language used in presentations

Language of Presentations

Simplicity and clarity.

If you want your audience to understand your message, your language must be simple and clear .

Use short words and short sentences.

Do not use jargon, unless you are certain that your audience understands it.

In general, talk about concrete facts rather than abstract ideas.

Use active verbs instead of passive verbs. Active verbs are much easier to understand. They are much more powerful. Consider these two sentences, which say the same thing:

• Toyota sold nine million vehicles last year.
• Nine million vehicles were sold by Toyota last year.

Which is easier to understand? Which is more immediate? Which is more powerful ? #1 is active and #2 is passive.

Signposting

During your introduction, you should tell your audience what the structure of your presentation will be. You might say something like this:

"I'll start by describing the current position in Europe. Then I'll move on to some of the achievements we've made in Asia. After that I'll consider the opportunities we see for further expansion in Africa. Lastly, I'll quickly recap before concluding with some recommendations."

A member of the audience can now visualize your presentation like this:

He will keep this image in his head during the presentation. He may even write it down. And throughout your presentation, you will put up signposts telling him which point you have reached and where you are going now. When you finish Europe and want to start Asia, you might say:

"That's all I have to say about Europe. Let's turn now to Asia."

When you have finished Africa and want to sum up, you might say:

"Well, we've looked at the three continents Europe, Asia and Africa. I'd like to sum up now."

And when you finish summing up and want to give your recommendations, you might say:

"What does all this mean for us? Well, firstly I recommend..."

The table below lists useful expressions that you can use to signpost the various parts of your presentation.

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What It Takes to Give a Great Presentation

• Carmine Gallo

Five tips to set yourself apart.

Never underestimate the power of great communication. It can help you land the job of your dreams, attract investors to back your idea, or elevate your stature within your organization. But while there are plenty of good speakers in the world, you can set yourself apart out by being the person who can deliver something great over and over. Here are a few tips for business professionals who want to move from being good speakers to great ones: be concise (the fewer words, the better); never use bullet points (photos and images paired together are more memorable); don’t underestimate the power of your voice (raise and lower it for emphasis); give your audience something extra (unexpected moments will grab their attention); rehearse (the best speakers are the best because they practice — a lot).

I was sitting across the table from a Silicon Valley CEO who had pioneered a technology that touches many of our lives — the flash memory that stores data on smartphones, digital cameras, and computers. He was a frequent guest on CNBC and had been delivering business presentations for at least 20 years before we met. And yet, the CEO wanted to sharpen his public speaking skills.

• Carmine Gallo is a Harvard University instructor, keynote speaker, and author of 10 books translated into 40 languages. Gallo is the author of The Bezos Blueprint: Communication Secrets of the World’s Greatest Salesman  (St. Martin’s Press).

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52 Phrases for Better Flowing English Presentations

/ Steven Hobson / Business English , English Presentations , Vocabulary

Do you give English presentations at work, but feel that you could communicate your message in a more objective, fluid way?

Maybe you have an English presentation coming up and want to make sure that your speech is clear and structured so that your audience doesn’t lose concentration and stays with you all the way to the end.

A technique that can help you achieve objective, clear, and structured English presentations, is to use linking phrases that join the separate parts of your presentation together.

English presentations normally consist of an introduction, the main body, individual parts of the main body, and the ending or conclusion.

To help maintain your audience’s attention, you need to signal when you are going from one part to another.

In this article, I teach you 52 phrases that do exactly this – linking the different parts together, and therefore, making your presentation flow better. You’ll find that these phrases will act as ‘signposts’ for the audience when you finish one part and start another.

52 Phrases to Improve the Flow of Your English Presentations

The introduction.

All good presentations start with a strong introduction.

There are a number of different ways you can begin your English presentation. Here’s a simple, but effective introduction structure which works for most types of business presentations:

Introduce – Introduce yourself and greet your audience. Introduce the presentation topic – Explain the reasons for listening. Outline – Describe the main parts of the presentation. Question policy – Make it clear to your audience when they can ask questions: during or at the end?

Here are some phrases which you can use to structure the introduction in this way:

1. Good morning/afternoon (everyone) (ladies and gentlemen). 2. It’s a pleasure to welcome (the President) here. 3. I’m … (the Director of …)

Introduce the presentation topic

4. By the end of the talk/presentation/session, you’ll know how to… / …you will have learned about… / 5. I plan to say a few words about… 6. I’m going to talk about… 7. The subject of my talk is…

8. My talk will be in (three parts). 9. In the first part… 10. Then in the second part… 11. Finally, I’ll go on to talk about…

Question Policy

12. Please interrupt if you have any questions. 13. After my talk, there will be time for a discussion and any questions.

 Main Body

Now that you have finished the introduction, we now need to transition to the main body, and its individual parts in a smooth way.

There are three parts of the main body of a presentation where linking phrases can be used:

Beginning the Main Body Ending Parts within the Main Body Beginning a New Part

Here are some phrases which you can use for these parts:

Beginning the Main Body

14. Now let’s move to / turn to the first part of my talk which is about… 15. So, first… 16. To begin with…

Ending Parts within the Main Body

17. That completes/concludes… 18. That’s all (I want to say for now) on… 19. Ok, I’ve explained how…

Beginning a New Part

20. Let’s move to (the next part which is)… 21. So now we come to the next point, which is… 22. Now I want to describe… 23. Let’s turn to the next issue… 24. I’d now like to change direction and talk about…

Listing and Sequencing

If you need to talk about goals, challenges, and strategies in your English presentation, listing phrases can help link these together and improve the flow of your speech. If you have to explain processes, sequencing phrases are helpful:

25. There are three things to consider. First… Second… Third… 26. There are two kinds of… The first is… The second is… 27. We can see four advantages and two disadvantages. First, advantages… 28. One is… Another is… A third advantage is… Finally…

29. There are (four) different stages to the process. 30. First / then / next / after that / then (x) / after x there’s y. 31. There are two steps involved. The first step is… The second step is… 32. There are four stages to the project. 33. At the beginning, later, then, finally… 34. I’ll describe the development of the idea. First the background, then the present situation, and then the prospect for the future.

After you have presented the main body of your English presentation, you will want to end it smoothly.

Here are typical sections transitioning from the main body to the ending of the presentation, and then inviting the audience to ask questions:

Ending the Main Body Beginning the Summary and/or Conclusion Concluding An Ending Phrase Inviting Questions and/or Introducing Discussion Thanking the Audience

Ending the Main Body

35. Okay, that ends (the third part of) my talk. 36. That’s all I want to say for now on (the 2017 results).

Beginning the Summary and/or Conclusion

37. To sum up… 38. Ok, in brief, there are several advantages and disadvantages. 39. To conclude… 40. I’d like to end by emphasizing the main points. 41. I’d like to end with a summary of the main points.

42. I think we have seen that we should… 43. In my opinion, we should… 44. I recommend/suggest that we… 45. There are three reasons why I recommend this. First, … / Second, … / Finally,…

An Ending Phrase

46. Well, I’ve covered the points that I needed to present today. 47. That sums up (my description of the new model). 48. That concludes my talk for today.

Inviting Questions and/or Introducing Discussion

49. Now we have (half an hour) for questions and discussion. 50. So, now I’d be very interested to hear your comments.

Thanking the Audience

51. I’d like to thank you for listening to my presentation. 52. Thank you for listening / your attention. / Many thanks for coming.

Linking phrases are like the skeleton which holds your presentation together.

Not only do they improve the flow and help guide the audience, but by memorizing them they can also help you remember the general structure of your presentation, giving you increased confidence.

To help you memorize, I recommend saying the linking phrases on their own from the beginning to the end of your presentation while you practice.

I also suggest memorizing the introduction word for word. By doing this, you will get off to a great start, which will settle your nerves and transmit a positive first impression.

Author: Steven Hobson

Steven is a business English coach, a certified life coach, writer, and entrepreneur. He helps international professionals build confidence and improve fluency speaking English in a business environment.

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13.2 Using Language Effectively

Learning objectives.

• Explain what it means to use appropriate language.
• Explain what is meant by vivid language.
• Define inclusive language and explain why using it is important for public speakers.
• Explain the importance of using familiar language in public speaking.

Kimba Howard – megaphone – CC BY 2.0.

When considering how to use language effectively in your speech, consider the degree to which the language is appropriate, vivid, inclusive, and familiar. The next sections define each of these aspects of language and discuss why each is important in public speaking.

Use Appropriate Language

As with anything in life, there are positive and negative ways of using language. One of the first concepts a speaker needs to think about when looking at language use is appropriateness. By appropriate, we mean whether the language is suitable or fitting for ourselves, as the speaker; our audience; the speaking context; and the speech itself.

Appropriate for the Speaker

One of the first questions to ask yourself is whether the language you plan on using in a speech fits with your own speaking pattern. Not all language choices are appropriate for all speakers. The language you select should be suitable for you, not someone else. If you’re a first-year college student, there’s no need to force yourself to sound like an astrophysicist even if you are giving a speech on new planets. One of the biggest mistakes novice speakers make is thinking that they have to use million-dollar words because it makes them sound smarter. Actually, million-dollar words don’t tend to function well in oral communication to begin with, so using them will probably make you uncomfortable as a speaker. Also, it may be difficult for you or the audience to understand the nuances of meaning when you use such words, so using them can increase the risk of denotative or connotative misunderstandings.

Appropriate for the Audience

The second aspect of appropriateness asks whether the language you are choosing is appropriate for your specific audience. Let’s say that you’re an engineering student. If you’re giving a presentation in an engineering class, you can use language that other engineering students will know. On the other hand, if you use that engineering vocabulary in a public speaking class, many audience members will not understand you. As another example, if you are speaking about the Great Depression to an audience of young adults, you can’t assume they will know the meaning of terms like “New Deal” and “WPA,” which would be familiar to an audience of senior citizens. In other chapters of this book, we have explained the importance of audience analysis; once again, audience analysis is a key factor in choosing the language to use in a speech.

Appropriate for the Context

The next question about appropriateness is whether the language you will use is suitable or fitting for the context itself. The language you may employ if you’re addressing a student assembly in a high school auditorium will differ from the language you would use at a business meeting in a hotel ballroom. If you’re giving a speech at an outdoor rally, you cannot use the same language you would use in a classroom. Recall that the speaking context includes the occasion, the time of day, the mood of the audience, and other factors in addition to the physical location. Take the entire speaking context into consideration when you make the language choices for your speech.

Appropriate for the Topic

The fourth and final question about the appropriateness of language involves whether the language is appropriate for your specific topic. If you are speaking about the early years of The Walt Disney Company, would you want to refer to Walt Disney as a “thaumaturgic” individual (i.e., one who works wonders or miracles)? While the word “thaumaturgic” may be accurate, is it the most appropriate for the topic at hand? As another example, if your speech topic is the dual residence model of string theory, it makes sense to expect that you will use more sophisticated language than if your topic was a basic introduction to the physics of, say, sound or light waves.

Use Vivid Language

After appropriateness, the second main guideline for using language is to use vivid language. Vivid language helps your listeners create strong, distinct, clear, and memorable mental images. Good vivid language usage helps an audience member truly understand and imagine what a speaker is saying. Two common ways to make your speaking more vivid are through the use of imagery and rhythm.

Imagery is the use of language to represent objects, actions, or ideas. The goal of imagery is to help an audience member create a mental picture of what a speaker is saying. A speaker who uses imagery successfully will tap into one or more of the audience’s five basic senses (hearing, taste, touch, smell, and sight). Three common tools of imagery are concreteness, simile, and metaphor.

Concreteness

When we use language that is concrete , we attempt to help our audiences see specific realities or actual instances instead of abstract theories and ideas. The goal of concreteness is to help you, as a speaker, show your audience something instead of just telling them. Imagine you’ve decided to give a speech on the importance of freedom. You could easily stand up and talk about the philosophical work of Rudolf Steiner, who divided the ideas of freedom into freedom of thought and freedom of action. If you’re like us, even reading that sentence can make you want to go to sleep. Instead of defining what those terms mean and discussing the philosophical merits of Steiner, you could use real examples where people’s freedom to think or freedom to behave has been stifled. For example, you could talk about how Afghani women under Taliban rule have been denied access to education, and how those seeking education have risked public flogging and even execution (Iacopino & Rasekh, 1998). You could further illustrate how Afghani women under the Taliban are forced to adhere to rigid interpretations of Islamic law that functionally limit their behavior. As illustrations of the two freedoms discussed by Steiner, these examples make things more concrete for audience members and thus easier to remember. Ultimately, the goal of concreteness is to show an audience something instead of talking about it abstractly.

The second form of imagery is simile . As you probably learned in English courses, a simile is a figure of speech in which two unlike things are explicitly compared. Both aspects being compared within a simile are able to remain separate within the comparison. The following are some examples:

• The thunderous applause was like a party among the gods.
• After the revelation, she was as angry as a raccoon caught in a cage.
• Love is like a battlefield.

When we look at these two examples, you’ll see that two words have been italicized: “like” and “as.” All similes contain either “like” or “as” within the comparison. Speakers use similes to help an audience understand a specific characteristic being described within the speech. In the first example, we are connecting the type of applause being heard to something supernatural, so we can imagine that the applause was huge and enormous. Now think how you would envision the event if the simile likened the applause to a mime convention—your mental picture changes dramatically, doesn’t it?

To effectively use similes within your speech, first look for instances where you may already be finding yourself using the words “like” or “as”—for example, “his breath smelled like a fishing boat on a hot summer day.” Second, when you find situations where you are comparing two things using “like” or “as,” examine what it is that you are actually comparing. For example, maybe you’re comparing someone’s breath to the odor of a fishing vessel. Lastly, once you see what two ideas you are comparing, check the mental picture for yourself. Are you getting the kind of mental image you desire? Is the image too strong? Is the image too weak? You can always alter the image to make it stronger or weaker depending on what your aim is.

The other commonly used form of imagery is the metaphor , or a figure of speech where a term or phrase is applied to something in a nonliteral way to suggest a resemblance. In the case of a metaphor, one of the comparison items is said to be the other (even though this is realistically not possible). Let’s look at a few examples:

• Love is a battlefield .
• Upon hearing the charges, the accused clammed up and refused to speak without a lawyer.
• Every year a new crop of activists are born .

In these examples, the comparison word has been italicized. Let’s think through each of these examples. In the first one, the comparison is the same as one of our simile examples except that the word “like” is omitted—instead of being like a battlefield, the metaphor states that love is a battlefield, and it is understood that the speaker does not mean the comparison literally. In the second example, the accused “clams up,” which means that the accused refused to talk in the same way a clam’s shell is closed. In the third example, we refer to activists as “crops” that arise anew with each growing season, and we use “born” figuratively to indicate that they come into being—even though it is understood that they are not newborn infants at the time when they become activists.

To use a metaphor effectively, first determine what you are trying to describe. For example, maybe you are talking about a college catalog that offers a wide variety of courses. Second, identify what it is that you want to say about the object you are trying to describe. Depending on whether you want your audience to think of the catalog as good or bad, you’ll use different words to describe it. Lastly, identify the other object you want to compare the first one to, which should mirror the intentions in the second step. Let’s look at two possible metaphors:

• Students groped their way through the maze of courses in the catalog.
• Students feasted on the abundance of courses in the catalog.

While both of these examples evoke comparisons with the course catalog, the first example is clearly more negative and the second is more positive.

One mistake people often make in using metaphors is to make two incompatible comparisons in the same sentence or line of thought. Here is an example:

• “That’s awfully thin gruel for the right wing to hang their hats on” (Nordquist, 2009).

This is known as a mixed metaphor, and it often has an incongruous or even hilarious effect. Unless you are aiming to entertain your audience with fractured use of language, be careful to avoid mixed metaphors.

Our second guideline for effective language in a speech is to use rhythm. When most people think of rhythm, they immediately think about music. What they may not realize is that language is inherently musical; at least it can be. Rhythm refers to the patterned, recurring variance of elements of sound or speech. Whether someone is striking a drum with a stick or standing in front of a group speaking, rhythm is an important aspect of human communication. Think about your favorite public speaker. If you analyze his or her speaking pattern, you’ll notice that there is a certain cadence to the speech. While much of this cadence is a result of the nonverbal components of speaking, some of the cadence comes from the language that is chosen as well. Let’s examine four types of rhythmic language: parallelism, repetition, alliteration, and assonance.

Parallelism

When listing items in a sequence, audiences will respond more strongly when those ideas are presented in a grammatically parallel fashion, which is referred to as parallelism . For example, look at the following two examples and determine which one sounds better to you:

• “Give me liberty or I’d rather die.”
• “Give me liberty or give me death.”

Technically, you’re saying the same thing in both, but the second one has better rhythm, and this rhythm comes from the parallel construction of “give me.” The lack of parallelism in the first example makes the sentence sound disjointed and ineffective.

As we mentioned earlier in this chapter, one of the major differences between oral and written language is the use of repetition . Because speeches are communicated orally, audience members need to hear the core of the message repeated consistently. Repetition as a linguistic device is designed to help audiences become familiar with a short piece of the speech as they hear it over and over again. By repeating a phrase during a speech, you create a specific rhythm. Probably the most famous and memorable use of repetition within a speech is Martin Luther King Jr.’s use of “I have a dream” in his speech at the Lincoln Memorial on August 1963 during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. In that speech, Martin Luther King Jr. repeated the phrase “I have a dream” eight times to great effect.

Alliteration

Another type of rhythmic language is alliteration , or repeating two or more words in a series that begin with the same consonant. In the Harry Potter novel series, the author uses alliteration to name the four wizards who founded Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. There are two basic types of alliteration: immediate juxtaposition and nonimmediate juxtaposition. Immediate juxtaposition occurs when the consonants clearly follow one after the other—as we see in the Harry Potter example. Nonimmediate juxtaposition occurs when the consonants are repeated in nonadjacent words (e.g., “It is the p oison that we must p urge from our p olitics, the wall that we must tear down before the hour grows too late”) (Obama, 2008). Sometimes you can actually use examples of both immediate and nonimmediate juxtaposition within a single speech. The following example is from Bill Clinton’s acceptance speech at the 1992 Democratic National Convention: “Somewhere at this very moment, a child is b eing b orn in America. Let it be our cause to give that child a h appy h ome, a h ealthy family, and a h opeful future” (Clinton, 2005).

Assonance is similar to alliteration, but instead of relying on consonants, assonance gets its rhythm from repeating the same vowel sounds with different consonants in the stressed syllables. The phrase “how now brown cow,” which elocution students traditionally used to learn to pronounce rounded vowel sounds, is an example of assonance. While rhymes like “free as a breeze,” “mad as a hatter,” and “no pain, no gain” are examples of assonance, speakers should be wary of relying on assonance because when it is overused it can quickly turn into bad poetry.

Use Inclusive Language

Language can either inspire your listeners or turn them off very quickly. One of the fastest ways to alienate an audience is through the use of noninclusive language. Inclusive language is language that avoids placing any one group of people above or below other groups while speaking. Let’s look at some common problem areas related to language about gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and disabilities.

Gender-Specific Language

The first common form of noninclusive language is language that privileges one of the sexes over the other. There are three common problem areas that speakers run into while speaking: using “he” as generic, using “man” to mean all humans, and gender typing jobs.

Generic “He”

The generic “he” happens when a speaker labels all people within a group as “he” when in reality there is a mixed sex group involved. Consider the statement, “Every morning when an officer of the law puts on his badge, he risks his life to serve and protect his fellow citizens.” In this case, we have a police officer that is labeled as male four different times in one sentence. Obviously, both male and female police officers risk their lives when they put on their badges. A better way to word the sentence would be, “Every morning when officers of the law put on their badges, they risk their lives to serve and protect their fellow citizens.” Notice that in the better sentence, we made the subject plural (“officers”) and used neutral pronouns (“they” and “their”) to avoid the generic “he.”

Use of “Man”

Traditionally, speakers of English have used terms like “man,” “mankind,” and (in casual contexts) “guys” when referring to both females and males. In the second half of the twentieth century, as society became more aware of gender bias in language, organizations like the National Council of Teachers of English developed guidelines for nonsexist language (National Council of Teachers of English, 2002). For example, instead of using the word “man,” you could refer to the “human race.” Instead of saying, “hey, guys,” you could say, “OK, everyone.” By using gender-fair language you will be able to convey your meaning just as well, and you won’t risk alienating half of your audience.

Gender-Typed Jobs

The last common area where speakers get into trouble with gender and language has to do with job titles. It is not unusual for people to assume, for example, that doctors are male and nurses are female. As a result, they may say “she is a woman doctor” or “he is a male nurse” when mentioning someone’s occupation, perhaps not realizing that the statements “she is a doctor” and “he is a nurse” already inform the listener as to the sex of the person holding that job. Speakers sometimes also use a gender-specific pronoun to refer to an occupation that has both males and females. Table 13.1 “Gender Type Jobs” lists some common gender-specific jobs titles along with more inclusive versions of those job titles.

Table 13.1 Gender Type Jobs

Ethnic Identity

Another type of inclusive language relates to the categories used to highlight an individual’s ethnic identity. Ethnic identity refers to a group an individual identifies with based on a common culture. For example, within the United States we have numerous ethnic groups, including Italian Americans, Irish Americans, Japanese Americans, Vietnamese Americans, Cuban Americans, and Mexican Americans. As with the earlier example of “male nurse,” avoid statements such as “The committee is made up of four women and a Vietnamese man.” Instead, say, “The committee is made up of four women and a man” or, if race and ethnicity are central to the discussion, “The committee is made up of three European American women, an Israeli American woman, a Brazilian American woman, and a Vietnamese American man.” In recent years, there has been a trend toward steering inclusive language away from broad terms like “Asians” and “Hispanics” because these terms are not considered precise labels for the groups they actually represent. If you want to be safe, the best thing you can do is ask a couple of people who belong to an ethnic group how they prefer to label themselves.

Sexual Orientation

Another area that can cause some problems is referred to as heterosexism. Heterosexism occurs when a speaker presumes that everyone in an audience is heterosexual or that opposite-sex relationships are the only norm. For example, a speaker might begin a speech by saying, “I am going to talk about the legal obligations you will have with your future husband or wife.” While this speech starts with the notion that everyone plans on getting married, which isn’t the case, it also assumes that everyone will label their significant others as either “husbands” or “wives.” Although some members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender/transexual community will use these terms, others prefer for more gender neutral terms like “spouse” and “partner.” Moreover, legal obligations for same-sex couples may be very different from those for heterosexual couples. Notice also that we have used the phrase “members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender/transexual community” instead of the more clinical-sounding term “homosexual.”

The last category of exclusive versus inclusive language that causes problems for some speakers relates to individuals with physical or mental disabilities. Table 13.2 “Inclusive Language for Disabilities” provides some other examples of exclusive versus inclusive language.

Table 13.2 Inclusive Language for Disabilities

Use Familiar Language

The last category related to using language appropriately simply asks you to use language that is familiar both to yourself and to your audience. If you are not comfortable with the language you are using, then you are going to be more nervous speaking, which will definitely have an impact on how your audience receives your speech. You may have a hard time speaking genuinely and sincerely if you use unfamiliar language, and this can impair your credibility. Furthermore, you want to make sure that the language you are using is familiar to your audience. If your audience cannot understand what you are saying, you will not have an effective speech.

Key Takeaways

• Using appropriate language means that a speaker’s language is suitable or fitting for themselves, as the speaker; our audience; the speaking context; and the speech itself.
• Vivid language helps listeners create mental images. It involves both imagery (e.g., concreteness, simile, and metaphor) and rhythm (e.g., parallelism, repetition, alliteration, and assonance).
• Inclusive language avoids placing any one group of people above or below other groups while speaking. As such, speakers need to think about how they refer to various groups within society.
• Using familiar language is important for a speaker because familiar language will make a speaker more comfortable, which will improve audience perceptions of the speech.
• Watch the news and find an example of someone using inappropriate language. Why did the speaker use inappropriate language? How could the speaker have prevented the use of inappropriate language?
• Watch a presidential press conference or a political speech. Identify the uses of imagery and rhythm. How did the imagery and rhythm help the speech? Can you think of other ways the speaker could have used imagery and rhythm?
• Why is inclusive language important? Write down the various groups you belong to in life; how would you want these groups to be referred to by a speaker? Share your list with a friend or classmate and see if that person reaches the same conclusions you do. If there are differences in your perceptions, why do you think those differences are present?

Clinton, W. J. (2005). My life . New York, NY: Vintage Books, p. 421.

Iacopino, V., & Rasekh, Z. (1998). The Taliban’s war on women: A health and human rights crisis in Afghanistan . Boston, MA: Physicians for Human Rights.

National Council of Teachers of English (2002). Guidelines for gender-fair use of language . Retrieved from http://www.ncte.org/positions/statements/genderfairuseoflang .

Nordquist, R. (2009). Mixed metaphor . Retrieved from About.com at http://grammar.about.com/od/mo/g/mixmetterm.htm

Obama, B. (2008, January 20). The great need of the hour. Remarks delivered at Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta. Retrieved from http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/01/the_great_need_of_the_hour.html

Stand up, Speak out Copyright © 2016 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Essential Guide for Presenting in English

May 11, 2021 - Dom Barnard

Giving a presentation is always challenging. Having to stand up in front of your colleagues and share your knowledge in an  informative and persuasive  way isn’t easy. You may feel nervous and uncertain that you can perform to your best.

However, this is even more difficult if you are presenting in a foreign language. As a non-native English speaker, you may sometimes be expected to deliver a presentation in English. This can happen if you work for an international company, or travel a lot for business purposes.

You might feel worried about this – after all, ordering a coffee or having a casual conversation in English is a lot different than giving a fully-fledged presentation. It can be hard to know where to start.

Don’t worry! With these handy hints and tips, you will feel a lot more confident about giving that presentation in English, no matter what the topic.

Check understanding

The most important thing when giving a presentation in English – or any second language – is that you are using language that you understand. Not only that, but you will need to make sure that your language is comprehensible to others.

Therefore, you may not want to use language that is too complex, even if you are confident with it yourself.

Think about your audience

When you are preparing to give a presentation in English, it is important to consider  who your audience is . You may be giving a talk to native English speakers, to non-native speakers, or to a mix of both. You may be speaking in English to other speakers of your own native language.

When giving your talk, this is vital to take into account, because this will tell you how basic or complex your language use should be. Even if you are an experienced and confident English speaker, you must also consider those you are presenting to, and ensure that they will understand what is being said.

Prepare yourself

You usually prepare thoroughly for your presentations. You make sure that all of your  visual aids  are ready, and you practice in the mirror. However, when it comes to presenting in English, you will need to prepare even more than you usually do. Ensure that you have a clear understanding of the beginning, middle and end of your presentation, and know exactly what you are going to say.

Try and think about any questions that may come up, and how they may be phrased. This will help you to be able to respond more easily in English. And remember – the more you practice and the more presentations you give, the more confident you will feel!

Improve your presentation skills with virtual reality. Learn more in our  Business English course .

Practice with people

Though you may usually practice by yourself, try to practice your English presentations on other people. If you can do this with other second-language speakers, then you can gauge how clear and understandable your speech is to others.

If you can practice your talk on a cross-section of native and non-native English speakers, then this will give you a great idea of if you are on the right track.

Use body language – carefully!

Body language is a vital part of keeping your presentation lively and engaging. Smiling and gesturing can draw your audience in and keep them interested. But bear in mind that not all gestures mean the same things to  different cultures .

Depending on what part of the world you are presenting in, you may want to think about what kinds of body language are relatable to your audience. Some gestures are universal, but others are not! When in doubt, ask around, or do some research online.

Keep it simple

If you are not very confident in your English speaking ability, don’t opt for the most poetic language you can find. Keeping it simple can be very effective, especially when you are presenting business concepts. You don’t need to make your language use sound beautiful, it just needs to be understandable to those around you.

Similarly, make a list beforehand of the main points of your talk and don’t stray too far from them. This can help you to stay on target, and keep you feeling more positive about your word use. If you also make sure that the “story” of your presentation is simple, this can make for a much more clear and easy experience for both you and your audience.

Articulate carefully

Whoever you are presenting to, articulation matters. Even if you are using simple language and keeping your presentation “story” simple, ensure that you aren’t rushing over your words.

Practice will help you to speak more slowly and clearly, and to  employ pauses  to allow the audience to absorb what you have said. This is especially vital if you are speaking to non-native English users, who may need extra time to understand what you are relaying.

Not only that but pausing during your talk will allow you to think about what you want to say next with more clarity.

Provide summaries

When giving a presentation in English, you will have a clear beginning, middle and end of your talk mapped out beforehand. An effective way to make sure that each part of your speech has been understood is to summarise during your talk. Give short summaries at the end of each section – this will also help you to have a defined endpoint before moving on to the next piece of information.

It is a great idea, where possible, to provide your audience with a summary before your talk, too. This way they will know what to expect and can prepare any questions in advance. It will help them to understand you, and give you an expectation of things they might ask, or want to know more about.

Use clear images

If  graphs and images  are an important part of your presentation, make sure to check and double-check that these are clear and easy to understand. These also need to be in English, and you must be able to relate them to your presentation easily.

Practice this, and use them as part of your talk and as part of your summaries as an anchor for your presentation. The language and figures used on them can also act as a prompt if you lose your place while presenting.

Stay front-facing

As important as body language is, you also need to keep your face in clear view. If you are speaking a second language, it is easier for you to be understood if the audience can see the shapes your mouth is making, and gauge your expression.

It also helps to keep you  feeling confident  and connected to your audience – and allows you to see how they are responding to you, and if they are understanding what is being said. It might be tempting to turn away if you feel nervous, but try to keep this to a minimum so everyone remains engaged.

Are you feeling ready to give a great presentation in English? Keep this essential advice in mind, and don’t be afraid to reach out to colleagues for a little extra help in getting ready! Most of all, go for it! You might be surprised at how confident you feel after delivering an excellent talk.

Blog > English Presentation Structure (Introduction, Closing) & useful Phrases

English Presentation Structure (Introduction, Closing) & useful Phrases

02.21.20   •  #powerpoint #presentation #english.

When giving a presentation in english, there are certain guidelines you should follow. Maybe you haven't got a lot of experience presenting - or you would simply like to refresh your already existing knowledge - we're here to teach you the basics about presenting and provide you with a free list of useful phrases and the basic structure you can in your presentation!

1. Structure

The general structure of a presentation is the following:

• Introduction

It is up to you to design these three parts. Using videos or everyday-examples can be a great way to introduce the audience to the topic. The important thing is that you capture the audience's attention from the beginning by making an interesting introduction. The main part is where you present your topic, ideally divided into sections. You can be creative with it - incorporate images, videos, stories or interactive polls . We generally recommend using different kinds of elements, as that makes the presentation more lively. Make sure your main part is well structured, so your audience can follow. In the conclusion, you should give a short summary of the points you made without adding any new information. You can also make an appeal to your audience in the end.

2. Useful Phrases

Here you'll find several phrases that you'll need in every presentation. Of course, you should adapt them and use them in a context that is suitable for your setting. The phrases are divided into subcategories so you can find what you're looking for more easily.

Starting your Presentation

In your introduction, you should:

Welcome your audience

Good morning/afternoon/evening everyone!

Ladies and gentlemen, I welcome you to my presentation about...

Introduce yourself

I am ... (from company ...) and today I would like to introduce you to the topic of ...

My name is ... and I am going to talk about ... today.

Icebreakers (for audience engagement)

Icebreaker polls are an amazing way to engage your audience instantly. They function as a fun and playful element at the beginning, giving you the perfect start you need to give a successful presentation. Click here to read our detailed post about icebreaker polls!

Mention the presentation topic and the reason for giving the presentation

I am grateful to be here today and tell you you about...

I would like to take this opportunity to talk about ...

I am here today to talk to you about ...

The reason why I am here today to talk about ... is ...

The purpose of this presentation is to ...

My goal today is to ...

Hopefully, by the end of the presentation, you will all know more about ...

Give a short overview of the content

To make it as understandable as possible, I divided my presentation into ... parts. In the first part, I will concentrate on ..., the second part will be about ..., ...

First of all, I will give you a short introduction, then we will move on to ...

... and finally, I will give you some insights to ...

Here are a few phrases that you could use during the whole presentation, but especially in the main part.

Engage your audience

In order to raise the audience's attention and improve their engagement, it is extremely important to make contact with them. A great way to do so is by adding interactive elements such as polls. If you would like to know more about this topic, read our article on How To Boost Audience Engagement . You can also use a software like SlideLizard , which allows you to conduct live polls, do Q&A sessions with your audience, share your resources and many more benefits that take your presentation to the next level.

Please raise your hand if you ...

Have you ever thought about ... ?

I would like to do a poll about ...

Please ask any questions as soon as they arrive.

On one hand, … on the other hand…

Comparing … with …, we can see that…

Clearly, … makes more sense than …

Whereas Option A is …, Option B is …

Making new points

Firstly,… Secondly,…

What also has to be mentioned is…

Next, I would like to bring up the topic of…

That being said, now we are going to take a look at…

Let's move on to the next topic.

On the next slide,…

The last thing I would like to mention is…

We made a whole blog post about how to pose questions in your presentation: The Right Way to do a Question Slide .

Talking about images or videos

In this image you can clearly see that ...

We are now going to take a look at a picture/video of ...

I'm going to show you a video by ... about ... now.

I've prepared a video about ...

Talking about statistics and charts

I am now addressing this graph that refers to the results of study XY.

In the graph on this slide, you can see that ...

The average is at ...

This graph clearly shows that the majority ...

According to this graph, the focus should be on ...

What that study tells us for practice is that we should ...

Emphasizing

I would like to emphasize the importance of ...

Moreover, it has to be said that ...

I want to stress the importance of ...

We always have to remember that ...

This is of high significance because ...

That part is especially important because ...

When something goes wrong

I am sorry, but it seems like the projector isn't working.

Could someone please help me with ...?

Is anybody here who knows how to ...?

Could someone give me a hand with ...

I would like to apologize for ...

I apologize for the technical problems, we are going to continue in a minute.

I am sorry for the inconvenience.

End of Presentation

In the conclusion, you should...

Sum up the main points

In conclusion I can say that…

To sum up the main points,…

With all mentioned aspects taken into consideration, I can say that…

Make an appeal

So please, in the future, try to be conscious about...

Please take a moment to think about...

I would like to encourage you to...

Thank your audience and say goodbye

It was a pleasure being here today.

Thank you for listening and goodbye.

Thank you for being such a great, engaged audience. Goodbye.

Thank you so much for listening, see you next time.

What is the structure of a presentation?

Your presentations should always have an Introduction, a Main part and a Conclusion.

What is a good way to begin a presentation?

You can start by introducing yourself, giving an overview of your topic, telling a little story or showing the audience an introductory video or image.

What are good phrases to use in English presentations?

There are many phrases that will make your presentation a lot more professional. Our blog post gives you a detailed overview.

Related articles

About the author.

Pia Lehner-Mittermaier

Pia works in Marketing as a graphic designer and writer at SlideLizard. She uses her vivid imagination and creativity to produce good content.

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The big SlideLizard presentation glossary

Internal preview.

An Internal Preview is a statement, which is made in the body of the speech, so that the audience knows what the speaker is going to discuss next.

Informal Communication

informal communication can be used when talking to your friends or your family

Master view

In the master view in PowerPoint you can edit the Slide Master.

Multimedia Presentation

A multmedia presentation is a speech in which several types of visual and audio aids are combined in the same speech with the help of computer software. .

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• Grammar & vocab

Making a presentation: language and phrases (1)

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This is a list of phrases to help you make a professional presentation in English.

Clear structure, logical progression

Good presenters always use language (sometimes single words, sometimes phrases) which shows where they are in their presentation. These ‘signposts’ make it easier for the audience to:

• follow the structure of the presentation
• understand the speaker more easily
• get an idea of the length and content of the presentation.

We’ve divided the phrases and sentences into sections which follow the logical progression of a well-balanced presentation.

1. Welcoming

• Good morning and welcome to [name of company, name of conference hall, hotel, etc.].
• Thank you all very much for coming today.
• I hope you all had a pleasant journey here today.

2. Introducing yourself

• My name is Mark Watson and I am responsible for … .
• My name is Mark Watson from [name of company], where I am responsible for … .
• Let me introduce myself; my name is Mark Watson and I am responsible for … .

3. Introducing your presentation

• The purpose of today’s presentation is to … .
• The purpose of my presentation today is to … .
• In today’s presentation I’d like to … show you … . / explain to you how … .
• In today’s presentation I’m hoping to … give you an update on… / give you an overview of … .
• In today’s presentation I’m planning to … look at … . / explain … .

You can also outline your presentation to give the audience a clear overview of what they can expect:

• In today’s presentation I’m hoping to cover three points:
• firstly, … , after that we will look at … , and finally I’ll … .
• In today’s presentation I’d like to cover three points:
• firstly, … , secondly … , and finally … .

4. Explaining that there will be time for questions at the end

• If you have any questions you’d like to ask, please leave them until the end, when I’ll be happy to answer them.
• If there are any questions you’d like to ask, please leave them until the end, when I’ll do my best to answer them.

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Vocabulary and Phrases for Making Presentations in English

Here’s a step-by-step guide for making presentations in English. You’ll find the phrases you need for each step of your presentation.

After you give your opening statement, give a brief overview of your presentation. Say what your presentation is about, how long you will take and how you are going to handle questions.

For example, a presentation to sales staff could start like this: “Welcome / “Hello everyone.”

(Opening statement) “As you all know, this company is losing its market share. But we are being asked to increase sales by 20 – 25%. How can we possibly increase sales in a shrinking market?”

(Overview) “Today I am going to talk to you about how we can do this. My presentation will be in three parts. Firstly I am going to look at the market and the background. Then I am going to talk to you about our new products and how they fit in. Finally, I’m going to examine some selling strategies that will help us increase our sales by 20%. The presentation will probably take around 20 minutes. There will be time for questions at the end of my talk.”

Useful language for overviews

“My presentation is in three parts.” “My presentation is divided into three main sections.” “Firstly, secondly, thirdly, finally…” “I’m going to… take a look at… talk about… examine… tell you something about the background… give you some facts and figures… fill you in on the history of… concentrate on… limit myself to the question of…

“Please feel free to interrupt me if you have questions.” “There will be time for questions at the end of the presentation.” “I’d be grateful if you could ask your questions after the presentation.”

The main body of the presentation

During your presentation, it’s a good idea to occasionally remind your audience why your presentation and ideas are important or relevant.

“As I said at the beginning…” “This, of course, will help you (to achieve the 20% increase).” “As you remember, we are concerned with…” “This ties in with my original statement…” “This relates directly to the question I put to you before…”

Keeping your audience with you

Remember that what you are saying is new to your audience. You are clear about the structure of your talk, but let your audience know when you are moving on to a new point. You can do this by saying something like “right”, or “OK”. You can also use some of the following expressions:

“I’d now like to move on to…” “I’d like to turn to…” “That’s all I have to say about…” “Now I’d like to look at…” “This leads me to my next point…”

If you are using index cards, putting the link on the cards will help you remember to keep the audience with you. In addition, by glancing at your index cards you will be pausing – this will also help your audience to realise that you are moving on to something new.

Phrases for introducing visuals

It’s important to introduce your visual to the audience. You can use the following phrases:

“This graph shows you…” “Take a look at this…” “If you look at this, you will see…” “I’d like you to look at this…” “This chart illustrates the figures…” “This graph gives you a break down of…”

Give your audience enough time to absorb the information on the visual. Pause to allow them to look at the information and then explain why the visual is important:

“As you can see…” “This clearly shows …” “From this, we can understand how / why…” “This area of the chart is interesting…”

Summarising

At the end of your presentation, you should summarise your talk and remind the audience of what you have told them:

“That brings me to the end of my presentation. I’ve talked about…” “Well, that’s about it for now. We’ve covered…” “So, that was our marketing strategy. In brief, we…” “To summarise, I…”

Relate the end of your presentation to your opening statement:

“So I hope that you’re a little clearer on how we can achieve sales growth of 20%.” “To return to the original question, we can achieve…” “So just to round the talk off, I want to go back to the beginning when I asked you…” “I hope that my presentation today will help you with what I said at the beginning…”

Handling questions

Thank the audience for their attention and invite questions.

“Thank you for listening – and now if there are any questions, I would be pleased to answer them.” “That brings me to the end of my presentation. Thank you for your attention. I’d be glad to answer any questions you might have.”

It’s useful to re-word the question, as you can check that you have understood the question and you can give yourself some time to think of an answer. By asking the question again you also make sure that other people in the audience understand the question.

“Thank you. So you would like further clarification on our strategy?” “That’s an interesting question. How are we going to get voluntary redundancy?” “Thank you for asking. What is our plan for next year?”

After you have answered your question, check that the person who asked you is happy with the answer.

“Does this answer your question?” “Do you follow what I am saying?” “I hope this explains the situation for you.” “I hope this was what you wanted to hear!”

If you don’t know the answer to a question, say you don’t know. It’s better to admit to not knowing something than to guess and maybe get it wrong. You can say something like:

“That’s an interesting question. I don’t actually know off the top of my head, but I’ll try to get back to you later with an answer.” “I’m afraid I’m unable to answer that at the moment. Perhaps I can get back to you later.” “Good question. I really don’t know! What do you think?” “That’s a very good question. However, we don’t have any figures on that, so I can’t give you an accurate answer.” “Unfortunately, I’m not the best person to answer that.”

What to say if things go wrong during your presentation

You think you’ve lost your audience? Rephrase what you have said:

“Let me just say that in another way.” “Perhaps I can rephrase that.” “Put another way, this means…” “What I mean to say is…”

Can’t remember the word?

If it’s a difficult word for you – one that you often forget, or one that you have difficulty pronouncing – you should write it on your index card. Pause briefly, look down at your index card and say the word.

Using your voice when making presentations

Don’t speak in a flat monotone – this will bore your audience. By varying your speed and tone, you will be able to keep your audience’s attention. Practise emphasising key words and pause in the right places – usually in between ideas in a sentence. For example “The first strategy involves getting to know our market (pause) and finding out what they want. (pause) Customer surveys (pause) as well as staff training (pause) will help us do this.”

Don’t forget – if you speak too fast you will lose your audience!

Making Presentations

Your answer:

Correct answer:

Your Answers

Power Language – Top Tips For Your Talks and Presentations

September 06, 2017

How To Use Powerful Language For Leadership Communications

Great leaders use power language. it adds interest and colour to what they say., you will recognise ten core techniques that great leaders use to make their talks and presentations more powerful. using the same linguistic tools in presentations, you can make your public speaking more engaging , memorable and persuasive..

Remember that these techniques are specific to spoken language , It’s not the same as written language . Some of these techniques can be used to structure your talk or presentation, while others should be used sparingly. Like seasoning in a meal, they should add subtle flavour.

So, refer back to these ten Power Language techniques when you are planning your next talk or presentation. Whether you are presenting to the board or presenting to a conference . Once you have identified your audience and clarified your messages, swap out any bland language and sprinkle in these power language tools instead:

Top ten examples of powerful language in presentations.

• Present a puzzle or problem
• Choose phrases with alliteration
• Group information into sets of three
• Use rhetorical questions
• Use rhyme (sparingly)
• Repeat and restate your messages
• Use contrasting pairs
• Explain new concepts by using metaphors, similes and analogies
• Stick to short words or phrases
• Replace impersonal pronouns with ‘I’, ‘you’ and ‘we’

Contact us for a free consultation on your coaching needs

Power Language Example #1. Present a puzzle or problem

Describe an unsolved puzzle or problem. You could do this in your introduction, or at the start of a new section of your talk or presentation. Why? Because it creates tension in the minds of your audience, which they will want to resolve. If the puzzle or problem is sufficiently compelling, your audience will be switched on, waiting to hear your potential solution.

At the start of her TED talk , Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, sets out a problem by using startling statistics:

“The problem is this: women are not making it to the top of any profession, anywhere in the world. The numbers tell it quite clearly. 190 heads of state; nine are women. Of all the people in parliament in the world, 13 per cent are women. In the corporate sector, women at the top – C-level jobs, board seats – tops out at 15, 16 per cent.”

On hearing this, we feel overwhelmed by the scale of the problem, and wait to hear what Sheryl will suggest can be done about it.

Back to top: 10 Powerful Speaking Techniques

Powerful Speaking Tools #2. Choose phrases with alliteration

Alliteration is when a sequence of words share the same starting letter or sound. This gives a poetic flow to your spoken language, and makes key messages more memorable . Alliteration can also infer balance, so it is often used in British Budget statements. For example, George Osborne’s ‘ R oad to R ecovery’ and these three phrases from Philip Hammond’s Spring Budget 2017 Speech :

“I report today on an economy that has c ontinued to c onfound the c ommentators with robust growth.” “And our t ask t oday is t o t ake the next steps in preparing Britain for a global future.” “And Mr Deputy Speaker, there’s one further area in which I can a nnounce a ction to b ack B ritish b usinesses.”

Alliteration comes with a health warning, however. Don’t force it, by choosing long or unfamiliar words to achieve alliteration, like the insults created by former Vice President Spiro Agnew for those he disagreed with:

“nattering nabobs of negativism; pusillanimous pussyfoots; hopeless, hysterical hypochondriacs of history…”

Back to top: 10 Power Language Techniques

Power Language Technique #3. Group information into sets of three

Speeches, slogans and soundbites are full of phrases comprising three parts . As children we read about the Three Little Pigs , in our teens we watch trilogies and as adults we encounter triads constantly – in marketing (‘reuse, reduce, recycle’), in mottos (‘location, location, location’) and in politics (‘Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness’). Listing three items is easy for an audience to process and remember. Any more, and we struggle to hold all the ideas in our head.

In this video for Fast Company, Harvard Business School Professor John P. Kotter answers the question, ‘How do you create a culture of innovation?’ using a list of three:

“In terms of getting people to experiment more and take more risk, there are at least three things that immediately come to my mind. Number one , of course, is role-modelling it yourself. Number two is, when people take intelligent, smart risks and yet it doesn’t work out, not shooting them. And number three , being honest with yourself.”

Power Language Tricks #4. Use rhetorical questions

Rhetorical questions prompt your audience to think about your topic. They can also lead people to arrive at a conclusion by themselves. This is much more persuasive than telling your audience what to think.

Researchers found that the impact of rhetorical questions varied, depending on the strength of the speaker’s argument and the personal relevance of the topic to the audience. For strong arguments on topics of low personal relevance, rhetorical questions enhanced persuasiveness. This was also true for weak arguments on topics with a high personal relevance.

Other research found that rhetorical questions makes the speaker appear more polite and likeable (Bates, 1976) and that the mere presence of rhetorical questions signals a strong argument (Zillmann, 1972).

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg combined the use of rhetorical questions with two sets of three in this excerpt from her Barnard College Commencement Address:

“What about the rat race in the first place? Is it worthwhile? Or are you just buying into someone else’s definition of success? Only you can decide that, and you’ll have to decide it over and over and over. But if you think it’s a rat race, before you drop out, take a deep breath. Maybe you picked the wrong job. Try again. And then try again.”

Powerful Language Example #5. Use rhyme (sparingly)

Occasional use of rhyme can add rhythm to your talks and presentations and make your message more memorable. One study also showed that people are more likely to believe something is true if it rhymes. (An apple a day keeps the doctor away)

You could use a short rhyme as a slogan for your main message, for example:

• Jack Welch’s ‘Rank and yank’ policy of firing the bottom 10% of his company.
• Richard Branson’s, ‘Screw it, let’s do it’ approach to new projects.
• David Cameron’s ‘This isn’t job done; it is job begun’ at his 2014 party conference speech.

You could imply a stronger link between two concepts, by using similar-sounding words to refer to them, e.g. ‘Your attitude determines your altitude’. Or you could use internal rhyme (not at the end of sentences) for a more subtle use of rhyme that makes a sentence sound more delightful to the ear.

For example, Winston Churchill said:

“Out of intense complexities , intense simplicities emerge.  Humanity , not legality , should be our guide.”

Like alliteration, rhyme is another technique to use sparingly. If more than two sentences rhyme, your audience may perceive that part of your talk or presentation as childish or contrived.

Power Language Tools #6. Repeat and restate your messages

You can use repetition in both your words and your messages. Rhythmic repetition is a repeated word or phrase that’s used in the same place in multiple sentences. It can bring a poetic touch to your spoken language, and improves the structure and flow of your presentation. For example, think of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous speech:

“ Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children.”

Familiarity breeds trust when it comes to repeated messages. Present your message to the audience early on, so those ideas start to feel familiar when you restate them in slightly different ways later. Comedians use this technique all the time. They tell a joke at the start, then refer back to it and build on it throughout their show. It’s a great way to bring the audience with you and make it easy for them to follow what you’re trying to say.

In 2010, Steve Jobs held an emergency press conference about the antenna in the iPhone 4. He repeated the phrase “We want to make all our users happy” several times. His slides used variants of the message ‘we love our users’, words which Jobs echoed in his conclusion. This ‘love’ was picked up and reported on by the media covering the event.

Prompt your audience’s recall

The persuasive impact of repetition is even stronger when you prompt your audience to retrieve your message from their memory. For example, you could refer to something you said earlier, but restate just enough of it for people to identify and recall the rest for themselves. Or you could show a heading or an image from a previous slide to prompt a visual flashback.

Back to top: 10 Powerful Language Examples

Power Language Technique #7. Use contrasting pairs

To be effective at public speaking you need to hold an audience’s attention. Creating tension is a great way to do this, as with setting out a puzzle or problem in technique #1. Contrasting pairs create tension between two opposites. You could ask ‘Are you with us or not?’ but it’s much more powerful to say, ‘You’re either with us, or against us’. Contrasting pairs can also clarify your position by stating clearly what you are arguing against, as well as what you are arguing for.

When Richard Branson wanted to highlight the value of trying, failing and starting over, he said:

“You don’t learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing, and by falling over.”

This technique can be used on a macro scale as well. In Nancy Duarte’s TED talk (at 6.45mins), she shows how many of the greatest speakers contrast ‘what is’ with ‘what could be’. This is repeated over and again, providing a subtle underlying structure to their talks and presentations.

Power Language Example #8. Explain new concepts by using metaphors, similes and analogies

Comparing something to a different thing can help your audience to understand and visualise it. This is especially true if you are explaining something abstract or unfamiliar, or want to express a thought or feeling powerfully. Metaphors, similes and analogies are all ways to achieve this. Even a subtle metaphor can have a substantial impact on how a person perceives an issue and makes a decision, according to researchers .

Steve Jobs used a metaphor when he referred to Apple’s switch to different processors at the MacWorld keynote speech in 2007 (0:01:03). He called it ‘a huge heart transplant to Intel microprocessors’.

And when JCPenny’s CEO wanted to explain where his company’s strategy had gone woefully wrong, he used a dating analogy. This excerpt is from his speech at the 2015 WWD Apparel & Retail CEO Summit in New York City:

“Let’s go back to high school and imagine that you dated the same wonderful girl for three years, and all of a sudden, when the prom is going up, you decide that she’s no longer good enough … so you make a play for the homecoming queen, and the homecoming queen says, ‘no thank you,’ and so you end up going to the prom [alone]. JCPenney had a customer that loved us, and we said to the customer, ‘we don’t like you anymore.’ We said we like that customer. We made a play for that customer, and that customer said, ‘we don’t like you very much.’”

Power Language Example #9. Stick to short words and phrases

Spoken language is most easily digested when delivered in bitesized chunks. Yet our businesses, strategies and communications all tend to be complex. So when you come to deliver a talk or presentation , it’s all too easy to confuse your audience. Simplify as much as you can. As Albert Einstein said, “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler”. Separate out long sentences into shorter ones, and avoid sub-clauses or complex sentence constructions.

Use short, common words instead of longer ones. Although people tend to think that the use of jargon or unusual words will impress others, the reverse was found to be true. In fact, the easier your talk or presentation is to process, the more your audience will see you as being confident, intelligent and capable. That’s according to research by Daniel M. Oppenheimer, professor of psychology at the UCLA Anderson School of Management.

In a Q&A with Gallup Business Journal, Former CEO & Chairman Douglas Conant demonstrated his great use of short, sharp sentences:

“The packaged food business environment is very Darwinian. You’re fighting for survival every year; you evolve and grow or you die. It’s really that simple.”

Powerful Language Technique #10. Replace impersonal pronouns with ‘I’, ‘you’ and ‘we’

Great speakers involve their audience in their talks and presentations by making it personal. For example, you may recognise these: ‘We are gathered here today…’, ‘Ask not what you can do for your country…’ and ‘I have a dream’.

Researchers found that using personal pronouns motivates people to learn, and makes that learning more enjoyable. There could be a financial value, too: in another study , researchers found that using personal pronouns in a phone call increased the chance that a prospective investor would agree to invest.

So instead of talking about ‘the company’s’ targets next quarter, talk about what ‘we’ want to achieve. Instead of talking about what a new widget does for ‘people’, talk about what it will change in ‘your’ life or ‘our’ lives. Take ownership for your thoughts, opinions and stories by starting them with the word ‘I’.

Here’s an example of repeated personal pronoun use by Marc Randolph, Netflix Co-Founder and Angel Investor:

“Your idea is a bad one, your idea is wrong. You don’t know how or why yet, but until you put the idea out there and see it collide with the real world, you won’t know what direction to go.”

Add life and colour to your public speaking by using Power Language

Power Language techniques are like butterflies in a garden, adding life and colour to your message. They draw your audience back from their thoughts and into the present moment.

Read more about how to speak like a leader

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Chapter Twelve – Language Use

Oral versus written language.

Clemsonunivlibrary –  group meeting  – CC BY-NC 2.0.

When we use the word “language,” we are referring to the words you choose to use in your speech—so by definition, our focus is on spoken language. Spoken language has always existed prior to written language. Wrench, McCroskey, and Richmond suggested that if you think about the human history of language as a twelve-inch ruler, written language or recorded language has only existed for the “last quarter of an inch” [1] . Furthermore, of the more than six thousand languages that are spoken around the world today, only a minority of them actually use a written alphabet [2] . To help us understand the importance of language, we will first look at the basic functions of language and then delve into the differences between oral and written language.

Basic Functions of Language

Language is any formal system of gestures, signs, sounds, and symbols used or conceived as a means of communicating thought. As mentioned above, there are over six thousand language schemes currently in use around the world. The language spoken by the greatest number of people on the planet is Mandarin; other widely spoken languages are English, Spanish, and Arabic [3] . Language is ultimately important because it is the primary means through which humans have the ability to communicate and interact with one another. Some linguists go so far as to suggest that the acquisition of language skills is the primary advancement that enabled our prehistoric ancestors to flourish and succeed over other hominid species [4] .

In today’s world, effective use of language helps us in our interpersonal relationships at home and at work. Using language effectively also will improve your ability to be an effective public speaker. Because language is an important aspect of public speaking that many students don’t spend enough time developing, we encourage you to take advantage of this chapter.

One of the first components necessary for understanding language is to understand how we assign meaning to words. Words consist of sounds (oral) and shapes (written) that have agreed-upon meanings based in concepts, ideas, and memories. When we write the word “blue,” we may be referring to a portion of the visual spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 440–490 nanometers. You could also say that the color in question is an equal mixture of both red and green light. While both of these are technically correct ways to interpret the word “blue,” we’re pretty sure that neither of these definitions is how you thought about the word. When hearing the word “blue,” you may have thought of your favorite color, the color of the sky on a spring day, or the color of a really ugly car you saw in the parking lot. When people think about language, there are two different types of meanings that people must be aware of: denotative and connotative.

Denotative Meaning

The denotative meaning is the specific meaning associated with a word. We sometimes refer to denotative meanings as dictionary definitions. The definitions provided above for the word “blue” are examples of definitions that might be found in a dictionary. The first dictionary was written by Robert Cawdry in 1604 and was called Table Alphabeticall . This dictionary of the English language consisted of three thousand commonly spoken English words. Today, the  Oxford English Dictionary contains more than 200,000 words [6] .

Connotative Meaning

 The connotative meaning is the idea suggested by or associated with a word. In addition to the examples above, the word “blue” can evoke many other ideas:

• State of depression (feeling blue)
• Indication of winning (a blue ribbon)
• Side during the Civil War (blues vs. grays)
• Sudden event (out of the blue)

We also associate the color blue with the sky and the ocean. Maybe your school’s colors or those of your archrival include blue. There are also various forms of blue: aquamarine, baby blue, navy blue, royal blue, and so on.

Some miscommunication can occur over denotative meanings of words. For example, a flyer for a tennis center open house expressed the goal of introducing children to the game of tennis. At the bottom of the flyer, people were encouraged to bring their own racquets if they had them but that “a limited number of racquets will be available.” It turned out that the denotative meaning of the final phrase was interpreted in multiple ways: some parents attending the event perceived it to mean that loaner racquets would be available for use during the open house event, but the people running the open house intended it to mean that parents could purchase racquets onsite. The confusion over denotative meaning probably hurt the tennis center, as some parents left the event feeling they had been misled by the flyer.

Although denotatively based misunderstanding such as this one do happen, the majority of communication problems involving language occur because of differing connotative meanings. You may be trying to persuade your audience to support public funding for a new professional football stadium in your city, but if mentioning the team’s or owner’s name creates negative connotations in the minds of audience members, you will not be very persuasive. The potential for misunderstanding based in connotative meaning is an additional reason why audience analysis, discussed earlier in this book, is critically important. By conducting effective audience analysis, you can know in advance how your audience might respond to the connotations of the words and ideas you present. Connotative meanings can not only differ between individuals interacting at the same time but also differ greatly across time periods and cultures. Ultimately, speakers should attempt to have a working knowledge of how their audiences could potentially interpret words and ideas to minimize the chance of miscommunication.

Twelve Ways Oral and Written Language Differ

A second important aspect to understand about language is that oral language (used in public speaking) and written language (used for texts) does not function the same way. Try a brief experiment. Take a textbook, maybe even this one, and read it out loud. When the text is read aloud, does it sound conversational? Probably not. Public speaking, on the other hand, should sound like a conversation. McCroskey, Wrench, and Richmond highlighted the following twelve differences that exist between oral and written language:

• Oral language has a smaller variety of words.
• Oral language has words with fewer syllables.
• Oral language has shorter sentences.
• Oral language has more self-reference words ( I ,  me ,  mine ).
• Oral language has fewer quantifying terms or precise numerical words.
• Oral language has more pseudo-quantifying terms ( many ,  few ,  some ).
• Oral language has more extreme and superlative words ( none ,  all ,  every ,  always ,  never ).
• Oral language has more qualifying statements (clauses beginning with  unless  and  except ).
• Oral language has more repetition of words and syllables.
• Oral language uses more contractions.
• Oral language has more interjections (“Wow!,” “Really?,” “No!,” “You’re kidding!”).
• Oral language has more colloquial and nonstandard words (McCroskey, et al., 2003).

These differences exist primarily because people listen to and read information differently. First, when you read information, if you don’t grasp content the first time, you have the ability to reread a section. When we are listening to information, we do not have the ability to “rewind” life and relisten to the information. Second, when you read information, if you do not understand a concept, you can look up the concept in a dictionary or online and gain the knowledge easily. However, we do not always have the ability to walk around with the Internet and look up concepts we don’t understand. Therefore, oral communication should be simple enough to be easily understood in the moment by a specific audience, without additional study or information.

Using Language Effectively

Kimba Howard –  megaphone  – CC BY 2.0.

When considering how to use language effectively in your speech, consider the degree to which the language is appropriate, vivid, inclusive, and familiar. The next sections define each of these aspects of language and discuss why each is important in public speaking.

Use Appropriate Language

As with anything in life, there are positive and negative ways of using language. One of the first concepts a speaker needs to think about when looking at language use is appropriateness. By appropriate, we mean whether the language is suitable or fitting for ourselves, as the speaker; our audience; the speaking context; and the speech itself.

Appropriate for the Speaker

One of the first questions to ask yourself is whether the language you plan on using in a speech fits with your own speaking pattern. Not all language choices are appropriate for all speakers. The language you select should be suitable for you, not someone else. If you’re a first-year college student, there’s no need to force yourself to sound like an astrophysicist even if you are giving a speech on new planets. One of the biggest mistakes novice speakers make is thinking that they have to use million-dollar words because it makes them sound smarter. Actually, million-dollar words don’t tend to function well in oral communication to begin with, so using them will probably make you uncomfortable as a speaker. Also, it may be difficult for you or the audience to understand the nuances of meaning when you use such words, so using them can increase the risk of denotative or connotative misunderstandings.

Appropriate for the Audience

The second aspect of appropriateness asks whether the language you are choosing is appropriate for your specific audience. Let’s say that you’re an engineering student. If you’re giving a presentation in an engineering class, you can use language that other engineering students will know. On the other hand, if you use that engineering vocabulary in a public speaking class, many audience members will not understand you. As another example, if you are speaking about the Great Depression to an audience of young adults, you can’t assume they will know the meaning of terms like “New Deal” and “WPA,” which would be familiar to an audience of senior citizens. In other chapters of this book, we have explained the importance of audience analysis; once again, audience analysis is a key factor in choosing the language to use in a speech.

Appropriate for the Context

The next question about appropriateness is whether the language you will use is suitable or fitting for the context itself. The language you may employ if you’re addressing a student assembly in a high school auditorium will differ from the language you would use at a business meeting in a hotel ballroom. If you’re giving a speech at an outdoor rally, you cannot use the same language you would use in a classroom. Recall that the speaking context includes the occasion, the time of day, the mood of the audience, and other factors in addition to the physical location. Take the entire speaking context into consideration when you make the language choices for your speech.

Appropriate for the Topic

The fourth and final question about the appropriateness of language involves whether the language is appropriate for your specific topic. If you are speaking about the early years of The Walt Disney Company, would you want to refer to Walt Disney as a “thaumaturgic” individual (i.e., one who works wonders or miracles)? While the word “thaumaturgic” may be accurate, is it the most appropriate for the topic at hand? As another example, if your speech topic is the dual residence model of string theory, it makes sense to expect that you will use more sophisticated language than if your topic was a basic introduction to the physics of, say, sound or light waves.

Use Vivid Language

After appropriateness, the second main guideline for using language is to use vivid language . Vivid language helps your listeners create strong, distinct, clear, and memorable mental images. Good vivid language usage helps an audience member truly understand and imagine what a speaker is saying. Two common ways to make your speaking more vivid are through the use of imagery and rhythm.

Imagery is the use of language to represent objects, actions, or ideas. The goal of imagery is to help an audience member create a mental picture of what a speaker is saying. A speaker who uses imagery successfully will tap into one or more of the audience’s five basic senses (hearing, taste, touch, smell, and sight). Three common tools of imagery are concreteness, simile, and metaphor.

Concreteness

We have previously discussed the importance of concrete language.  When we use language that is concrete, we attempt to help our audiences see specific realities or actual instances instead of abstract theories and ideas. The goal of concreteness is to help you, as a speaker, show your audience something instead of just telling them. Imagine you’ve decided to give a speech on the importance of freedom. You could easily stand up and talk about the philosophical work of Rudolf Steiner, who divided the ideas of freedom into freedom of thought and freedom of action. If you’re like us, even reading that sentence can make you want to go to sleep. Instead of defining what those terms mean and discussing the philosophical merits of Steiner, you could use real examples where people’s freedom to think or freedom to behave has been stifled. For example, you could talk about how Afghani women under Taliban rule have been denied access to education, and how those seeking education have risked public flogging and even execution [7] . You could further illustrate how Afghani women under the Taliban are forced to adhere to rigid interpretations of Islamic law that functionally limit their behavior. As illustrations of the two freedoms discussed by Steiner, these examples make things more concrete for audience members and thus easier to remember. Ultimately, the goal of concreteness is to show an audience something instead of talking about it abstractly.

Another form of imagery is simile . As you likely learned in English courses, a simile is a figure of speech in which two unlike things are explicitly compared. Both aspects being compared within a simile are able to remain separate within the comparison. The following are some examples:

• The thunderous applause was  like  a party among the gods.
• After the revelation, she was as angry  as  a raccoon caught in a cage.
• Love is  like  a battlefield.

When we look at these two examples, you’ll see that two words have been italicized: “like” and “as.” All similes contain either “like” or “as” within the comparison. Speakers use similes to help an audience understand a specific characteristic being described within the speech. In the first example, we are connecting the type of applause being heard to something supernatural, so we can imagine that the applause was huge and enormous. Now think how you would envision the event if the simile likened the applause to a mime convention—your mental picture changes dramatically, doesn’t it?

To effectively use similes within your speech, first look for instances where you may already be finding yourself using the words “like” or “as”—for example, “his breath smelled like a fishing boat on a hot summer day.” Second, when you find situations where you are comparing two things using “like” or “as,” examine what it is that you are actually comparing. For example, maybe you’re comparing someone’s breath to the odor of a fishing vessel. Lastly, once you see what two ideas you are comparing, check the mental picture for yourself. Are you getting the kind of mental image you desire? Is the image too strong? Is the image too weak? You can always alter the image to make it stronger or weaker depending on what your aim is.

The other commonly used form of imagery is the metaphor, or a figure of speech where a term or phrase is applied to something in a nonliteral way to suggest a resemblance. In the case of a metaphor, one of the comparison items is said to  be  the other (even though this is realistically not possible).

Metaphors  are comparisons made by speaking of one thing in terms of another.  Similes are similar to metaphors in how they function; however, similes make comparisons by using the word “like” or “as,” whereas metaphors do not. Let’s look at a few examples:

• Love is a  battlefield .
• Upon hearing the charges, the accused  clammed up  and refused to speak without a lawyer.
• Every year a new  crop  of activists are  born .

In these examples, the comparison word has been italicized. Let’s think through each of these examples. In the first one, the comparison is the same as one of our simile examples except that the word “like” is omitted—instead of being  like  a battlefield, the metaphor states that love  is  a battlefield, and it is understood that the speaker does not mean the comparison literally. In the second example, the accused “clams up,” which means that the accused refused to talk in the same way a clam’s shell is closed. In the third example, we refer to activists as “crops” that arise anew with each growing season, and we use “born” figuratively to indicate that they come into being—even though it is understood that they are not newborn infants at the time when they become activists.

To use a metaphor effectively, first determine what you are trying to describe. For example, maybe you are talking about a college catalog that offers a wide variety of courses. Second, identify what it is that you want to say about the object you are trying to describe. Depending on whether you want your audience to think of the catalog as good or bad, you’ll use different words to describe it. Lastly, identify the other object you want to compare the first one to, which should mirror the intentions in the second step. Let’s look at two possible metaphors:

• Students  groped  their way through the  maze  of courses in the catalog.
• Students  feasted on  the  abundance  of courses in the catalog.

While both of these examples evoke comparisons with the course catalog, the first example is clearly more negative and the second is more positive.

One mistake people often make in using metaphors is to make two incompatible comparisons in the same sentence or line of thought. Here is an example:

• “That’s awfully thin gruel for the right wing to hang their hats on.” [9]

This is known as a mixed metaphor, and it often has an incongruous or even hilarious effect. Unless you are aiming to entertain your audience with fractured use of language, be careful to avoid mixed metaphors.

The power of a metaphor is in its ability to create an image that is linked to emotion in the mind of the audience.

For example, it is one thing to talk about racial injustice, it is quite another for the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to note that people have been “…battered by storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality.” Throughout his “ I Have a Dream ” speech, the Reverend Dr. King uses the metaphor of the checking account to make his point.

He notes that the crowd has come to the March on Washington to “cash a check” and claims that America has “defaulted on this promissory note” by giving “the Negro people a bad check, a check that has come back “insufficient funds.” By using checking and bank account terms that most people are familiar with, the Reverend Dr. King is able to more clearly communicate what he believes has occurred. In addition, the use of this metaphor acts as a sort of “shortcut.” He gets his point across very quickly by comparing the problems of civil rights to the problems of a checking account.

In the same speech the Reverend Dr. King also makes use of similes, which also compare two things but do so using “like” or “as.” In discussing his goals for the Civil Rights movement in his “I Have a Dream” speech, the Reverend Dr. exclaims: “No, no we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.” Similes also help make your message clearer by using ideas that are more concrete for your audience. For example, to give the audience an idea of what a winter day looked like you could note that the “snow looked as solid as pearls.” To communicate sweltering heat, you could say that “the tar on the road looked like satin.” A simile most of us are familiar with is the notion of the United States being “like a melting pot” with regard to its diversity. We also often note that a friend or colleague that stays out of conflicts between friends is “like Switzerland.” In each of these instances, similes have been used to more clearly and vividly communicate a message.

Our second guideline for effective language in a speech is to use rhythm. When most people think of rhythm, they immediately think about music. What they may not realize is that language is inherently musical; at least it can be. Rhythm refers to the patterned, recurring variance of elements of sound or speech. Whether someone is striking a drum with a stick or standing in front of a group speaking, rhythm is an important aspect of human communication. Think about your favorite public speaker. If you analyze their speaking pattern, you’ll notice that there is a certain cadence to the speech. While much of this cadence is a result of the nonverbal components of speaking, some of the cadence comes from the language that is chosen as well. Let’s examine types of rhythmic language: parallelism, antithesis, repetition, alliteration, and assonance.

Parallelism

When listing items in a sequence, audiences will respond more strongly when those ideas are presented in a grammatically parallel fashion, which is referred to as parallelism. For example, look at the following two examples and determine which one sounds better to you:

• “Give me liberty or I’d rather die.”
• “Give me liberty or give me death.”

Technically, you’re saying the same thing in both, but the second one has better rhythm, and this rhythm comes from the parallel construction of “give me.” The lack of parallelism in the first example makes the sentence sound disjointed and ineffective.

Antithesis allows you to use contrasting statements in order to make a rhetorical point. Perhaps the most famous example of antithesis comes from the Inaugural Address of President John F. Kennedy when he stated, “And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” In Reverend Jackson’s “ Rainbow Coalition ” speech he notes, “I challenge them to put hope in their brains and not dope in their veins.” In each of these cases, the speakers have juxtaposed two competing ideas in one statement to make an argument in order to draw the listener’s attention.

You’re easy on the eyes — hard on the heart. – Terri Clark

Parallel Structure and Language

Antithesis is often worded using parallel structure or language. Parallel structure is the balance of two or more similar phrases or clauses, and parallel wording is the balance of two or more similar words. The Reverend Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech exemplifies both strategies in action. Indeed, the section where he repeats “I Have a Dream” over and over again is an example of the use of both parallel structure and language. The use of parallel structure and language helps your audience remember without beating them over the head with repetition. If worded and delivered carefully, you can communicate a main point over and over again, as did the Reverend Dr. King, and it doesn’t seem as though you are simply repeating the same phrase over and over. You are often doing just that, of course, but because you are careful with your wording (it should be powerful and creative, not pedantic) and your delivery (the correct use of pause, volumes, and other elements of delivery), the audience often perceives the repetition as dramatic and memorable. The use of parallel language and structure can also help you when you are speaking persuasively. Through the use of these strategies, you can create a speech that takes your audience through a series of ideas or arguments that seem to “naturally” build to your conclusion.

As we mentioned earlier in this chapter, one of the major differences between oral and written language is the use of repetition. Because speeches are communicated orally, audience members need to hear the core of the message repeated consistently. Repetition as a linguistic device is designed to help audiences become familiar with a short piece of the speech as they hear it over and over again. By repeating a phrase during a speech, you create a specific rhythm. Probably the most famous and memorable use of repetition within a speech is Martin Luther King Jr.’s use of “I have a dream” in his speech at the Lincoln Memorial on August 1963 during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. In that speech, Martin Luther King Jr. repeated the phrase “I have a dream” eight times to great effect. If worded and delivered carefully, you can communicate a main point over and over again, as did the Reverend Dr. King, and it doesn’t seem as though you are simply repeating the same phrase over and over. Because you are careful with your wording (it should be powerful and creative, not pedantic) and your delivery (the correct use of pause, volumes, and other elements of delivery), the audience often perceives the repetition as dramatic and memorable.

Alliteration

Another type of rhythmic language is alliteration or repeating two or more words in a series that begin with the same consonant. In the  Harry Potter  novel series, the author uses alliteration to name the four wizards who founded Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. There are two basic types of alliteration: immediate juxtaposition and nonimmediate juxtaposition.  Immediate juxtaposition  occurs when the consonants clearly follow one after the other—as we see in the  Harry Potter  example.  Nonimmediate juxtaposition  occurs when the consonants are repeated in nonadjacent words (e.g., “It is the  p oison that we must  p urge from our  p olitics, the wall that we must tear down before the hour grows too late”) [11] . Sometimes you can actually use examples of both immediate and nonimmediate juxtaposition within a single speech. The following example is from Bill Clinton’s acceptance speech at the 1992 Democratic National Convention: “Somewhere at this very moment, a child is b eing  b orn in America. Let it be our cause to give that child a  h appy  h ome, a  h ealthy family, and a  h opeful future” [7] .

Assonance is similar to alliteration, but instead of relying on consonants, assonance gets its rhythm from repeating the same vowel sounds with different consonants in the stressed syllables. The phrase “how now brown cow,” which elocution students traditionally used to learn to pronounce rounded vowel sounds, is an example of assonance. While rhymes like “free as a breeze,” “mad as a hatter,” and “no pain, no gain” are examples of assonance, speakers should be wary of relying on assonance because when it is overused it can quickly turn into bad poetry.

Personalized Language

We’re all very busy people. Perhaps you’ve got work, studying, classes, a job, and extracurricular activities to juggle. Because we are all so busy, one problem that speakers often face is trying to get their audience interested in their topic or motivated to care about their argument. A way to help solve this problem is through the use of language that personalizes your topic. Rather than saying, “One might argue” say “You might argue.” Rather than saying “This could impact the country in ways we have not yet imagined,” say “This could impact your life in ways that you have not imagined.” By using language that directly connects your topic or argument to the audience you better your chances of getting your audience to listen and to be persuaded that your subject matter is serious and important to them. Using words like “us,” “you,” and “we” can be a subtle means of getting your audience to pay attention to your speech. Most people are most interested in things that they believe impact their lives directly—make those connections clear for your audience by using personal language.

Use Inclusive Language

Language can either inspire your listeners or turn them off very quickly. One of the fastest ways to alienate an audience is through the use of non-inclusive language. Inclusive language that avoids placing any one group of people above or below other groups while speaking. Let’s look at some common problem areas related to language about gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and disabilities.

Gender-Specific Language

The first common form of non-inclusive language is language that privileges one of the sexes over the other. There are three common problem areas that speakers run into while speaking: using “he” as generic, using “man” to mean all humans, and gender typing jobs.

Generic “He”

The generic “he” happens when a speaker labels all people within a group as “he” when in reality there is a mixed sex group involved. Consider the statement, “Every morning when an officer of the law puts on his badge, he risks his life to serve and protect his fellow citizens.” In this case, we have a police officer that is labeled as male four different times in one sentence. Obviously, all police officers risk their lives when they put on their badges. A better way to word the sentence would be, “Every morning when officers of the law put on their badges, they risk their lives to serve and protect their fellow citizens.” Notice that in the better sentence, we made the subject plural (“officers”) and used neutral pronouns (“they” and “their”) to avoid the generic “he.”

Use of “Man”

Traditionally, speakers of English have used terms like “man,” “mankind,” and (in casual contexts) “guys” when referring to all genders. In the second half of the twentieth century, as society became more aware of gender bias in language, organizations like the National Council of Teachers of English developed guidelines for nonsexist language (National Council of Teachers of English, 2002). For example, instead of using the word “man,” you could refer to the “human race.” Instead of saying, “hey, guys,” you could say, “OK, everyone.” By using gender-fair language you will be able to convey your meaning just as well, and you won’t risk alienating a portion of your audience.

Gender-Typed Jobs

The last common area where speakers get into trouble with gender and language has to do with job titles. It is not unusual for people to assume, for example, that doctors are male and nurses are female. As a result, they may say “she is a woman doctor” or “he is a male nurse” when mentioning someone’s occupation, perhaps not realizing that the statements “she is a doctor” and “he is a nurse” already inform the listener as to the sex of the person holding that job. Speakers sometimes also use a gender-specific pronoun to refer to an occupation that has both males and females. Table 12.1 Gender Type Jobs lists some common gender-specific jobs titles along with more inclusive versions of those job titles.

Table 12.1  Gender Type Jobs

Ethnic Identity

Another type of inclusive language relates to the categories used to highlight an individual’s ethnic identity. Ethnic identity refers to a group an individual identifies with based on a common culture. For example, within the United States we have numerous ethnic groups, including Italian Americans, Irish Americans, Japanese Americans, Vietnamese Americans, Cuban Americans, and Mexican Americans. As with the earlier example of “male nurse,” avoid statements such as “The committee is made up of four women and a Vietnamese man.” Instead, say, “The committee is made up of four women and a man” or, if race and ethnicity are central to the discussion, “The committee is made up of three European American women, an Israeli American woman, a Brazilian American woman, and a Vietnamese American man.” In recent years, there has been a trend toward steering inclusive language away from broad terms like “Asians” and “Hispanics” because these terms are not considered precise labels for the groups they actually represent. If you want to be safe, the best thing you can do is ask a couple of people who belong to an ethnic group how they prefer to label themselves.

Sexual Orientation

Another area that can cause some problems is referred to as heterosexism. Heterosexism occurs when a speaker presumes that everyone in an audience is heterosexual or that cross-sex relationships are the only norm. For example, a speaker might begin a speech by saying, “I am going to talk about the legal obligations you will have with your future husband or wife.” While this speech starts with the notion that everyone plans on getting married, which isn’t the case, it also assumes that everyone will label their significant others as either “husbands” or “wives.” Although some members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and gender non-conforming communities will use these terms, others prefer for more gender-neutral terms like “spouse” and “partner.” Notice also that we are not using terms such as ‘homosexual’ to refer to multiple distinct sexual orientations, and we are not using outdated terms, such as ‘transexual,’ which are generally no longer accepted terms for gender non-conforming individuals.”

The last category of exclusive versus inclusive language that causes problems for some speakers relates to individuals with physical or mental disabilities. While not always possible in advance of an unknown audience, it’s best to ask a person what terms work for them, based on their lived experiences and identity (Ladau, 2021). Additionally, you may have been taught not to use the word “disabled” and taught to use “person-first” language, in which you identify the person before their disability (i.e., person with autism, person with cerebral palsy). Historically, some disabled individuals and disability service providers pushed person-first language so that others would not solely focus on the disability itself. That is not necessarily wrong, but language evolves over time and the disabled community has started a shift towards “identify-first” language (i.e., disabled, deaf, autistic). This identify-first language places prominence on the disability and is a point of pride (Forber-Pratt, 2019).

Table 12.2 Inclusive Language for Disabilities, provides some other examples of exclusive versus inclusive language.

Table 12.2  Inclusive Language for Disabilities

Use Familiar Language

The last category related to using language appropriately simply asks you to use language that is familiar both to yourself and to your audience. If you are not comfortable with the language you are using, then you are going to be more nervous speaking, which will definitely have an impact on how your audience receives your speech. You may have a hard time speaking genuinely and sincerely if you use unfamiliar language, and this can impair your credibility. Furthermore, you want to make sure that the language you are using is familiar to your audience. If your audience cannot understand what you are saying, you will not have an effective speech.

• Wrench, J. S., McCroskey, J. C., & Richmond, V. P. (2008). Human communication in everyday life: Explanations and applications . Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon, p. 304.
• Lewis, M. P. (2009). Ethnologue  (16th ed.). Retrieved from  http://www.ethnologue.com/ethno_docs/distribution.asp?by=size .
• Lewis, 2009
• Mayell, H. (2003, February). When did “modern” behavior emerge in humans? National Geographic News . Retrieved from  http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/02/0220_030220_humanorigins2.html .
• McCroskey, J. C., Wrench, J. S., & Richmond, V. P. (2003). Principles of public speaking . Indianapolis, IN: The College Network.
• Oxford University Press. (2011). How many words are there in the English language? Retrieved from http://oxforddictionaries.com/page/howmanywords
• Clinton, W. J. (2005). My life . New York, NY: Vintage Books, p. 421.
• Iacopino, V., & Rasekh, Z. (1998). The Taliban’s war on women: A health and human rights crisis in Afghanistan . Boston, MA: Physicians for Human Rights.
• National Council of Teachers of English (2002). Guidelines for gender-fair use of language . Retrieved from  http://www.ncte.org/positions/statements/genderfairuseoflang .
• Nordquist, R. (2009). Mixed metaphor . Retrieved from About.com at  http://grammar.about.com/od/mo/g/mixmetterm.htm
• Obama, B. (2008, January 20). The great need of the hour. Remarks delivered at Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta. Retrieved from http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/01/the_great_need_of_the_hour.html
• Ladau, E. (2021). Demystifying disability: What to know, what to say, and how to be an ally. New York: Ten Speed Press.
• Forber-Pratt, A. (2019). Yes, you can call me disabled . Retrieved from Quartz.com at https://qz.com/1632728/yes-you-can-call-me-disabled/

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• Parallel Structure and Personalized Language adapted from Chapter 10 Using Stylized Language. Authored by : E. Michele Ramsey, Ph.D..  Provided by : Penn State Berks, Reading, PA.  Located at :  http://publicspeakingproject.org/psvirtualtext.html .  Project : The Public Speaking Project.  License :  CC BY-NC-ND: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives
• next10, Day1, 11.05.2010. Authored by : NEXT Berlin.  Located at :  https://flic.kr/p/84saJQ .  License :  CC BY: Attribution
• Part of this chapter is adapted from  Stand up, Speak out. Stand up, Speak out  by University of Minnesota is licensed under a  Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Principles of Public Speaking Copyright © 2022 by Katie Gruber is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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• Presentation Hacks

How to Use Language Effectively: Part 1

• By: Amy Boone

So much of being a great speaker is about how you use language. That’s why Michael and Susan Osborn included a language checklist in their text, Public Speaking: Finding Your Voice .

They call their list the 6 C’s of effective language use. These 6 categories will help us write effectively, avoid miscommunication, and succeed as speakers. They are clarity, color, concreteness, correctness, conciseness, and cultural sensitivity. Since that’s more than we can cover in one blog, we’ll divide these into two posts, covering 3 each day.

For today, we’ll be talking about how the clarity, color, and concreteness of language affect how effectively we are able to communicate with our audience.

In order for your presentation to be effective, your language has to be clear. Here’s the simple truth. We won’t listen long to something that is confusing. That means you need to be careful when writing your presentations. Part of that means resisting the urge to write your speech like you would write a paper or report. That can be tough since most of our education about language centers around writing. But written language differs from spoken language in a quite a few ways. In order to make your spoken language clearer, try these two tips:

Shorten your sentences. In writing, longer sentences can work because the reader can go back and reread if he or she doesn’t get it the first time. We don’t have that luxury with spoken language in live presentations, though. So stick to shorter sentences.

Don’t use big words or jargon. Simplify your language use. It doesn’t matter how smart you sound if your audience can’t understand what you are saying. Choose words that speak directly to your audience members, not over their heads. And weed out specialized or technical jargon that doesn’t make sense to those who are outside of the field that uses that vocabulary.

Don’t worry, we don’t mean “colorful” language in the way your grandmother might have meant it when she said, “don’t use that colorful language in my house!” So what exactly do we mean by color? Well, you can’t hear color can you? So colorful language is quite simply language that you can see . It is language that is heavily reliant on imagery and adjectives. Literarydevices.net says imagery functions “to generate a vibrant and graphic presentation of a scene that appeals to as many of the reader’s senses as possible.” Check out the list they’ve compiled of examples of imagery.

Interestingly, researchers have discovered that sentences with more colorful language activate more regions of our brain . In this particular study, participants’ brain activity was measured using fMRI scans. Researchers found more activity for the sentence “He had a rough day” than for “He had a bad day.” Why? The word “rough” is more colorful—it’s attached to sensory experience. So even just swapping out a word can make your language more effective.

Concreteness

Most of the words in your presentation won’t stick with the audience. In fact numerous studies have shown that we forget a significant portion of what we hear or learn within days. But concrete language can help your audience remember specifics longer because it impacts them on a deeper level. It’s all in the specific details. Here’s an example:

Abstract: My daughter Clara is an artist.

Concrete: When my daughter Clara comes home, she doesn’t take off her coat or shoes, but goes immediately to her art desk to draw. Sometimes I even find her sketching with her backpack still on.

See how you process the concrete example more easily and deeply? I basically told you the same information. But when you move away from general and abstract statements toward specific and concrete ones, you attach handles and faces and stories that the audience can both understand and remember.

Clarity, color, and concreteness are just the first three of Osborn and Osborn’s checklist to make sure we are using language effectively. Check back tomorrow for the other three ways they say we can elevate language use.

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Speechwriting

12 Language in Speechwriting

What language is and does

In this chapter . . .

Regardless of how interesting your speech topic is or how well it’s structured, if the language you choose is difficult for the audience to understand, they will become confused and disengaged. We explain both how to shape language through rhetorical techniques to enhance mental imagery and sound sense and what type of language should be avoided.

We would be wrong to treat language as an “add-on” to the ideas and structure of the speech. Language is far too complex and foundational an aspect of our lives for us to consider it as an afterthought for a speech. In this chapter we will look at how language functions in communication, what standards language choices should meet in public speaking, and how you can become more proficient in using language in public speaking.

As a means of communication, language functions on two levels we call denotative and connotative. Denotative is the specific meaning associated with a word. We sometimes refer to denotative as dictionary definitions. Connotative, on the other hand, is the idea associated with a word at a cultural or personal level. It’s the way a specific listener interprets a word. For example, the word “police” denotes, according to common dictionary definitions, “the civil force of a national or local government, responsible for the prevention and detection of crime and the maintenance of public order.” Connotations for the word “police,” however, vary according to individuals. In practice, listening involves processing both denotation and connotation.

While as speechwriters we can’t control exactly how an audience hears the words we speak, if we work towards language clarity, effectiveness, and elegance, which are discussed in the next sections, we can improve understanding between speaker and listener.

Clarity is the first concern of a public speaker when it comes to choosing how to phrase the ideas of their speech. If you are not clear, specific, precise, detailed, and sensory with your language, you won’t have to worry about being emotional or persuasive, because you won’t be understood.

Be Concrete

The first aspect of clarity is concreteness. We usually think of concreteness as the opposite of abstraction. Language that evokes many different visual images in the minds of your audience is abstract language. Unfortunately, when abstract language is used, the images evoked might not be the ones you really want to evoke. A word such as “art” is very abstract; it brings up a range of mental pictures or associations: dance, theatre, painting, drama, a child’s drawing on a refrigerator, sculpture, music, etc. When asked to identify what an abstract term like “art” means, twenty people will have twenty different ideas. One the other hand, being concrete means saying specifically what you mean so audiences see what you see.

Choose the Right Word

Related to the issue of specific vs. abstract is using the right word. Mark Twain said, “The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.” For example, the words “prosecute” and “persecute” are commonly confused, but not interchangeable. Can you think of other such word pair confusion?

Be Simple and Familiar

In the attempt to be clear, which is your first concern, you will also want to be simple and familiar in your language. Familiar language draws in the audience. Simple does not mean simplistic, but the avoidance of multi-syllable words. If a speaker said, “A collection of pre-adolescents fabricated an obese personification comprised of compressed mounds of minute aquatic crystals,” you might recognize it as “Some children made a snowman,” but maybe not. The language isn’t simple or familiar and therefore does not communicate well.

Add Figurative Language

Using appropriate similes and metaphors can add clarity to your speech. Similes and metaphors are tools of figurative language that provide more information through comparisons. The opposite of figurative language is literal language. Literal language says, “The truck is fast.” Figurative language says, “The truck is as fast as a rocket.”

Similes and metaphors do the same thing. The distinction is that similes are indirect while metaphors are direct. An example of a simile is, “Love is like a battlefield.” The metaphor is “Love is a battlefield.” Which one do you think is more effective?

Using figurative language to add comparisons can help you achieve clearer language, if chosen wisely. Speakers are encouraged to pick their similes and metaphors but not overuse them.

Use Imagery

Like comparisons, imagery or sensory language can help make your speech clearer. This is language that makes the recipient smell, taste, see, hear, and feel a sensation. Think of the word “ripe.” What is “ripe?” Do ripe fruits feel a certain way? Smell a certain way? Taste a certain way? Ripe is a sensory word. Most words just appeal to one sense, like vision. Think of color. How can you make the word “blue” more sensory? How can you make the word “loud” more sensory? How would you describe the current state of your bedroom or dorm room to leave a sensory impression? How would you describe your favorite meal to leave a sensory impression? or a thunderstorm?

Avoid Euphemisms

Euphemisms are often used to make something unpleasant sound more tolerable. While not unclear, euphemisms are not quite honest. During the Vietnam War, “air support” was invented to cover the real meaning: “bombing.” Today, terms like “revenue enhancement” are used instead of “tax increases.” Realtors sell “homes,” not houses. McDonald’s sells “Happy Meals” even though it’s the same food they sell that are not “Happy Meals.”

In everyday speech, we use euphemisms all the time. For example, we might say that someone “passed away” instead of “died.”  However, public speakers should use euphemisms carefully. Avoid any that are meant to mislead listeners or hide the true meaning of what we are trying to say.

Effectiveness

Language achieves effectiveness by communicating the right message to the audience. Clarity contributes to effectiveness, but there are some other aspects of effectiveness, specifically credibility and appropriateness. The way you use language helps establish your credibility as a speaker and allows you to communicate your awareness of your audience. Choosing appropriate language fosters inclusion and identification, rather than exclusion.

Unfortunately, we habitually use language for exclusion rather than inclusion. We can push people away with our word choices rather than bringing them together. Below are some examples of language that can exclude members of your audience from understanding what you are saying.

Credibility

Language is an element of credibility. As you learned, speakers establish credibility with audiences by sharing their expertise, experience, and personal interest in the speech topic. However, language plays a role in credibility, as well. Audiences trust speakers who use clear, vivid, respectful, engaging, and honest language. On the other hand, audiences tend not to trust speakers who use language that excludes others. In addition, a speaker who uses language and references that are not immediately accessible or that are unfamiliar will have diminished credibility.

Appropriateness

For language to be effective, it needs to be appropriate to the audience. Appropriateness relates to several categories involving how persons and groups should be referred to and addressed based on inclusiveness and context. People and groups should be respected and referred to in the way they choose to be. Using inclusive language in your speech will help ensure you aren’t alienating or diminishing any members of your audience. Language is ever-changing and responding to the cultural moment; being aware of changes in how language adjusts to inclusiveness, and seeking advice when unsure, is part of the responsibility of being a public speaker.

Gender-Inclusive Language

Avoid non-inclusive language that privileges one gender identity over any other one. Using “he” as generic, for example, or “man” to mean all humans. Use plural subjects and use neutral pronouns (“they” and “their”). Also, avoid gender-typing jobs, for example, by assuming that doctors are “he” and nurses are “she.”

Ethnic Identity

Ethnic identity refers to a group an individual identifies with based on a common culture. Within the United States we have numerous ethnic groups. Avoid statements such as “The committee is made up of four women and a Vietnamese man.” All that should be said is, “The committee is made up of five people.”

In recent years, there has been a trend toward steering inclusive language away from broad terms like “Asians” and “Hispanics” because these terms are not considered precise labels for the groups they represent. You should ask people who belong to an ethnic group how they prefer to be referred to in that context.

Inclusive Language and Disability

A category of exclusive versus inclusive language that causes problems for some speakers relates to individuals with physical or intellectual differences. Sometimes it happens that we take a characteristic of someone and make that the totality or all of what that person is. A common example of this is how to refer to what used to be called “autism.” Saying someone is “autistic” substitutes an attribute of a person for the totality of their identity. Preferable terms are “a person with an autism diagnosis” or “a person on the autism spectrum.”

This is another situation where the person should be referred to as they prefer. “Hearing impaired” denotes a wide range of hearing deficit, as does “visually impaired. “Deaf” and “blind” are not generally considered offensive by these groups.

Slang words for mental illness should always be avoided, such as “crazy” or “mental.”

Other Types of Appropriateness

Language in a speech should be appropriate to the speaker and the speaker’s background and personality, to the context, to the audience, and to the topic. Let’s say that you’re an engineering student. If you’re giving a presentation in an engineering class, you can use language that other engineering students will know. On the other hand, if you use that engineering vocabulary in an arts class, audience members may not understand you. As another example, if you are speaking about the Great Depression to an audience of young adults or recent immigrants, you can’t assume they will know the meaning of terms like “New Deal” and “WPA,” which would be familiar to an audience of senior citizens. Audience analysis is a key factor in choosing the language to use in a speech.

Elegance through Rhetorical Techniques

Elegance in speechwriting means enhancing the power of a speech through rhetorical techniques. There are several traditional techniques that have been used to engage audiences and make ideas more attention-getting and memorable. We will not mention all of them here, but some important ones are listed below.

Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in a sentence or passage. As such, it’s a kind of rhyme. Minister Tony Campolo said, “When Jesus told his disciples to pray for the kingdom, this was no pie in the sky by and by when you die kind of prayer.”

Alliteration

This means the repetition of initial consonant sounds in a sentence or passage. In his famous “I Have a Dream Speech,” Dr. Martin Luther King said, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” Not only does this sentence use alliteration (“content of character”), but it also uses the next rhetorical technique on our list, antithesis.

Antithesis is immensely powerful in public speaking. It means the juxtaposition of contrasting ideas in balanced or parallel words, phrases, or grammatical structures. A common antithesis has the structure, “not this, but this.” John F. Kennedy’s statement from his 1961 inaugural address is one of the most quoted examples of antithesis:

“Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”

In that speech he gave another example,

“If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.”

Parallelism

Like antithesis is parallelism. Parallelism is the repetition of sentence structures. It can be useful for stating your main ideas. Which one of these sounds better?

“Give me liberty or I’d rather die.” vs. “Give me liberty or give me death.”

The second one uses parallelism. Quoting again from JFK’s inaugural address: “Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.” The repetition of the three-word phrases in this sentence (including the word “any” in each) is an example of parallelism.

This is a succession of sentences beginning with the same word or group of words. In his inaugural address, JFK began several succeeding paragraphs with “To those”: “To those old allies,” “To those new states,” “To those people,” etc.

Language to Avoid

Clichés are expressions, usually similes, which are predictable. You know what comes next because they are overused and sometimes out of date. Clichés are not just a problem because they are overused; they also sometimes don’t communicate what you need, especially to audiences whose second language is English. “I will give you a ballpark figure” isn’t as clear as “I will give you an estimate.” As the United States becomes more diverse, being aware of your audience members whose first language isn’t English is a valuable tool for a speaker.

Jargon used in your profession or hobby should only be used with audiences who share your profession or hobby. Not only will the audience members who don’t share your profession or hobby miss your meaning, but they will feel that you are not making an honest effort to communicate or are setting yourself above them in intelligence or rank. You need to be careful about assumptions of your audience’s knowledge and their ability to interpret jargon.

The whole point of slang is for a subculture or group to have its own code, almost like secret words. Once slang is understood by the larger culture, it’s no longer slang and may be classified as “informal” or “colloquial” language. “Bling” was slang; now it’s in the dictionary. Sports have a great deal of slang used by the players and fans that then get used in everyday language. For example, “That was a slam dunk” is used to describe something easy, not just in basketball.

Complicated vocabulary

If a speaker used the word “recalcitrant,” some audience members would know the meaning or figure it out, but many would not. It would make much more sense for them to use a word readily understandable: “stubborn.” Especially in oral communication, we should use language that is immediately accessible. However, don’t take this to mean “dumb down for your audience.” It means being clear and not showing off. For a speaker to say “I am cognizant of the fact that…” instead of “I know” or “I am aware of…” adds nothing to communication.

Profanity and cursing

It’s difficult to think of many examples, other than artistic or comedy venues, where profanity or cursing would be effective or useful with most audiences, so this kind of language is discouraged.

Developing Your Ability with Language

At this point, we will make some applications and suggestions about using language as you grow as a public speaker.

First, get in the habit of using “stipulated definitions” with concrete examples (defining operationally). In other words, define your terms for the audience. This is especially necessary if you are using a technical term, a word that has multiple meanings in different contexts, or an often-misunderstood word. You can say at the beginning of the body of your speech, “In this speech I am going to be using the word ”X,” and what I mean by it is . . . ”

Second, develop specific language. You can develop specific language with the following techniques:

• Distinguishing between individuals and the group (that is, avoid stereotyping).
• Specifying time and place of behavior instead of making broad statements. What was true of a person in 1999 isn’t necessarily true of the person now.
• Using names for jobs or roles (“accountants,” “administrative assistants,” “instructors”) instead of “people” or “workers.”
• Avoid “always/never” language. “Always” and “never” usually don’t reflect reality and tend to make listeners defensive.
• Avoid confusing opinions for facts. If I say, “Avatar is a terrific movie,” I am stating an opinion in the language of fact. If you preface opinions with “I believe,” or “It’s my opinion” you will be truthful and gain the appearance of being fair-minded and non-dogmatic. Using this kind of language also helps make the speaker seem less dogmatic and closed-minded.

Third, personalize your language. In a speech it’s fine to use personal pronouns as opposed to third person. That means “I,” “me,” “we,” “us,” “you,” etc. are often helpful in a speech. It gives more immediacy to the speech. Be careful of using “you” for examples that might be embarrassing. “Let’s say you are arrested for possession of a concealed weapon,” sounds like the audience members are potential criminals.

Finally, develop your vocabulary, but don’t show it off. One of the benefits of a college education is that your vocabulary will expand greatly—and it should. A larger vocabulary will give you access to more complicated reading material and allow you to understand the world better. But knowing the meaning of a more complicated word doesn’t mean you have to use it with every audience.

Language choices, or what the ancient rhetoricians called “style,” are as important as other parts of speechwriting. Audience analysis will help you to develop language that is clear, vivid, appropriate, credible, and persuasive.

Something to Think About

What are some of the clichés and slang that have become popular recently? What do they mean? Why would they not be useful in public speaking?

Listen to a presidential speech, such as an inaugural address, and study it for the figurative language (similes, metaphors), rhetorical techniques, and use of words to build and reflect the power of the presidency as well as connect with the audience.

Public Speaking as Performance Copyright © 2023 by Mechele Leon is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

how to give the perfect presentation

Presentation language for non-native speakers, useful expressions for non-native speakers giving presentations.

Presenting well is a challenge for everyone. As a non-native English speaker, you may find it particularly frightening to do presentations in English. The table below will help you learn the English phrases and expressions you need to deliver more effective presentations. You don’t need to learn all of them; read them aloud and mark just the one or two expressions, in each category, that you feel most comfortable with. Then, use them as you rehearse for your upcoming presentations.

Introduction

About presentation prep.

Being able to speak in public can change your life! Presentation Prep is your complete, free guide to delivering speeches, lectures, and presentations more successfully and confidently. Whether you're a native English-speaker who suffers from public speaking anxiety, or a non-native speaker who needs guidelines for presenting to international audiences, this site will give you everything you need. Presentation Prep is written by Rebecca Ezekiel, an experienced corporate trainer who specializes in the areas of communications, presentations, and cross-cultural skills. Her online English language training videos are watched by millions of students worldwide.

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25 English Presentation Phrases

Does giving a presentation make you feel a little nervous?

Well, you’re not alone.

According to Forbes , giving a presentation makes 80% of us feel nervous !

The good news is that feeling nervous might be a good thing. This feeling pushes us to prepare ourselves better, and as long as you’re well prepared, you’ll do just fine.

So then, let’s take a look at how we can prepare ourselves to give amazing presentations in English. Today, we’re going to focus on the business English phrases you can count on (depend on) to make your presentation go more smoothly from start to finish.

But first, here are some tips to use when preparing for your presentation.

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

Greeting Your Audience

You’re now standing in front of your audience. Before you begin your presentation, start by greeting your audience, welcoming them to the event and introducing yourself.

1. Good morning/afternoon/evening, everyone.

2. welcome to [name of event]..

Sample sentence: Welcome to our 3rd Annual Sales Leadership Conference.

3. First, let me introduce myself. I am [name] from [company].

Beginning your presentation.

After you have given an introduction, you are ready to begin speaking about your topic. Use these phrases to get started.

4. Let me start by giving you some background information.

Use this phrase to give your audience a brief overview of the topic you’ll be discussing. This is a good way to give them an idea of what’s going on and to bring them up to date.

5. As you’re aware, …

If you’re bringing up a topic that your audience already knows about or is aware of, then you can use this phrase to introduce this known topic.

Sample sentence: As you’re aware , the CEO of DHL Express has often said that globalization is here to stay.

Transitioning to the Next Topic

Before you move on to your next point, be sure to make it clear to your audience that you’re now starting a new topic. Let them know exactly what that new topic will be. The two phrases below are very similar in meaning, and they can both be used for transitions.

6. Let’s move on to…

Sample sentence: Let’s move on to our second sales strategy.

7. Turning our attention now to…

Sample sentence: Turning our attention now to the results of our 2016 customer survey.

Providing More Details

Use these phrases to tell your audience that you’ll be giving them a more detailed explanation of the topic. Both the words ‘expand’ and ‘elaborate’ mean to explain more fully.

8. I’d like to expand on…

Sample sentence: Now I’d like to expand on my point about increasing our market share.

9. Let me elaborate further.

Linking to another topic.

When making reference to a point you made earlier, or to remind your audience about something you said before, use these phrases to that link.

10. As I said at the beginning, …

This phrase lets you remind your audience about a point you made earlier. It can also be used to emphasize a point or theme.

Sample sentence: As I said in the beginning , we’ll see an increase in profit if we follow these five steps.

11. This relates to what I was saying earlier…

This phrase will help you make connections between ideas in your presentation. It shows that two different ideas are connected.

Sample sentence: This relates to what I was saying earlier about increasing production to meet the year-end demand.

12. This ties in with…

Sample sentence: This ties in with the way we’ve been doing business for the past 20 years.

Emphasizing a Point

Use these phrases to draw attention to an important point that you want your audience to note.

13. The significance of this is…

The word “significance'” is similar in meaning to “importance.”

Sample sentence: The significance of this is , if we complete this project on schedule, we’ll have more people available to work on the next project.

14. This is important because…

Sample sentence: This is important because any marketing effort we put in now will help to boost demand for our products in the long run.

15. We have to remember that …

Sample sentence: We have to remember that people are our most important resource.

Making Reference to Information

Very often, you may need to support your discussion points by drawing attention and making reference to information and data from studies, reports and other sources.

16. Based on our findings, …

Sample sentence: Based on our findings, 74% of our market is made up of teenagers who find our clothing line stylish and upbeat.

17. According to our study, …

Sample sentence: According to our study, 63% of working people in this city go directly to the gym after work.

18. Our data shows …

Sample sentence: Our data shows that more than 23% of men in this town who used to drive to work now prefer to save money and the environment by cycling instead.

Explaining Visuals

To present a clearer picture of your point, you may show your data, information or examples in the form of visuals such as charts, tables and graphs.

19. I’d like to illustrate this point by showing you…

The word “illustrate” means “show,” usually with examples, data or visuals.

Sample sentence: I’d like to illustrate this point by showing you a chart of the number of people in each age group who prefer to shop online.

20. This chart shows a breakdown of …

A “breakdown” refers to the detailed parts or figures that make up the total picture. A breakdown is often used in a presentation to show all the smaller parts behind something bigger.

Sample sentence: This chart shows a breakdown of the ingredients we use in our gluten-free products.

Restating Your Point

Sometimes in order to emphasize your point, you have to state it in a way that’s easier for your audience to understand and remember. This often involves rephrasing, simplifying or clarifying your point.

21. In other words, …

Use this phrase to rephrase or reword your point in another way.

Sample sentence: In other words , we need to change our current design to make it more attractive to older children.

22. To put it simply, …

Use this phrase to simplify points that are complex or difficult to understand.

Sample sentence: To put it simply , we’ll need you to work harder at making this launch a success.

23. What I mean to say is …

Use this phrase to explain your point in a way that’s easier for your audience to understand.

Sample sentence: What I mean to say is that we need to change the way we market our products.

Concluding Your Presentation

This is the very end of the presentation. You have said everything you need to say, and now you need to finish it nicely. You may also have some time for questions. If there is time for questions, invite your audience to ask any questions they have.

24. In conclusion, let me sum up my main points.

As part of your closing statement, “sum up” (summarize, state briefly) your speech by mentioning the main points of your speech.

25. Thank you for your attention. Now I am happy to answer any questions you might have.

End your presentation by thanking your audience and offering to answer their questions.

The Top 3 Tips for Preparing Your Business Presentation in English

1. have a plan.

Always have a plan. Spend some time thinking about not only what you’re going to say but how you’re going to say it.

If English isn’t your native language, it’s very important that you think about what language you’re going to be using. Think about all the vocabulary, phrases and grammar that will make your message clear and easy to understand.

What are the big ideas you want to explain for your presentation? Which words will express these ideas best? I recommend:

• Have a clear goal in mind to help you stay on track and be logical. Whenever you feel lost during the presentation, just remember this clear, main goal. An example of a goal could be to convince potential clients to work with you. Whenever you don’t know what to say next, remember to focus on the advantages you want to present and on examples of what you did in the past to deserve their trust. Encourage them to ask you questions related to this goal.
• Research content. If you know your facts, you already have the core of your presentation prepared. Write these facts down on topic cards, give out handouts (papers) with important information or include them on your PowerPoint slides.
• Prepare the delivery. Rehearse giving the presentation several times. Some people like recording themselves, others prefer practicing in front of a mirror or having friends listen to them while presenting. Choose the method that works best for you.
• Decide whether you are going to read or speak freely. Reading can sound unnatural, but you can use certain tricks to avoid this. You can underline important sentences which you can memorize, so that from time to time you can stop reading, say your memorized lines and look at the audience. In this way, reading can be made more natural. Make sure you slow down so that the audience can follow you.

Speaking freely is much better if you can remember everything you want to say, because you will seem more knowledgeable, prepared and confident. However, this can be more stressful.

2. Use Visuals

Using some visuals can make your presentation more entertaining, easier to understand and can get your points across more convincingly. My advice:

• Decide whether you need a PowerPoint presentation or not. Do you have graphs, results or other things like this to show? Then yes, you need one. Are you just telling a story? Then you probably do not.
• Do not fill your slides with too much information. Use a maximum of seven short lines of text—even seven can be too many. Highlight key words so the audience can see the main ideas right away. Use bullet points rather than full sentences.
• If you are presenting graphs or charts , give the audience time to read them.  Do not show a huge table of data if they audience will not have time to read and understand it. Make sure you try reading each slide while timing yourself to see how long it takes, so you do not jump to the next slide too early during your presentation.

3. Structure Your Presentation Well

It is a common mistake to give an unclear and unorganized presentation. This happens when the presenter just starts speaking without a clear goal in mind. They might suddenly realize their allotted speaking time has ended, or that the audience is bored because they are not following what is being said. Here’s what you should do instead:

• Decide on three main points (or less) that you want to make. Audiences can’t usually focus on more than three points.
• Tell them from the beginning what points you will be making. Audiences like to know what to expect. Tell them the main goals of your presentation directly in the introduction.
• Presenting main points: firstly, secondly, last but not least
• Making additions: moreover, furthermore, in addition, besides, what’s more
• Making purposes clear: in order to, so as to
• Presenting reasons and causes: on account of, due to, since, seeing that
• Presenting consequences: consequently, as a result, therefore
• Expressing contrast: in spite of, despite, although, even though, however, nevertheless, in contrast, on the contrary

So with this, you’ve mastered the 25 most commonly used phrases used in presentations and my three favorite tips.

Once you learn them, I think you’ll find them very useful to you in any presentation.

Become familiar with them and I promise you’ll feel much less nervous in your next presentation.

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• Presentations

Presentation skills How to give an effective presentation

• Structure slider_presentations_5.jpg Understand how to structure your presentation. Read more
• Language slider_presentations_1.jpg The language to use in your presentation, from the introduction through to the conclusion. Read more
• Body language slider_presentations_2.jpg How to look confident when giving a presentation. Read more
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• Visual aids slider_presentations_4.jpg Types of visual aids, and how to use them well. Read more

Read about presentation structure , language , body language , effective delivery , and visual aids .

Presentations are a common part of university life. Although giving a presentation can seem daunting at first, it is actually quite a routine task once you understand the basic structure , the signpost language needed, and have begun practising to help improve your body language and delivery . Preparing well, with some kind of visual aids , will help ensure that you can give an effective presentation time after time.

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Author: Sheldon Smith    ‖    Last modified: 10 September 2019.

Sheldon Smith is the founder and editor of EAPFoundation.com. He has been teaching English for Academic Purposes since 2004. Find out more about him in the about section and connect with him on Twitter , Facebook and LinkedIn .

The language for presentations involves common 'signpost phrases' which help understand the structure.

The structure of a presentation is straightforward, with introduction, main body, conclusion, and Q&A.

Taking part in academic discussions increases your understanding and challenges your ideas, and may form part of your assessment.

Agreeing and disagreeing in academic discussions is always done politely, often using certain common phrases.

Asking for and giving opinions is important if you want to express your ideas and have a voice in discussions.

Visual aids such as PowerPoint and handouts, help your audience to follow your spoken presentation.

14 Practical Tips to Improve Your Presentation Skills

• The Speaker Lab
• May 11, 2024

Table of Contents

Ever felt complete dread and fear at the thought of stepping up to deliver a presentation? If so, you’re not alone. The fear of public speaking is more common than you might think, but with the right presentation skills , it’s a hurdle that can be overcome.

In this article, we’ll help you master basic confidence-building techniques and conquer advanced communication strategies for engaging presentations. We’ll explore how body language and eye contact can make or break your connection with your audience; delve into preparation techniques like dealing with filler words and nervous habits; discuss tailoring content for different audiences; and much more.

Whether you’re prepping for job interviews or gearing up for big presentations, being prepared is key. With adequate practice and the proper attitude, you can crush your speech or presentation!

Mastering the Basics of Presentation Skills

Presentation skills are not just about speaking in front of a crowd. It’s also about effective communication, audience engagement, and clarity. Mastering these skills can be transformative for everyone, from students to corporate trainers.

Building Confidence in Presentations

Becoming confident when presenting is no small feat. But fear not. Even those who feel jittery at the mere thought of public speaking can become masters with practice and patience. Just remember: stage fright is common and overcoming it is part of the process towards becoming an effective presenter.

Taking deep breaths before you start helps calm nerves while visualizing success aids in building confidence. Also, know that nobody minds if you take a moment to gather your thoughts during your presentation—everybody minds more if they cannot understand what you’re saying because you’re rushing.

The Role of Practice in Enhancing Presentation Skills

In line with old wisdom, practice indeed makes perfect, especially when improving presentation skills. Consistent rehearsals allow us to fine-tune our delivery methods like maintaining eye contact or controlling body language effectively.

You’ll learn better control over filler words through repeated drills. Plus, the extra practice can help you troubleshoot any technical glitches beforehand, saving you the sudden panic during your actual presentations.

Remember that great presenters were once beginners too. Continuous effort will get you there sooner rather than later.

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Body Language and Eye Contact in Presentations

The effectiveness of your presentation can hinge on more than just the words you say. Just as important is your body language .

Impact of Posture on Presentations

Your posture speaks volumes before you utter a word. Standing tall exudes confidence while slouching could signal nervousness or lack of preparation.

If there’s one lesson to take away from our YouTube channel , it’s this: good presenters know their message but great ones feel it through every fiber (or muscle) of their being. The audience can sense that energy when they see open body language rather than crossed arms.

Maintaining Eye Contact During Your Presentation

Eyes are often called windows to the soul for a reason. They’re communication powerhouses. Making eye contact helps build trust with your audience members and keeps them engaged throughout your speech.

Avoid staring at note cards or visual aids too much as this might give an impression that you’re unprepared or uncertain about your chosen topic. Instead, aim to maintain eye contact between 50% of the time during presentations. This commonly accepted “50/70 rule” will help you exhibit adequate confidence to your audience.

If stage fright has gotten a hold on you, take deep breaths before you start speaking in order to stay calm. Make sure that fear doesn’t disrupt your ability to maintain eye-contact during presentations.

If body language and eye contact still feel like a lot to manage during your big presentation, remember our golden rule: nobody minds small mistakes. It’s how you handle questions or mishaps that truly makes a difference—so stay positive and enthusiastic.

Preparation Techniques for Successful Presentations

Presentation skills are like a craft that requires meticulous preparation and practice. Aspects like visual aids and time management contribute to the overall effectiveness of your delivery.

The first step towards delivering an impactful presentation is research and organization. The content should be well-researched, structured logically, and presented in simple language. This will make sure you deliver clear messages without any room for misinterpretation.

Dealing with Filler Words and Nervous Habits

Nervous habits such as excessive use of filler words can distract from your message. Luckily, there are plenty of strategies that can address these issues. For instance, try taking deep breaths before speaking or using note cards until fluency is achieved. In addition, practice regularly to work on eliminating these verbal stumbling blocks.

Avoiding Distractions During Presentations

In a digital age where distractions abound, maintaining focus during presentations has become an even more crucial part of the preparation process. This video by motivational speaker Brain Tracy provides insights on how one could achieve this level of focus required for effective presentations.

Maintaining Confidence Throughout Your Presentation

Confidence comes from thorough understanding of the chosen topic combined with regular practice sessions before the big day arrives. Make use of note cards or cue cards as needed but avoid reading from them verbatim.

Taking control over stage fright starts by arriving early at the venue so that you familiarize yourself with the surroundings, which generally calms nerves down considerably. So next time you feel nervous before a big presentation, remember—thorough preparation can make all the difference.

Engaging Your Audience During Presentations

Connecting with your audience during presentations is an art, and mastering it can take your presentation skills to the next level. Making the message conveyed reach an emotional level is essential, not just conveying facts.

Understanding Your Target Audience

The first step towards engaging your audience is understanding them. Tailor the content of your presentation to their needs and interests. Speak in their language—whether that be professional jargon or everyday slang—to establish rapport and ensure comprehension.

An effective presenter understands who they’re speaking to, what those individuals care about, and how best to communicate complex ideas understandably.

Making Complex Information Understandable

Dense data or complicated concepts can lose even the most interested listener if presented ineffectively. Breaking your key points down into manageable chunks helps maintain attention while promoting retention. Analogies are especially useful for this purpose as they make unfamiliar topics more relatable.

Audience Participation & Questions: A Two-Way Street

Incorporating opportunities for audience participation encourages engagement at another level. It allows listeners to become active participants rather than passive receivers of knowledge.

Consider techniques like live polls or interactive Q&A sessions where you invite questions from attendees mid-presentation instead of saving all queries until the end.

This gives you a chance not only engage but also address any misunderstandings right on spot.

• Treat each question asked as an opportunity—it’s evidence someone has been paying attention. Even challenging questions should be welcomed as they demonstrate an engaged, thoughtful audience.
• Encourage participation. It can be as simple as a show of hands or the use of interactive technologies for live polling during your presentation. This keeps your audience active and invested in the content.

Remember, your presentation isn’t just about putting on a show—it’s about meaningful interaction.

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Presentation Skills in Specific Contexts

Whether you’re nailing your next job interview, presenting an exciting marketing campaign, or delivering insightful educational content, the context matters. Let’s take a look.

The Art of Job Interviews

A successful job interview often hinges on effective communication and confidence. Here, the target audience is usually small but holds significant influence over your future prospects. Body language plays a crucial role; maintain eye contact to show sincerity and interest while open body language communicates approachability.

Bullet points summarizing key experiences are also helpful for quick recall under pressure. This allows you to present your chosen topic with clarity and positive enthusiasm without relying heavily on note or cue cards.

Pitching in Public Relations & Marketing

In public relations (PR) and marketing contexts, presentations need to capture attention quickly yet hold it long enough to deliver key messages effectively. Visual aids are valuable tools here—they help emphasize points while keeping the audience engaged.

Your aim should be highlighting presentation benefits that resonate with potential clients or partners, making them feel as though ignoring such opportunities would mean missing out big time.

Educational Presentations

An educational setting demands its own unique set of presentation skills where deep understanding trumps flashy visuals. You must make complex information understandable without oversimplifying essential details—the use of analogies can be beneficial here.

Keeping the audience’s attention is critical. Encourage questions and participation to foster a more interactive environment, enhancing learning outcomes for all audience members.

Tips for Becoming a Great Presenter

No single method is suitable for everyone when it comes to speaking in public. However, incorporating continuous improvement and practice into your routine can make you an exceptional presenter.

Tailor Your Presentation to Your Audience

Becoming an excellent speaker isn’t just about delivering information; it’s also about making a connection with the audience. So make sure that you’re taking setting, audience, and topic into consideration when crafting your presentation. What works for one audience may not work for another, so be sure to adapt your presentation styles according to the occasion in order to be truly effective.

The Power of Practice

The art of mastering public speaking skills requires practice —and lots of it . To become a great presenter, focus on improving communication skills through practice and feedback from peers or mentors. Try to seek feedback on every speech delivered and incorporate those pointers in your future presentations. Over time, this cycle of delivery-feedback-improvement significantly enhances your ability to connect with audiences and convey ideas effectively.

If you’re looking for examples of good speakers, our speech breakdowns on YouTube provide excellent examples of experienced presenters who masterfully utilize speaking techniques. Analyzing their strategies could give you great ideas for enhancing your own style.

Finding Your Style

A crucial part of captivating any audience lies in how you deliver the message rather than the message itself. Developing a unique presentation style lets you stand out as an engaging speaker who commands attention throughout their talk. Through — you guessed it — practice, you can develop a personal presentation style that resonates with listeners while showcasing your expertise on the chosen topic.

Your body language plays a pivotal role here: open gestures communicate confidence and enthusiasm towards your subject matter, two qualities essential for keeping audiences hooked. Similarly, using vocal variety adds dynamism to speeches by emphasizing points when needed or creating suspense during storytelling parts of your talk.

Cultivating Passion & Enthusiasm

Showcasing genuine passion for the subject helps keep listeners engaged throughout even lengthy presentations. Sharing stories related to the topic or expressing excitement about sharing knowledge tends to draw people in more than mere data recitation ever could.

Recognize that everybody is distinctive; don’t expect identical results from every speaker. The path to becoming a great presenter involves recognizing your strengths and working tirelessly on areas that need improvement.

FAQs on Presentation Skills

What are good presentation skills.

Good presentation skills include a clear message, confident delivery, engaging body language, audience understanding, and interaction. They also involve effective preparation and practice.

What are the 5 steps of presentation skills?

The five steps of presenting include: planning your content, preparing visual aids if needed, practicing the delivery aloud, performing it with confidence, and finally post-presentation reflection for improvements.

What are the 5 P’s of presentation skills?

The five P’s stand for Preparation (researching your topic), Practice (rehearsing your talk), Performance (delivering with confidence), Posture (standing tall), and Projection (using a strong voice).

What are your presentation skills?

Your personal set of abilities to deliver information effectively is what we call your presentation skill. It can encompass public speaking ability, clarity in speech or writing as well as visual communication talent.

Mastering presentation skills isn’t an overnight process, but practice and perseverance will put you well on your way to becoming an effective speaker.

You’ve learned that confidence plays a crucial role in effective presentations, so take deep breaths, make eye contact, and keep your body language open. As always, preparation is key. Tackle filler words head-on and get comfortable with visual aids for impactful storytelling.

Remember the importance of audience engagement — it’s all about understanding their needs and tailoring your content accordingly. This way, complex information turns into digestible insights.

Above all else: practice! After all, nothing beats experience when it comes to improving public speaking abilities.

• Last Updated: May 9, 2024

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How to Use Oral Presentations to Help English Language Learners Succeed

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Excerpted from “ The ELL Teacher’s Toolbox: Hundreds of Practical Ideas to Support Your Students ,” by Larry Ferlazzo and Katie Hull Sypnieski, with permission from the authors.

Having the confidence to speak in front of others is challenging for most people. For English Language Learners, this anxiety can be heightened because they are also speaking in a new language. We’ve found several benefits to incorporating opportunities for students to present to their peers in a positive and safe classroom environment. It helps them focus on pronunciation and clarity and also boosts their confidence. This type of practice is useful since students will surely have to make presentations in other classes, in college, and/or in their future jobs. However, what may be even more valuable is giving students the chance to take these risks in a collaborative, supportive environment.

Presentations also offer students the opportunity to become the teacher—something we welcome and they enjoy! They can further provide valuable listening practice for the rest of the class, especially when students are given a task to focus their listening.

Research confirms that in order for ELLs to acquire English they must engage in oral language practice and be given the opportunity to use language in meaningful ways for social and academic purposes (Williams & Roberts, 2011). Teaching students to design effective oral presentations has also been found to support thinking development as “the quality of presentation actually improves the quality of thought, and vice versa” (Živković, 2014, p. 474). Additionally, t he Common Core Speaking and Listening Standards specifically focus on oral presentations. These standards call for students to make effective and well-organized presentations and to use technology to enhance understanding of them.

GUIDELINES AND APPLICATION

Oral presentations can take many different forms in the ELL classroom—ranging from students briefly presenting their learning in small groups to creating a multi-slide presentation for the whole class. In this section, we give some general guidelines for oral presentations with ELLs. We then share ideas for helping students develop their presentation skills and describe specific ways we scaffold both short and long oral presentations.

We keep the following guidelines in mind when incorporating oral presentations into ELL instruction:

Length —We have students develop and deliver short presentations (usually 2-4 minutes) on a regular basis so they can practice their presentation skills with smaller, less overwhelming tasks. These presentations are often to another student or a small group. Once or twice a semester, students do a longer presentation (usually 5-8 minutes), many times with a partner or in a small group.

Novelty —Mixing up how students present (in small groups, in pairs, individually) and what they use to present (a poster, a paper placed under the document camera, props, a slide presentation, etc.) can increase engagement for students and the teacher!

Whole Class Processing -- We want to avoid students “tuning out” during oral presentations. Not only can it be frustrating for the speakers, but students also miss out on valuable listening practice. During oral presentations, and in any activity, we want to maximize the probability that all students are thinking and learning all the time. Jim Peterson and Ted Appel, administrators with whom we’ve worked closely, call this “whole class processing” (Ferlazzo, 2011, August 16) and it is also known as active participation. All students can be encouraged to actively participate in oral presentations by being given a listening task-- taking notes on a graphic organizer, providing written feedback to the speaker, using a checklist to evaluate presenters, etc.

Language Support —It is critical to provide ELLs, especially at the lower levels of English proficiency, with language support for oral presentations. In other words, thinking about what vocabulary, language features and organizational structures they may need, and then providing students with scaffolding, like speaking frames and graphic organizers. Oral presentations can also provide an opportunity for students to practice their summarizing skills. When students are presenting information on a topic they have researched, we remind them to summarize using their own words and to give credit when using someone else’s words.

Technology Support —It can’t be assumed that students have experience using technology tools in presentations. We find it most helpful using simple tools that are easy for students to learn (like Powerpoint without all the “bells and whistles” or Google Slides). We also emphasize to students that digital media should be used to help the audience understand what they are saying and not just to make a presentation flashy or pretty. We also share with our students what is known as “The Picture Superiority Effect”-- a body of research showing that people are better able to learn and recall information presented as pictures as opposed to just being presented with words (Kagan, 2013).

Groups -- Giving ELLs the opportunity to work and present in small groups is helpful in several ways. Presenting as a group (as opposed to by yourself) can help students feel less anxious. It also offers language-building opportunities as students communicate to develop and practice their presentations. Creating new knowledge as a group promotes collaboration and language acquisition--an ideal equation for a successful ELL classroom!

Teacher feedback/student evaluation --The focus of oral presentations with ELL students should be on the practice and skills they are gaining, not on the grade or “score” they are earning. Teachers can give out a simple rubric before students create their presentations. Then students can keep these expectations in mind as they develop and practice their presentations. The teacher, or classmates, can then use the rubric to offer feedback to the speaker. We also often ask students to reflect on their own presentation and complete the rubric as a form of self-assessment. Figure 30.1 – “Presentation Peer Evaluation Rubric” , developed by talented student teacher Kevin Inlay (who is now a teacher in his own classroom), is a simple rubric we used to improve group presentations in our ELL World History class.

Teaching Presentation Skills

We use the following two lesson ideas to explicitly teach how to develop effective presentation skills:

LESSON ONE: Speaking and Listening Do’s and Don’ts

We help our students understand and practice general presentation skills through an activity we call Speaking and Listening “Do’s and Don’ts.” We usually spread this lesson out among two class periods.

We first ask students to create a simple T-chart by folding a piece of paper in half and labeling one side “Do” and the other side “Don’t.” We then post Figure 30.2 “Speaking Do’s and Don’ts” on the document camera and display the first statement (the rest we cover with a blank sheet of paper).

We read the first statement, “Make eye contact with the audience,” and ask students if this is something they want to do when they are giving a presentation or if it is something they don’t want to do. Students write the statement where they think it belongs--under the “Do” column or “Don’t” Column. Students then share their answer with a partner and discuss why they put it in that column. After calling on a few pairs to share with the class, we move down the list repeating the same process of categorizing each statement as a “Do” or a “Don’t.” Students write it on their chart and discuss why it should be placed there.

After categorizing the statements for speaking, we give students Figure 30.3 “Listening Do’s and Don’ts .” We tell students to work in pairs to categorize the statements as something they do or something they don’t want to do when listening to a student presentation. This time, we ask students to make a quick poster with the headings “Do’s” and “Don’ts” for Listening. Under each heading students must list the corresponding statements--the teacher can circulate to check for accuracy. Students are asked to talk about why each statement belongs in each category and should be prepared to share their reasoning with the class. Students must also choose one “do” statement and one “don’t” statement to illustrate on their poster. Students can present their posters in small groups or with the whole class. This serves as a great opportunity to apply the speaking and listening “do’s” they just reviewed and heightens their awareness of the “don’ts!”

A fun twist, that also serves as a good review on a subsequent day, is to ask groups of students to pick two or three “do’s” and “don’ts” from both Speaking and Listening to act out in front of the class.

LESSON TWO Slide Presentations Concept Attainment

We periodically ask students to make slide presentations using PowerPoint or Google Slides to give them practice with developing visual aids (see the Home Culture activity later in this section). We show students how to make better slides, along with giving students the language support they may need in the form of an outline or sentence starters. An easy and effective way to do this is through Concept Attainment.

Concept Attainment involves the teacher identifying both "good" and "bad" examples of the intended learning objective. In this case, we use a PowerPoint containing three “good” slides and three “bad” ones (see them at The Best Resources For Teaching Students The Difference Between A Good and a Bad Slide ).

We start by showing students the first example of a “good” or “yes” slide (containing very little text and two images) and saying, “This is a yes.” However, we don’t explain why it is a “yes.” Then we show a “bad” or “no” example of a slide (containing multiple images randomly placed with a very “busy background”), saying, “This is a no” without explaining why. Students are then asked to think about them, and share with a partner why they think one is a "yes" and one is a "no."

At this point, we make a quick chart on a large sheet of paper (students can make individual charts on a piece of paper) and ask students to list the good and bad qualities they have observed so far. For example, under the “Good/Yes” column it might say “Has less words and the background is simple” and under the “Bad/No” column “Has too many pictures and the background is distracting.”

We then show the second “yes” example (containing one image with a short amount of text in a clear font) and the “no” example (containing way too much text and using a less clear font style). Students repeat the “think-pair-share” process and then the class again discusses what students are noticing about the “yes” and “no” examples. Then they add these observations to their chart.

Students repeat the whole process a final time with the third examples. The third “yes” example slide contains one image, minimal text and one bullet point. The third “no” example, on the other hand, contains multiple bullet points.

To reinforce this lesson at a later date, the teacher could show students more examples, or students could look for more “yes” and “no” examples online. They could continue to add more qualities of good and bad slides to their chart. See the Technology Connections section for links to good and bad PowerPoint examples, including the PowerPoint we use for this Concept Attainment lesson.

You can learn more about other presentations that support public speaking, such as home culture presentations, speed dating, talking points, top 5 and PechaKucha Book talks in our book, “ The ELL Teacher’s Toolbox: Hundreds of Practical Ideas to Support Your Students .”

Larry Ferlazzo has taught English Language Learners, mainstream and International Baccalaureate students at Luther Burbank High School in Sacramento for 15 years. He has authored eight books on education, hosts a popular blog for educators, and  writes a weekly teacher advice column for Education Week Teacher .  He was a community organizer for 19 years prior to becoming a high school teacher.

Katie Hull Sypnieski has worked with English Language Learners at the secondary level for over 20 years.  She currently teaches middle school ELA and ELD at Rosa Parks K-8 School in Sacramento, California. She is a teaching consultant with the Area 3 Writing Project at the University of California, Davis and has leads professional development for teachers of ELLs. She is co-author (with Larry Ferlazzo) of The ESL/ELL Teacher’s Survival Guide and Navigating the Common Core with English Language Learners .

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