Three points are important when preparing the content of a presentation:

1. What are your key points? Most good presentations have no more than 5 key points.
2. How will you support your key points with examples and illustrations?
3. How will you make it easy for your audience to follow your key points? Use connectives and transition phrases.

Introducing the topic At first I would like to introduce/present/discuss/analyze…

Let me begin by introducing…
It is not uncommon for people to realize/feel that…
Giving your opinion about a In my opinion,… / As far as I’m concerned, … / In my view, … / I’m positive
topic that … / I really feel that… / In my mind, it is clear that… / I have no doubt
that… / It is apparent that… /
Expressing solutions or There is no easy solution to this problem. However, it is possible to… / The way
alternatives (when presenting I see it, the best to (i.e. reduce air pollution in Beijing) is to… / There are many
your opinion) possible options/choices; but I think that one of the most effective way to (i.e.
prevent crime) is to…
Countering (offering a That may be true, but… / Who can say if…? / Surely, you will understand that…
balanced view of the / Some people argue that…, but I think that… / I can see where you’re getting
argument) at; but I am convinced that…
Asking for clarification I don’t quite follow you. What exactly do you mean?
(dodging difficult questions) I’m afraid I don’t quite understand what you’re getting at.
I didn’t quite get that. Could you rephrase your question please?
I don’t quite see what you mean. Could you be more specific, please?
(How do you mean? / How come? / Why is that?)
Making comments (when That’s interesting / I never thought about it that way before / Good point ! / I get
answering questions) your point / I see what you mean / That’s a rather complex issue, let me
summarize my opinion on this.
Using connectives and First of all, … / My (i.e. first/second) point is that… / Also, I’d like to say that…
transition phrases / On top of that, it is important to remember that… / Finally, it is obvious that…
Introducing examples For instance, … / Take (Beijing) for example: it is clear that… / As an
example, … / If we look at what is happening in (Beijing), we can see that…/
Let me illustrate my point by telling you about…
Concluding the topic I think this concludes my speech / In conclusion, I’d like to say that… / To sum
up, it is important to remember that… / Finally, let me just say that…
Welcoming questions / I’ll be glad to answer any questions you might have on this issue / If you have
offering clarification any questions, I’ll do my best to answer them / Let me just clarify the (i.e.
first/second) point about…; In my mind, it is important to…
The table below contains phrases that you can use to express the different degrees of certainty of your opinion.
Certainty of conclusion Modal (verbs & adverbs) Statement of claim (phrases)
Strong is, will, can not, must, undoubtedly, always, never, It is certain that... / It seems
definitely, clearly clear that... / … is definitely...
Moderate should, would, can, ought to, tends to, usually, likely, It appears probable that… / It
probably, regularly, majority, generally, often, is usually the case that.../ In
frequently, rarely most cases.../It is likely that...
Tentative (weak) May, might, could, possible, conceivable, sometimes, It is possible that... /
occasionally, perhaps, maybe, uncertainly, minority Occasionally,../ Sometimes,…