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ORAL PRESENTATION
SKILLS
A PRACTICAL GUIDE

© C
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Preface
This text, the result of years of experience and research, is intended to be an aid for
anyone wishing to speak in public to fellow students, colleagues or other interested groups
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The same structure can also be
used to some extent in the context of a written text, i
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dividing the text into three parts introduction, development and conclusion
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In return, we would ask you the reader
and practitioner to send any comments, corrections or questions to make about this document to
Carl
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fr
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The first one
deals with preparation and planning, the most important stage
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The third speaks about visuals and how to
make the best use of them
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The fifth deals with body language and finally, the sixth
contains a few comments on using the voice and correct pronunciation
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Comments and questions you could ask yourself in
preparing each part are also included
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It is also important to remember that there are perhaps several formulae for an oral
presentation, this being just one
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There are also cultural aspects to
take into consideration in that different communities will react differently to the same presentation:
English-speaking as against a French-speaking audience, a scientific forum, a literary group or an
assembly of business managers
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Different people speak in
different ways in different languages and different conventions depending on to whom, where,
when and why they are speaking
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Remember anyone can give a good presentation
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Preparation and practice can be the keys to success!

1

Most companies probably offer some kind of training in presenting
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Also over time you will develop your own personal style
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Oral Presentation Skills

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I
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1 ESSENTIAL PREPARATION AND PLANNING
CHECKLIST
This is a checklist of the essential elements to
consider in preparing and planning an oral
presentation
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QUESTIONS TO ASK
YOURSELF
1
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What is my title?

3
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What are the main points
I want to make?
5
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EXAMPLES

MY IDEAS

ü
ü

to buy my product
to adopt my
recommendations
ü to join the club
ü to give me a job
ü The new Mokia 2001
ü How to reduce production
costs
ü The INT Chess Club
ü What are the benefits to
the audience of my
product/report/speech?
ü Are these people the
decision makers?
ü What do they know of the
subject?
ü How does this change my
approach?
ü What sort of questions will
they ask me? What are
the answers?
ü What aspects will they be
interested in?
1, 2, 3; first, second, third;
point a, point b, point c
We must invite them:
ü to buy my product
ü to accept my findings
ü to join the club
ü to give me a job

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I
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Who is the audience?
How many people will there be in the audience?
Check beforehand, if you can, the place where you are going to make your
presentation
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Carl Storz et al
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STRUCTURE OF AN ORAL PRESENTATION
A good oral presentation is well structured; this makes it
easier for the listener to follow
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We are going to look at each part in turn and present
the language needed to express both the structure and the
content
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1 THE BEGINNING OR THE INTRODUCTION
The beginning of a presentation is the most important part
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More detailed
techniques can be found in part IV
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1
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Right
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OK
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Let's begin
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Fine
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Can we start?
Shall we start?
Let's get the ball rolling
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In English-speaking countries it is not uncommon for the speaker to begin with a
joke, an anecdote, a statement made to surprise or provoke in order to gain the
audience's attention, to make people want to listen, to feel relaxed and even to
introduce the subject
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Certainly humour is difficult to convey and would not be
appropriate in all contexts
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Ask for a show of hands for example, in response
to a question or, present information in such a way that the audience can identify with
it
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II
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B Greet audience
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Good morning
members of the jury
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Chairman/Chairwoman
Thank you for your kind introduction
II
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C Introduce oneself, (name, position, and company)
Do this not only to give important information so people can identify you but also
to establish your authority on the subject and to allow the audience to see your point
of view on the subject (you are a student, researcher, responsible for, director of,
neophyte, layman)
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2

It is a good idea to put your name, company’s name, company logo, title and date of the presentation on all the
transparencies or handouts
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Good morning everyone, I'd like to start by introducing myself
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I am a student at the INT
I am a doctoral candidate,
I am X
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from 3 Com
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I've had wide experience in the field of
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I am a student at the INT and I
would like to talk to you today about some of my findings in a study I did on…
Sometimes, especially when invited to speak, the host introduces the guest,
gives the same information as above and then gives the floor to
the guest speaker
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He/she is
known for…
Now I'll turn the floor over to today's speaker
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)

II
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D Give title and introduce subject
What exactly are you going to speak about? Situate the subject in time and
place, in relation to the audience and/or its importance
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I plan to speak about
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The subject of my presentation is
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I've been asked to give you an overview of
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It may be the result of a desire to persuade and
convince
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Why are you going to speak about it?
I have chosen to speak about this because
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Have you set any limits on the scope of your talk? What won't you speak about?
It may be very useful to eliminate certain areas before you start so as to avoid
confusion or deviation from your main task
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Have you estimated the time it will take? 3 It is useful to give the listeners some
idea of how long you will speak so as to maintain their attention better
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I have limited my speech to
My talk will last about 15 minutes
3

Concerning time, professional people are very often pressed for time
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Conclusion: the shorter the better!
Carl Storz et al
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You may want to give acknowledgements here too
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you may
want to recognise their contribution
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At some point you should ask a question or somehow try to determine the
attitude and knowledge of the audience
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Have you ever heard of
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To get the audience's attention and perhaps to find out where they are you could
introduce the subject by saying:
Have you ever heard of/seen X?
You've probably seen countless times
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II
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E Give your objectives (purpose, aim, goals)
The main purpose of an informative speech is to have the
audience understand and remember a certain amount of
information
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The former is to inform: to give an
overview, to present, to summarize, to outline; to discuss the
current situation or to explain how to do something or how
something is done
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My purpose in doing this paper is to give you a solid background on the subject of
oral presentation skills so that in the future, at the INT or elsewhere, you can deliver
a successful speech in front of a group
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to give you the essential background information on
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to have a look at
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If there is one thing I'd like to get across to you today it is that…
Once you have established your specific objectives you may go on to formulate
your content
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1
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You want to keep the outline simple so 2 or 3 main points are usually enough
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I have broken my speech down/up into X parts
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4Change

the purpose of the speech (or the time, place and audience) to see how the outline changes
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In
In
In
In

the first part I give a few basic definitions
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the last part I would like/want to give a practical example
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1
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You should also let the audience know at some point in the introduction when
and whether they may ask questions
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There will be plenty of time at the end of my speech for a discussion
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Please stop me if you don't understand any thing I say but could you keep any
specific questions until after I've finished
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1
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You should refer to your transparency or outline
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Let us now move on to the second part, which is, as I said earlier…
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Always explain abbreviations and say acronyms giving their full name when
you first mention them and be especially careful with the pronunciation
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e
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One student actually began with definitions of key technical words that would come up in the speech
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For
example, in a professional corporate context it may look a bit scholastic to project an outline
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Carl Storz et al
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2 THE MIDDLE OR THE BODY
II
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A Content
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In most cases you will have to limit the content, as time is
usually precious!
II
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B Quantity
How much information should you give? Enough to clearly develop your ideas
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II
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C Sequencing your ideas
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Whatever sequencing you choose, the
headings should be all of the same grammatical form
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2
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Think of ways you can keep the audience's attention throughout
the rest of the speech
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)

II
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E Signposting or signaling where you are
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That is to say, first announce what you are going to
say (give an example, reformulate etc
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This is very like verbal punctuation
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It is
redundant in text but very useful in oral presentations
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Listing information
Lists are often a necessary evil
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There are three things we have to consider: one, two, and three
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Now let us look at the first aspect which is
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That's all I would like to say about
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Now that we've seen
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Carl Storz et al
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If there are alternative ways of looking at a topic or proposal,
outline them to show you are familiar with the different ways of dealing with a
situation
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We've looked at this from the point of view of the manufacturer but what about if
we were to
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If what you are dealing with demands a comparison of strengths and weaknesses
indicate clearly the different aspects and underline the points you feel are important
or secondary
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This is not the only weakness of the plan
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We do not need to concern ourselves with…
Of lesser interest are…
To be clear and concrete
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:
To give an example:
Now let's take an example
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To illustrate this…
Let's see this through an example
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g
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e
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To recap what we've seen so far
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What is important to remember
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I’d like to stress the importance of
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Carl Storz et al
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What I tried to bring out
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To refer to what you have said
previously:
As I have already said earlier
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To repeat what I've said already…
To refer to what you will say:
We will see this a little
later on
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We will go into more
detail on that later
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To refer to what an
expert says:
I quote the words of
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Here I'd like to quote…
As Mr
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There is a famous quotation that
goes
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It is generally accepted that
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II
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II
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A Content
The end or the conclusion of your talk should include four parts: a
brief reminder of what you tried to show in your speech and how you tried
to do so, a short conclusion, thanks to the audience for listening, and an
invitation to ask questions, make comments or open a discussion
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Alternatives are: to state the
point of the speech; give the essential message to retain; list the main points
and what you want the audience to remember; review informally or indirectly by
using a quote, a comparison or example
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That is to say you should
give a message that logically comes out of the ideas developed in your speech
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You could also make a call to action; the audience should have to do
something
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Finally, ask for questions and comments or invite a discussion
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You will need to be very
prepared intellectually and psychologically to transfer control to the audience and
be able to answer any questions
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This may take the form of
a recapitulation of the main points
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So, as we have seen today
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Or there may be recommendations or proposals that you wish to make;
As a result we suggest that…
In the light of what we have seen today I suggest that
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Above all when you conclude do not do it abruptly or as if surprised to get to
the end of your talk
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My final comments concern
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7

Do not introduce new information
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You may at this point wish to distribute a vocabulary list or more detailed
information that you wish to make available
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In the sheets that are now being distributed you will find a breakdown of
the
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I'd be happy to answer any questions
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Thank you very much for your attention and if there are any suggestions or
comments
8

II
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B Dealing with difficult questions
1
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Ø Ask a question to see if you understand
Ø Repeat the question in your own words to check that you have
understood
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In answering:
Ø delay the answer (ask for time and/or repeat the question)
Just a minute please
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?
How can I put it?
I'm glad you asked that question
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Can I answer that question later?
Ø admit that you are not responsible
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II
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You need to take into
consideration who you are speaking to, when, where, and why, as all of these details
will have an impact on your structure and content
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Besides structure, it is also
necessary to be relatively repetitive
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Be careful with the figures
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It is particularly annoying for the audience to hear the
same word mispronounced repeatedly
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According to experts 55% of the
message is non-verbal
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8

Palmer is very good on tactics to employ in dealing with difficult questions
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III
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What is the vocabulary of the equipment used?
Ø blackboard, whiteboard,
paperboard
Ø chalk, felt tip pen or marker,
eraser
Ø podium, lectern, overhead,

Ø
Ø
Ø
Ø
Ø

What should you put on a visual?
Ø key words
Ø technical words
Ø lists

Ø examples
Ø diagrams
Ø charts

Vocabulary of graphs/chart
Ø line graph (algorithmic, linear
curve, line)
Ø bar chart
Ø flip chart
Ø diagram

overhead projector system (OHP)
screen
pointer
microphone, mike
opaque projector

Ø pie chart (segment, slice of the
pie)
Ø flow chart
Ø organization chart

9

We have tried to give an overview of visuals here
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10 There is some resistance to the use of Powerpoint™ everywhere
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(See Parker, Ian
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The New Yorker, May 28, 2001, pp
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)

Carl Storz et al
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g
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Try to
do this consistantly but not to the detriment of a table or image
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B
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Ø Size - A4
Ø Layout should be pleasant and easy to read: horizontal/landscape layout is
preferable
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Some companies impose a particular style
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A good idea is to use different sizes for different types of text: i
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20
for main headings, 16 for subheadings, 14 for other text
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Ø If possible, use color transparencies (unless you are just showing text)
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To show too many slides is worse than none at
all
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Have the slides ready and in order
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Test the visual to see if people at the back of the room can see it
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Mask to reveal only what you want the audience to see
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Visuals should be adjusted to the audience
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Large enough for everyone to see
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e
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Does the layout work?
Are there any spelling mistakes or grammatical errors? Remember they are going to
be in plain view all the time of your visual
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Oral Presentation Skills

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How should you present a visual in a presentation?
It is not sufficient just to put up a transparency on the screen and expect the
audience to turn its attention to it, to understand it and make the link with what you
are saying
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4) We would suggest the following
strategy:
It is important to prepare your audience for what they are going to see
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Let's look at the current distribution of the market, as you can see
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My next slide concerns the method by which
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The first line of figures is the most revealing
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What is important here is the way that
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In other words the number of employees has a direct effect on the
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That is to say no matter what technique is used, the results remain
IV
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Even if they are, minds wander and get distracted
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You need to put everything on your side to promote
knowledge acquisition
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How can you do this?
Ø Arouse listeners' interest from the beginning
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In other
words, make it personal
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• Use words like you, we, us, our
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• Ask the audience to do something
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"
• Ask the audience direct or rhetorical questions
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• The speaker’s attitude is important - knowledge, personality, openness
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• Use a variety of media sources
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Rhetorical questions
What is a rhetorical question? A question that you ask without expecting it to be
answered
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It also should catch their attention
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?
How can we explain this?
What does that mean?
What can be done about that?
What does this imply for you, as a consumer?
Emphasizing/highlighting
Ø Say something is important
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The essential element is
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We experimented with the concept over a period of three years
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We did see a noticeable difference
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Good it may be, easy it isn't
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Let me repeat
Ø Tripling, chunking and other techniques of word play and emphasis should be used
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as you become more fluent and confident
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Quality is not something that affects the bottom line, it is the bottom line
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Carl Storz et al
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BODY LANGUAGE
The golden rule is "Be natural and relax!"
What is body language?
Eye contact, facial expressions, posture, movements,
gestures
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)
Ø facial expressions should be natural and friendly
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• raise eyebrows to show surprise
• open eyes wide
• squint your eyes
• knit your eyebrows to show consternation or puzzlement
Ø posture – stand straight but relaxed (do not slouch or lean)
Ø movement - to indicate a change of focus, keep the audience's attention
• move forward to emphasize
• move to one side to indicate a transition
Ø gesture
• up and down head motion or other movements to indicate importance
• pen or pointer to indicate a part, a place (on a transparency)
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Oral Presentation Skills

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VI
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Incorrect
pronunciation is perhaps the first cause of communication breakdown
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Mispronunciation also tires the listener’s ear and he/she will
perhaps even stop trying to understand the speaker if it becomes too difficult
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1 What is pronunciation?
There are two important aspects of pronunciation of
individual words, word stress and the individual sounds
themselves called "phonemes"
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Just as in the case of individual words in English a
particular syllable receives stress, so do particular words in
a sentence
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13 English speakers stress words that are important for meaning
such as: nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, negatives, demonstratives and
interrogatives
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Linking - (as in French) between a consonant and the following vowel and grouping
words into thought groups - needs to be practiced
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Word and sentence stress - not all syllables in a word or in a sentence are stressed
equally
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In unstressed syllables the vowel often becomes shorter (schwa: e
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man in
German)
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Long English sounds are much longer than corresponding French sounds and the
short sounds of English are shorter than French short sounds
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The voice is used to indicate meaning, and intonation is higher or more glided in
English
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2 Voice
The voice, or more precisely the qualities of the voice, should be used to its/their
fullest
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The voice is important:
Ø to indicate importance, meaning
Ø to create atmosphere and to avoid sounding monotonous and putting the audience
to sleep!

12

See Carl Storz
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Evry: INT, 1993
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Small Talk Jazz Chants
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Gilbert
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Cambridge: CUP, 1984
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Study Listening
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13

Carl Storz et al
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
For extra practice in preparing for an oral presentation (or English in general) we
have used and would suggest the following titles, many of which are all available in
the Language Resource Center
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(York Associates) Effective Presentations
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Ellis, Mark & Nina O' Driscoll
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Harlow: Longman, 1992
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Visitron, the Language of Presentations
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Lynch, Tony
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London: CUP, 1986
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Presenting in English
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Sweeney, Simon
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Cambridge: CUP, 1997
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Be Heard Now! New York: Broadway Books, 1998
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William et al
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Franklin Lakes, N
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:
Career Press, 1996
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The Toastmasters International Guide to Successful
Speaking
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Wilder Claudyne and Jennifer Rotondo
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2nd Edition
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J
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On pronunciation and the voice:
Gilbert, Judy B
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2nd Edition Cambridge: CUP, 1993
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Small Talk Jazz Chants
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Powell, Mark
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Hove: LTP, 1996
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The Right to Speak: working with the voice
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Storz, Carl
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Evry:
INT, 1993
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mit
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html
http://fbox
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edu/eng/mech/writing:workbooks/visuals
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edu/dept/llc/writecenter/web/presentation
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colostate
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cfm
http://business
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com/presentations
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You can listen to
important speeches in (especially US) history
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)
http://writing
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edu/references/speaking
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gmu
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htm
On body language
Carl Storz et al
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et X
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La communication
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Voir
spéciallement V
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(INT 9
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La dimension corporelle de la parole
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Bull, Peter
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et al
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Cambridge: CUP, 1990
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54)
Cabin, Philippe
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Etat des savoirs
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(INT 9
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Carl Storz et al

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