WORD LIST ON PRESENTATIONS

INTRODUCTION
I want to give you a short presentation about ...
My presentation is about ...
I'd like to tell you something about ...
I think everybody has heard about ..., but hardly anyone knows a lot about it.
That's why I'd like to tell you something about it.
Did you know that ...?

WORD LIST ON OPINION AND STATEMENTS

STATING YOUR OPINION

It seems to me that …
In my opinion, …
I am of the opinion that …/ I take the view that ..
My personal view is that …
In my experience …
As far as I understand / can see, …
As I see it, … / From my point of view …
As far as I know … / From what I know …
I might be wrong but …
If I am not mistaken …
I believe one can (safely) say  …
It is claimed that …
I must admit that …
I cannot deny that …
I can imagine that …
I think/believe/suppose …
Personally, I think …
That is why I think …
I am sure/certain/convinced that …
I am not sure/certain, but …
I am not sure, because I don't know the situation exactly.
I am not convinced that …
I have read that …
I am of mixed opinions (about / on) …
I am of mixed opinions about / on this.
I have no opinion in this matter.

OUTLINING FACTS
The fact is that
The (main) point is that …
This proves that …
What it comes down to is that …
It is obvious that …
It is certain that …
One can say that …
It is clear that …
There is no doubt that …

1
AGREEING and DISAGREEING AGREEMENT
There are many reasons for …
There is no doubt about it that …
I simply must agree with that.
I am of the same opinion.
I am of the same opinion as …
I completely/absolutely agree with …

QUALIFIED DISAGREEMENT
It is only partly true that...
I can agree with that only with reservations.
That seems obvious, but …
That is not necessarily so.
It is not as simple as it seems.
Under certain circumstances …

DISAGREEMENT
There is more to it than that.
The problem is that …
I (very much) doubt whether …
This is in complete contradiction to …
What is even worse, …
I am of a different opinion because …
I cannot share this / that / the view.
I cannot agree with this idea.
What I object to is …
Unlike … I think …

PRESENTATIONS INTRODUCING SUB-TOPICS

Let me begin by explaining why / how ...
First / Now I want to talk about ...
First / Now I want to give you an insight into ...
Let's (now) find out why / how ...
Let's now move to ...
As I already indicated ...
Another aspect / point is that ...
The roots of ... go back to ...
... began when ...
Legend has it that ...
As you probably know, ...
You probably know that ...
Maybe you've already heard about ...
You might have seen that already.
At the beginning there was / were ...
Many people knew / know ...
Hardly anyone knew / knows ...
... hit the idea to ...
... was the first to ...
It is claimed that ...
One can say that ...
2
 I have read that ...

PICTURES AND GRAPHICS

Let me use a graphic to explain this.
The graphic shows that ...
As you can see (in the picture) ...
In the next / following picture, you can see ...
Here is another picture.
The next picture shows how ...
Let the pictures speak for themselves.
I think the picture perfectly shows how / that ...
Now, here you can see ...

FINAL THOUGHTS ON A SUB-TOPIC

It was a great success for ...

It is a very important day in the history of ...
It was / is a very important / special event.
This proves that ...
The reason is that ...
The result of this is that ...
It's because ...
In other words, ...
I want to repeat that ...
I'd (just) like to add ...

PRESENTATIONS CONCLUSION
... should not be forgotten.
... has really impressed me.
I hope that one day ...
We should not forget ...
All in all I believe that...
Summing up / Finally it can be said that ...
Let me close by quoting ... who said, »...«
That was my presentation on ...
I am now prepared to answer your questions.
Do you have any questions?

3
PRESENTATION
Structure and Content
 Introduction: General information on the topic
Give your listeners an introduction to the topic (some general information) and explain what exactly you are going to
talk about in your presentation.
 Actual Presentation
Subdivide your presentation into several sub-topics.
 Conclusion
Try to find a good conclusion, e.g.:
o an invitation to act
o an acknowledgement
o a motivation

Very important: Don't try to show off your knowledge of English using complex
sentences or difficult words. Always keep your audience in mind: they need to follow your
presentation and will therefore appreciate simple language and sentence structure.

Tip: Depending on the topic or your audience, you can also hand out questions that your
listeners have to answer during the presentation, or you announce that there will be a quiz
in the end. That will definitely make your audience listen very attentively.

Tips on Giving a Presentation

As listeners cannot take up as many information as readers, keep the following rules in mind when giving a
presentation:
 Keep your sentences short and simple.
 Use standard English, avoid slang and techy language.
 Prefer verbs to nouns (not: The meaning of this is that …, but: This means that …).
 Use participal constructions sparingly. (In written texts they are often used to increase the density of information
in a sentence. In spoken texts, however, they make it more difficult for the listeners to follow.)
 Speak clearly and slowly.
 Have little breaks in between the sentences to allow your audience to reflect on what has been said.
 Communicate freely (don't read the whole text from a piece of paper).
 Illustrate certain aspects of your presentation with pictures and graphics.
The following tricks will also help you keep your audience's attention:
 Outline to the audience how your presentation is structured. (e.g. I will first explain ... / Then I will … / After
that … / Finally… ).
 Indicate when you come to another sub-topic (I will now talk about …). This way your audience can follow your
presentation more easily.
 Use a rhetorical question or hypophora from time to time. Your listeners will think that you've asked them a
question and thus listen more attentively.
 Use enumerations starting first / second / third. This also draws your audience's attention.
 A joke or a quotation might also help keeping your audience listening. Don't overdo it, however. Using too many
jokes or quotations might not have the effect you want.

SOURCE
http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/learning

4
GENERAL INFORMATION ON SPOKEN TEXTS
Differences between spoken and written texts
In general, the same rules apply for spoken texts as for written ones:
 use simple language
 keep subordinate clauses short
 prefer verbs to nouns (not: The meaning of this is that ..., but: This means that ...)
 avoid slang and techy language
As listeners cannot take up as many information as readers, do also keep the following rules in mind when preparing
a text that is to be presented orally:
 Keep your sentences short and simple.
 Avoid participal constructions. (In written texts they are often used to increase the density of information in
a sentence. In spoken texts, however, they make it more difficult for the listeners to follow.)
Listeners' attention
You surely know that it is not always easy to follow a lecture or presentation. On the other hand, imagine how a
speaker must feel if nobody is listening. With just a few tricks, however, you can win your audience's attention:
 Speak clearly and slowly. Use simple words and short sentences.
 Have little breaks in between the sentences to allow your audience to reflect on what has been said.
 Communicate freely (don't read the whole text from a piece of paper).
 Outline to the audience how your paper is structured. (e.g. I will first explain ... / Then I will ... / After
that ... / Finally ...) and indicate when you come to another sub-topic (I will now talk about ...). This way your
audience can follow your presentation more easily.
 Use pictures and graphics as an illustration.
 Use a rhetorical question or hypophora from time to time. Your listeners will think that you've asked them a
question and thus listen more attentively.
 Use enumerations starting first / second / third. This also draws your audience's attention.

A joke or a quotation might also help you keep your listeners' attention. Don't overdo it, however. Using stylistic
devices, jokes or quotations where they don't fit in might not have the effect you want.
Very important: Don't try to show off your knowledge of English using complex sentences or difficult words.
Always keep your audience in mind: they need to follow your presentation and will therefore appreciate simple
language and sentence structure.

Stylistic Devices - Rhetorical Question

question without a direct answer
The author / speaker raises a question, but doesn't answer it directly as he/she sees the answer (usually Yes or No) as
obvious.
Rhetorical questions are used to provoke, emphasise or argue.
Examples:
 When public money brings windfalls to a few, why should the state not take a share? (6)
 But was the best way to win them over to threaten to ignore them altogether? Like so many things this week,
the adminitstration's diplomacy needs a smoother touch. (6) (Note that the sentence following the question is not an
answer to it.)

Stylistic Devices - Hypophora
question raised and answered by the author / speaker
The author / speaker raises a question and also gives an answer to the question. Hypophora is used to
get the audience's attention and make them curious. Often the question is raised at the beginning of a paragraph and
answered in the course of that paragraph. Hypophora can also be used, however, to introduce a new area of
discussion.
Example:
 Why is it better to love than be loved? It is surer. (Sarah Guitry)
 How many countries have actually hit [...] the targets set at Rio, or in Kyoto in 1998, for cutting greenhouse-
gas emissions? Precious few.