
business at the workplace?

Who

the presenter
Context
the audience
Why
the purpose
Where the setting
Structure

What the content

How

the style

Language
Delivery
Visuals

What constitute a context?

Participants
Audience
Institutional Roles
Situation Roles

Context
Purposes
Tasks
Functions

Setting
Institution
Situation
Institutional
Purposes

Analysis of the Context

1.
2.

3.

What is your institutional role?

Who are you talking to? What is your
relationship with the audience?
participants

Where is the talk taking place?

setting

4.

What points are you trying to make?

5.

Why are you talking to them? purpose

6.

formality
How formal is the presentation?

7.

How long is the presentation? time

8.

What sociocultural knowledge isculture

needed?

topic / content

Analysis of language use

1.

2.
3.

Is your choice of words appropriate in

terms of the context and your
professional field?
Politeness & persuasion
professionalism (field specific
vocabulary)
lexicon

What formulaic expressions can be used?

speech acts

How do you open and close the communicative

presentation?
patterns /
moves

4.

How do you structure the presentation?

5.

How do you describe visuals?

6.

How do you handle questions?

discourse
structure

Required Knowledge & Skills

Contextual / Background Knowledge
Knowledge of Institutional context,
sociocultural knowledge,
business background knowledge, business etiquette

Language Use (verbal)

vocabulary, grammar, discourse,
communicative functions,
linguistic politeness,
interpersonal & cross-cultural
communication strategies

Image Building
(nonverbal)
confidence,
trustworthiness,
professionalism

Critical Thinking Skills

Visual Literacy

reasoning, analysis, organizing,

evaluating, problem-solving,
persuasion

use of visuals, color

sensitivity, graphic
design, aesthetic effect

Look at the Checklist

Which parts

do you think
are more
important
than
others?

*Source: Comfort, J. (2002).

Effective Presentations.
Oxford University Press.

1. The Audience

The aim of a presentation is to get

through to the audience anything else
is secondary.
*Frendo, E. (2005). How to teach business English. Pearson Education
Limited.

Make sure what your role as a presenter

is and who will be your audience.

Four stories to share:

1) a

fund raising campaign for elders suffering from

dementia
2) songs chosen for a job fair
3) a college admission interview
4) a learning software sales visit to a professor

1. The Audience
Activities:

1) Introducing your school to

- foreign teachers
- students from other high schools
2) Introducing a hotel (e.g. the Grand
Hotel) to
- tourists
- managers from other hotels

2. The Purpose
Tell your audience your destination

the reason theyre there to listen to you

and the purpose of your presentation.
*Williams, E. J. (2008). Presentations in English. Macmillan
Education.

to
to
to
to

introduce your company

sell a product
make a proposal
give a demonstration

Meeting the audiences expectations is

the most crucial for effective

presentations.

3. The Structure

A sales presentation:
1. building
2. arousal

rapport (opening)

of interest

3. a

description of the problem that

needs solving

4. a

solution

5. advantages
6. a

of this particular solution

statement about what the audience

has to do next (conclusion)

4. The Language

(1)

Signposting (linking words / phrases)

Summarizing
Sequencing / ordering

Concluding
Giving reasons / causes

Contrasting

Highlighting

Comparing

Digressing

Contradicting

Giving examples

Adding

Generalizing

A presentation script

Hello. My names Leena Perttonen. Im the marketing manager at AYT,

and Im going to give you a brief overview of our company. My aim
is to outline the main reasons why you should consider AYT for your
construction project.
First, Ill give you some general information about the company. Then Ill
talk about our international operations. And finally, Ill point out the main
reasons for our success.
So, let me start with the company...
Well, that was some general information about the company. Now Ill
move on to our international operations...
And so to my final point: the reasons for our success.
Well, firstly, theres our expertise...
Secondly, our quality standards are extremely high as high as anywhere
in the world...
Thirdly, we have excellent project management and cost control...
So, to sum up, I hope to have shown you that we are a wellestablished company, financially sound and a market leader in the home
market. We also have strong international experience in several countries
outside Finland. We offer the highest possible standard of construction
together with excellent project management. These are the reasons
why you should consider AYT for your construction project.

4. The Language

(2)

Rhetorical language
Tripling
e.g. Our computers are fast, reliable, and
inexpensive

Emphasizing
e.g. really, absolutely, extremely, incredibly

Rhetorical questions
e.g. What does this mean? Let me tell you...

Metaphors
e.g. The sales are like a second Christmas.

Anecdotes

4. The Language

(3)

Parallel structure and consistent style

* Dignen, B. (2007). Fifty ways to improve your presentation skills in English. Summertown Publishing.

Bad example

Conclusion
AYT

is a

well-established company,
financially sound,
market leader in the home market.

Having

strong international experience.

Offering the highest standard of
construction with project management.

Good
example

AYT is
Well-established company
Financially sound & market leader

AYT has
Strong international experience

AYT offers
Highest standard of construction
Excellent project management

4. The Language

(4)

Convincing language (1)

Power words The Yale 12
A Yale University study identified 12
words as the most powerful words in the
English language.
The Yale 12

discover(y)

easy

guarantee(d)

health

love

money

new

proven

results

safety

save

you

4. The Language

(5)

Convincing language (2)

Use repetitions.

Avoid a tentative tone.

Be careful with the use of possibility
auxiliaries and phrases.

Speak with a positive tone. Use more

positive words than negative words.

*Do the activity on Convincing language

(Example 2).

4. The Language

(6)

Tense and Time expressions

1.

I fly to Japan this February. (?)

2.

I wish we could work with each other.

I hope we can work with each other.

3.

If you buy this product, youll get a 20% discount.

If the company moved to Shanghai, I would get
another job.

I shouldnt say that to him.

I shouldnt have said that to him.

5.

The train may be late for half an hour.

The train may have been late for half an hour.

4. The Language

(7)

Numbers and approximations

1. around 4,500
1. 4,531 employees
2. 30.19 meters
3. $995
4. 7.386%
5. 5.126 million

employees
2. just over 30 meters
3. close to $1,000
4. approximately 7.4$
5. roughly 5 million

5. The Voice
Volume
Speed
Intonation
Stress and rhythm
Chunking and pausing

6. The Body Language

Eye contact
Smile
Gestures
Powerful stance
Confidence and

trustworthiness

7. Visual Aids

(1)

Design: simple and

professional
Organization of the content
Color
Font type and font size
Words per line
Tables
Graphics
Effects

7. Visual Aids

(2)

Describing trends, charts, and graphs (1)

pie chart

bar chart

line graph

7. Visual Aids

(3)

Describing trends, charts, and graphs (2)

organigram
flow chart

About AYT

Bad example

International Experience
Outside

Finland, more than 40 years

experience of residential construction.

Having

operations in Sweden, the Baltic

States and Russia.

More

than a quarter of AYT employees

work outside Finland.

Good
example

Over 40 years experiences of

residential construction outside Finland
Sweden
The Baltic States
Russia

Over employees work outside

Finland

What do we
have?

7. Visual Aids

(4)

Ten top failings of slide management (Dignen, 2007)

Overloaded slides
2. Illegible and inconsistent text
3. Too many seen before cartoons and animation effects
4. Unclear or mismatched colors
5. Too many slides which are too similar to each other and too
boring
6. Allowing the audience to see all the slide text at once no
transition effect
7. Reading word for word from a visual with no personal
analysis or comment
8. Talking without looking at the audience
9. Standing in front of the screen so that you obscure the
visual from the audience
10. Relying too much on PowerPoint to communicate the
message
1.

8. Closing and Handling

Questions
Closing = summary + reflection +

recommendation (call for

action)
5 basic principles for ending a

presentation effectively (Dignen,

2007)
1. Be short
2. Be consistent
3. Be clear
4. Be tailored
5. Be memorable

8. Closing and Handling

Questions
The RACER model for handling

questions (Dignen, 2007)

R = Respond
A = Answer
C = Check
E = Encourage
R = Return to presentation

Conclusions
Communication =

Information Exchange + Relationship

Building
Understanding of the Context is a must!

Co n t e x t

Language Use:

Information Ex

How do business presentations differ from

Relation

classroom presentations?

- The context is different!

Every presenter has an institutional role.
Every presentation is for an institutional purpose.

change +

ship Building

Conclusions
"If there is any great secret

of success in life, it lies in

the ability to put yourself in
the other's place and to see
things from his point of view
as well as your own."
AudienceHenry Ford based
approach

Questions and
Comments?
Thank you!
Chi-Fen Chen
National Kaohsiung First University of
Science & Technology

Email: emchen@nkfust.edu.tw