BEP 275 – English Presentation Skills 2: Engaging your Audience
Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on delivering an engaging and organized presentation.
Getting up in front of a room full of people to give a presentation in English can be a difficult task. Whether you’re reporting information or trying to convince people to buy something, you need to catch their attention. Then you need to keep it. And at the end of it all, you want them to walk away feeling like they learned something, or they agree with you, or they want to buy what you’re trying to sell them.
Sure, it might seem difficult, but there are skills you can learn to make it much easier. Several techniques in both presentation and delivery can help ensure an engaging English presentation that will wow your listeners.
In today’s lesson, we’ll take a closer look at some of these techniques, including asking people to imagine a situation in order to persuade them, and focusing on the “why” behind your ideas rather than the “what.” We’ll also learn how you can use a single thread throughout your presentation and how you can transition between ideas. And finally we’ll cover how to check in with your listeners and add emphasis.
Today we’ll hear two short dialogs from different presentations. In the first, we’ll rejoin a recruiter called Nick who is presenting to some potential recruits for a medical supplies company. In the second, we’ll hear finance manager Diane continue with a report about her company’s quarterly financial results.
Listening Questions
1. What does Nick ask his listeners to imagine?
2. What is the key idea that Nick keeps coming back to?
3. After talking about fuel savings, what does Diane do before moving on to her next idea?
Download: Podcast MP3
