Apunte 2

PRESENTATIONS, TELEPHONE
AND VIDEOCONFERENCES
CONVERSATIONS

Magdalena Aracena
Videoconference Meeting
Apunte 2
PRESENTATIONS, TELEPHONE
AND VIDEOCONFERENCES
CONVERSATIONS
Index
1 Introduction

2 Beginning and Finishing Presentations.

3 Presenting Reports.

4 Preparing an Elevator Pitch.

5 Answering and Dealing with Everyday Phone Calls.

6 Opening and Keeping a Videoconference

7 Conclusion

8 Bibliography
Apunte 2 Presentations, Telephone and Videoconferences Conversations

Introduction
If you use English at work, it is important to
differentiate informal vocabulary you can
use on a day-to-day or with your colleagues,
from the English you will need in a specific
situation with a client, during a phone call or
a meeting.

English in these situations is no more than

a formal light variation with the intention
of giving seriousness to your speech and
adapting it to a professional environment.

In this module, we will help you to develop

yourself in habitual situations in a company,
such as talking on the phone in English with
a client, negotiating or debating with them or
expressing your point of view in a meeting or
videoconference.

4 INGLÉS CONVERSACIONAL
Beginning and Finishing Presentations

Beginning Presentations
Making a presentation

The first sentence is crucial! That is, the phrase with which you will begin your presentation will
be the most important, because at that moment you will captivate your audience.

One tip: try to start with a familiar phrase or an important fact on the subject.

Some Introductory Phrases:

“Today I am here to talk to you about…” (Today I’m here to talk about…)

“It’s a pleasure to be here today to talk about…” (It’s a pleasure to be here today
to talk about…)

To conclude your talk, it is always good to place some bullet points to remember the main
points that were presented.

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Apunte 2 Presentations, Telephone and Videoconferences Conversations

Some Concluding Phrases to Help You:

“Thank you for listening - and now if there are any questions, I would be pleased to
answer them.”

“Thank you. Would you like further clarification on the subject? ” (Thank you. Do you
wish any clarification on the subject?)

Expressions to introduce, finish and outline main arguments and show the direction of the
presentation in initial sentences.

Expressions Examples

Introduce “My name’s Dan Spencer. I’m a Charge as a Consultant at X

yourself Associates ….”

Giving a «I’ll start by describing… Then I’ll move on to… After that I’ll consider…
roadmap Lastly, I’ll quickly recap and recommend the next steps…. »

Movingon “Let’s turn now to our business model…”

Referring back “Going back for a moment to what I said earlier…”

Recapping “Recapping quickly on what was said before lunch,»

Goingdeeper “Let me expand on the figures for last year for a moment…”

Going over “Just to fill you in on some of the background, …”

the basics “By … I mean …”

Digressing “Before going on, I’d just like to say a little about…”

Wrapping up “So, what do we want to take away from today...”

Concluding “Finally, I’d like to say by thanking you all for coming. I hope that the
presentation has been interesting.”

6 INGLÉS CONVERSACIONAL
Presenting Reports
Business reports are one of the most effective ways to communicate in today’s business world.
Although the objectives of business reports are broad in scope, companies or individuals can
use them to help them make important decisions. To write an effective business report, first
you have to understand what it is and how it can be used.

Start with a scheme

A report, as the name implies, provides some type of information. It is important to be clear,
first, what is the specific information we want to convey. Putting this information into a scheme
before starting to write helps to sort ideas and establish relationships between them, to be
concise and to avoid unnecessary repetitions.

Propose the structure

Before starting to write the report, it is also appropriate to design a logical structure according
to the contents we want to communicate. At a minimum, we will have to have an introduction,
a body and a conclusion.

Remember

Introduction Body Conclusion

report´s purpose problem followed reveals the

by possible best solution
solutions

Writing the report

When we are clear about what content we are going to include in the report, we can start
writing, but is important to do it directly in English. In this way, we will avoid falling into the
typical mistakes that occur when we want to literally translate words, phrases or structures in
our mother tongue, which make the text sound artificial and sometimes understandable.

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Apunte 2 Presentations, Telephone and Videoconferences Conversations

Use the appropriate connectors

It is important readers can perfectly follow the development of the argument and, when reading
the report, understand all the logical relationships between the ideas presented there. To do
this, we must not hesitate to include connectors. Of course, it is necessary to know well how
they work and when to use each of them. It is not necessary to know all: it is interesting to arm
yourself with a small “tool chest” that allows us to express all the relationships in a clear and
logical way.

Useful connectors

Cause because, for, because of, as a result of, due to, owing to, since, as.

Consequence Consequently , As a consequence of, as a result , of , Therefore.

Concession Although , even though, despite , in spite of.

Contrast But , however , although , nevertheless , despite/in spite of.

Use keywords

It is convenient to handle the terminology which is usually used in the reports, depending on
the topic (financial, economic, etc.). Using examples of reports written by other people is very
useful for this.

Check the text

This is a basic rule for any type of text, but

perhaps here it is even more important, since
it is essential in the reports to ensure the
content is expressed in an absolutely clear
way. If you have the time for it, the ideal is
to “let the report rest” until the next day, and
then read it with a critical eye. Surely errors,
repetitions and unclear expressions, which
must be corrected, will be visible.

Check the text

8 INGLÉS CONVERSACIONAL
Preparing an Elevator Pitch
What is an elevator pitch?

An elevator pitch is a small presentation where you let to know about yourself and your business
so that you arouse the interest and curiosity of your interlocutors. The purpose is to expose a
clear idea of what you do while generating an interest to get an investor, a potential client, a
partner, a collaborator, etc...

Steps to prepare an elevator pitch

A. Answer the most common questions

Explain who you are, what you do, what problems you solve and how you do it, they are
the first questions anyone would ask you.

You have to be clear in the following points:

- Your name and the name of your business.

- Your profession or business activity.
- What your business does to solve a problem of your target audience.

B. Define your target audience

It may seem like a very easy step but you have to know how to do it. You have to make clear
from the beginning to whom is directed to your project, your services or your products.

If you do not know what your target audience is or what problems you need to solve your
business will be badly raised.

9 INGLÉS CONVERSACIONAL
Apunte 2 Presentations, Telephone and Videoconferences Conversations

Example:

Suppose we have set up an online business with a blog where we write about nutrition and sell
vegetarian food courses and recipes.
In this case our target audience would be a young audience between 25 and 40 years old, for
example, interested in improving their health, with little knowledge in cooking and who want to
lead a healthy life. Who surely will also like animals, nature and exercise.

C. Highlight what benefits your customers get

Once you’ve exposed what you do and who you do it for. You have to get attention by highlighting
what they will get from you.
It is not enough to cover a need or say that what problems you are going to solve.
You must go further and make it clear they will get what they crave: the benefit of solving their
problems.

RESULT

3 Steps value proposition a good speech

Result of a good
elevator pitch

10 INGLÉS CONVERSACIONAL
Answering and Dealing with Everyday
Phone Calls

Answering a Phone Call

A very common situation you will live in an international company is the phone call. This call can
have several purposes, from making an appointment, confirming some information, responding
to a request, writing a message for another worker, etc.

Below we summarize the most useful situations and expressions:

• Expressions for greeting and closing a conversation

Regardless the purpose of your calling l, it is essential to answer and close correctly.

• If you are making the call, you must use:

Good morning / afternoon / evening. This is [your name] at [name of your company]
from [name of your department]. Could I speak to [person you want to contact] / I’m
calling about / because… [To indicate the reason for the call].

11 INGLÉS CONVERSACIONAL
Apunte 2 Presentations, Telephone and Videoconferences Conversations

• If you are the one who receives the call, you will use:

Company (name of your company), this is (your name). How may I help you?
Good morning / afternoon, Company (name of your company). How may I help you?
(Name of your department) department, (your name) speaking.

• Finally, to close the call you can use:

Is there anything else I can help you with? Okay, thanks for calling. Have a great day.
Is there anything else I can do for you? Okay, have a good day.

Woman talking on the phone

12 INGLÉS CONVERSACIONAL
Opening and Keeping a
Videoconference
What is a Video Conference?

The Video Conference is an interactive system that allows several users to have a virtual
conversation through the real-time transmission of video, sound and text over the Internet.
These systems are specially designed to carry out training sessions, work meetings, product
demonstrations, training, support, customer service, product marketing, etc.

Opening a videoconference.

When you connect to the videoconference, say hello and say your name, position and company.

For example:

Good morning, this is Jim from ABB Company.

Remember the voice is the first and the only thing others will perceive from you. Therefore, be
cheerful and energetic in greeting, to make a good initial impression.

During the videoconference

If you are who has organized the video conference, a good way to start the meeting is saying:
everybody ready to start? Then, we can begin.

-Pay attention! There is nothing worse in a video conference when someone is asking you a
question and you don’t know what to answer because you weren’t listening. So focus on the call
and avoid distractions such as the mobile, tablet, etc.

When you finish, say thank you and goodbye politely.

To be sure you have not missed anything, it is always a good idea to email the attendees or the
organizer a summary about the agreements or issues talked during the videoconference. In
addition, you will give a professional image.

Don’t forget to write down the tasks that apply to you! After a long video conference meeting
you really want to take a break and then it is easy to forget important agreements or questions
to answer lately. Write it down immediately.

13 INGLÉS CONVERSACIONAL
Apunte 2 Presentations, Telephone and Videoconferences Conversations

Videoconference

To be sure you have not missed anything, it is always a good

idea to email the attendees or the organizer a summary about
the agreements or issues talked during the videoconference.
In addition, you will give a professional image

14 INGLÉS CONVERSACIONAL
Exercises

A. Answer the following questions.

1. Imagine you are starting a presentation, which phrases will you use? Name at least 4

2. How we can write a successful business report?

3. What do you consider is the most important step for preparing a good elevator pitch?
Explain.

15 INGLÉS CONVERSACIONAL
Apunte 2 Presentations, Telephone and Videoconferences Conversations

4. If you receive a phone call, what is the best way to finish the calling?

B. Complete the following presentation using the words below.

AFTER THAT FINALLY ILLUSTRATE OUTLINE

TO START WITH THEN DESCRIBE SPECIFICALLY

PURPOSE SUM UP THANK TELL YOU

Good morning, everybody. I hope you are all doing well today and I’d like to _______ you all for
being here. Today I am here to __________ about our latest product, and more _________ about
how it works and what it does. I’d also like to __________ the products’ features and __________
inform you about where you can get it and how. ____________, I’d like to briefly __________ our
current marketing policy in Canada. ________, I’ll __________ some of the problems we have en-
countered in our market share. ___________, I’ll ________ our progress this year and continue on
with our main _______ for being here; the product.

Elevator Pitch

16 INGLÉS CONVERSACIONAL
C. Put in order and organize possible expressions for a videoconference.

Is there anything else I can help you with?

Could you all when speaking state your name clearly?

Hello everyone, thank you for being here,

Good morning. This is Kelly from financial department in EOC.

Have a great day.

I will send you the report after before tomorrow.

Opening a videoconference Closing a videoconference

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Apunte 2 Presentations, Telephone and Videoconferences Conversations

Conclusion
Indeed, “a picture is worth a thousand
words” and it is there, when it is important
to capture the attention of our client with a
good physical image and of course, with a
good argument that supports the credibility
of your company and business.

It is essential to know there are different

ways to establishing contact with a client and
making known a business proposal, either
through a phone call, an email message or
having a videoconference.

That is why, having a good company

presentation is the key to show to your
clients who you are as an organization, the
services you can provide to meet their needs
and what successful experiences you have
had in the business world.

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 “Improvement is achieved by the ripple
effect of a few simple changes in approach,
attitude, or habit.”

Dale Ludwig

19 INGLÉS CONVERSACIONAL
Bibliography

Gómez, M. A. C. 2012.
Manual inglés profesional para actividades comerciales. Editorial CEP, S.L. Madrid, ES. Retrie-
ved from http://www.ebrary.com

Sinclair, L. Butterfield, J. 2015.

Collins pocket plus: English-Spanish, español-inglés. Grijalbo. Barcelona.

ThoughtCo. (2019).
Learn How to Write a Business Email for Formal and Informal Situations. [Online]
Available at: https://www.thoughtco.com/how-to-write-a-business-report-1210164 [Accessed 3
Dec. 2019]..

Kim, J. (2019).
How to Conduct a Video Conference Call & Tips on Conference Call Etiquette. [Online]
Lifesize.com. Available at: https://www.lifesize.com/en/video-conferencing-blog/golden-rules-of-a-
successful-video-call [Accessed 3 Dec. 2019].
Apunte 2
PRESENTATIONS, TELEPHONE
AND VIDEOCONFERENCES
CONVERSATIONS