i have a presentation tomorrow

Like what you're reading?

Tackle the “tomorrow problem”: Turn your last-minute presentation into a winning momentum

Get your team on prezi – watch this on demand video.

Anete Ezera February 27, 2024

“I have a presentation tomorrow and I haven’t started. I have a presentation in an hour and I’m nervous.” 

Do these situations sound familiar to you? If so, you’re not alone. 

A financial analyst who needs to present a budget forecast at the end of the week; a teacher who needs to create an interactive lesson plan for tomorrow’s class; a sales representative who only has an hour to put together a pitch deck to impress a new client – all of these people are facing a problem that asks for an immediate solution. 

At Prezi , we know everything there is to know about the pressure of creating an engaging presentation in a matter of a few days, hours, or even minutes. And we truly understand the challenge people face when they need to create a last-minute presentation FAST. To help tackle this challenge for our users, we define these pressing situations as the “tomorrow problem “, which describes an immediate need or approaching deadline for a presentation.

In this article, we’re going to delve into the meaning of the tomorrow problem and how you can solve it efficiently. 

Now, if you’re ready to not only tackle but excel in your last-minute presentations – keep on reading.

What’s the “tomorrow problem”?

The “tomorrow problem” describes the sense of urgency people feel as a presentation deadline approaches. It demands swift action or resolution within a tight timeframe, often within the next day, week, or even hour.

The tomorrow problem stresses situations where you must quickly create a presentation often with limited time for detailed planning or consideration. This term also underscores the importance of efficient problem-solving and decision-making to meet imminent deadlines and fulfill responsibilities despite time constraints.

Notably, we, at Prezi, aim to address this specific challenge by offering an efficient solution for creating dynamic and impactful presentations under tight time pressures to face the tomorrow problem with ease.

Enter the best AI presentation maker – Prezi AI.

Tomorrow’s problem, meet today’s solution

At school or work, deadlines are looming around every corner. Whether it’s a last-minute presentation for a class project or an urgent pitch to potential investors, the pressure to deliver impactful content quickly is challenging. But here’s a solution that bridges the gap between the “tomorrow problem” and today’s need – Prezi.

We don’t consider Prezi to be just another tool in the arsenal of presenters; it’s a timesaver. With our set of AI-powered features , we empower you to create visually stunning presentations in no time, ensuring that the message is not only delivered but also remembered.

Moreover, Prezi AI offers numerous ways to optimize the presentation’s layout and content. The AI-powered features allow you to save time typically spent on manual adjustments and ensure that your presentations are polished, professional, and engaging. Using Prezi AI, we offer you a swift, intuitive journey from an idea to an attention-grabbing presentation. 

Prezi AI: Your last-minute presentation whiz

Here’s how Prezi tackles the challenge of the tomorrow problem with today’s solution:

Prezi AI presentation creator

At the heart of Prezi’s efficiency is its AI presentation creator . This feature uses the power of artificial intelligence to streamline the presentation creation process. 

All you need to do is start the process of creating your presentation by clicking on the “Create with AI” button, and Prezi AI will take you through the process seamlessly. Simply input a few ideas, keywords, or an outline, and Prezi AI will help you arrange it into a visually impactful narrative that captivates your audience. There’s no need to spend hours perfecting your presentation layouts; Prezi AI does it for you, allowing you to focus on what’s important – sharing your ideas.

AI text editing features

When it comes to sharing your ideas, you might end up spending a lot of time perfecting your message. That’s where Prezi AI text editing features come into play to save you more time in the content creation process. 

Need to make your text longer to elaborate on a key point? Want to simplify complex language to ensure clarity? Prezi AI has you covered. With the ability to adjust text length, simplify language, and even shorten content without losing its essence, Prezi’s AI text editing features will empower you to refine your message quickly and effectively.

Create visual lists and animated slides

Transforming text-heavy content into engaging visuals is essential for keeping your audience engaged. And while we don’t like to brag – Prezi is the master of engaging presentations. With Prezi, you can effortlessly create visual lists and animated slides from text, turning mundane bullet points into dynamic displays that command attention. Whether it’s highlighting key points with eye-catching graphics or animating text to emphasize important details, Prezi’s visual capabilities ensure that your message resonates with your audience long after the presentation ends.

“The beauty of this AI technology in Prezi is that it brilliantly partners with you when it comes to designing your content, saving you time and energy. “

With all of these features combined, Prezi empowers users to create highly engaging last-minute presentations and conquer deadlines with confidence. Khadijah Shahzad , a digital coach and Prezi Certified Educator Trainer, used Prezi AI for her presentation and felt that the tool was easy to use and allowed her to focus more on her content. 

“I just tried working on my next presentation, and based on AI help, it was so easy,” Khadijah confidently states. “First I chose a template of my choice, and then Prezi AI recommended several other templates with reasons why those should be chosen based on my topic. At first, I thought maybe it would prepare the content for me, which by the way I never wanted …. because then what am I for? The beauty of this AI technology in Prezi is that it brilliantly partners with you when it comes to designing your content, saving you time and energy. Previously, I would take a day or two just to select templates and colors, etc. but here it just worked out in a jiffy for me and now I can better concentrate on my content more!”

How to create a successful last-minute presentation

Preparing for a last-minute presentation can be challenging, but with a strategic approach, you can still deliver a compelling performance. Here’s how to quickly create your last-minute presentation with Prezi in 10 simple steps:

• Clarify your main message and key points. Focus on the most essential information to convey. 
• Outline your presentation structure , identifying the introduction, main body, and conclusion. 
• Sign up or log into Prezi.
• Select the “Create with AI” option to open the AI presentation creator.
• Give your presentation a title and description. 
• Get inspired by AI suggestions and customize the color scheme, design, and background before moving into the content editing phase. 
• Use the AI text editing capabilities and refine your message efficiently. 
• Practice your presentation aloud to familiarize yourself with the content and ensure smooth delivery. 
• Prioritize confidence and clarity over perfection. Remember to engage your audience by maintaining eye contact and speaking with enthusiasm. 
• Finally, take a moment to breathe and center yourself before stepping into the spotlight. 

With these steps, along with the assistance of Prezi AI , you can effectively prepare for a winning presentation even at the last minute. 

Turning a problem into a win

Today’s fast-paced environment demands quicker replies, more efficient workflows, and dynamic adaptation to various situations like creating a last-minute presentation. Instead of chasing these demands or viewing them as roadblocks, we offer a different approach. At Prezi, we view them as opportunities for growth and innovation, leading to Prezi AI.

Prezi AI offers to scale your creative efforts with improved efficiency, personalization, and optimization. So when you only have a week to create a comprehensive budget forecast deck, a day to create a highly engaging class presentation, or an hour to put together a winning sales pitch, you can solely focus on the message. Prezi AI supports you with the rest. There’s no need to stress about the perfect color scheme or layout or brainstorm design ideas to amplify your key points. You can open Prezi AI and turn your “tomorrow problem” into a win. 

Give your team the tools they need to engage

Like what you’re reading join the mailing list..

• Prezi for Teams
• Top Presentations

Presentation tomorrow? The survival guide

One of the most common questions we get asked is “Help, I have a presentation tomorrow. What should I do?”

We have put together this presentation survival guide to help you.

1. Don’t panic

Although you are cutting it fine, there are lots of things that you can do to improve your presentation tomorrow. These can help you out in a very short time.

Here are a few pointers that can help you.

2. Decide upon the title

It may sound blindingly obvious, but deciding on a title is often one of the hardest things that you have to do. If you are a journalist you will know the importance of a catchy title.

Being asked to give a talk on any subject is often the hardest thing.

3. The Rule of Three

It’s a sad fact, but it is highly likely that your audience may only be able to remember three things that you have said. It’s the rule of three .

The key point is for you to write down the three points that you want the audience to remember. This can be the structure for your presentation.

4. Pick a nice presentation template

A simple way to quickly improve you presentation is to use a nice presentation template or background.

Presentation Magazine has thousands of free presentation templates and backgrounds that you can choose from.

5. Add one image per slide

Bullet points are quick, but they look boring. Add one image or graph per slide. This will really bring things to life.

People remember images. Remember the old saying: “a picture is worth a thousand words”.

And research bears this out. A presentation with pictures is twice as likely to achieve its objectives as one without.

6. Less is more

Don’t feel that you have to cram in loads and loads of facts. When it comes to presentations, remember that less if often more.

Nobody ever complained about a presentation being too short, but lots complain when it is too long.

Use no more than three bullet points per slide.

7. Most important. Practise it out loud three times

Practise your presentation out loud at least three times. One of these times should be in front of a real-life audience – family, friends or colleagues. Even the dog is better than nothing.

Actors don’t go on stage without having rehearsed, so why should you?

If there is only one thing you can do, then it should be to practise out loud.

Good luck! Please leave some comments in the box below to let us know how it goes.

Recommended Pages

that was good, especially the latest one! I have presentation tomorrow and it help me so much. thanks.

• All Templates
• Persuasive Speech Topics
• Informative
• Architecture
• Celebration
• Educational
• Engineering
• Food and Drink
• Subtle Waves Template
• Business world map
• Filmstrip with Countdown
• Blue Bubbles
• Corporate 2
• Vector flowers template
• Editable PowerPoint newspapers
• Hands Template
• Red blood cells slide
• Circles Template on white
• Maps of America
• Light Streaks Business Template
• Zen stones template
• Heartbeat Template
• Web icons template

Help! I have a presentation tomorrow & I am not prepared

Hrideep barot.

• Presentation

If you have a presentation tomorrow & you are not prepared, you can start off by assessing the criteria around the presentation. Then you can create a simple structure and start gathering information. Do not write down your entire speech, use pointers or keywords. You can use a template for the PPT and end with a practice run to assess how things go.

Preparation is key when it comes to presentation and there are many ways to do it. Practicing can go a long way in making your presentation successful and anxiety free, among other benefits (check here for ways you can practice). Now that you do not have much time with an upcoming presentation tomorrow and are not prepared, your options may be limited but they’re still there.

We will delve straight away into what you can do now & then we will cover some tips that can help you in this situation.

What can you do now to make the presentation a success?

This would include assessing the criteria around the presentation, creating a simple structure, gathering information quickly, using pointers rather than writing the entire speech, making PPT in no time, and practicing. 

Assess the Criteria

There are a few things you’d want to keep in mind when going ahead to avoid making a mess:

• Pre-specified format for presentation
• Time-limit when presenting
• Any materials or other resources you need to carry to the presentation
• Your main objective

Some of these might not be applicable to you but if they are, missing them out can waste a lot of time later. These are usually easily accessible on pages or documents like event info/course plan/presenting details. Better to be mindful of these right when you’re starting!

Create a Simple Structure

Creating a basic outline is simple- introduction, main body, and conclusion . How you subdivide these areas will depend on the information but there is no need to complicate it. Always make sure to focus on your main objective. If, for instance, your objective is to explain the benefits of exercise, you could create different sections in the main body for each benefit and then substantiate it.

If you have slightly more time on your hand, you can either 1. Refer to how it is typically done (such as this one for scientific presentations), or 2. Find information and structure on the basis of that.

If you want to delve into more details on presentation structure, check out this article .

Gather Information Quickly

To gather information, go for a few reliable sources in your field rather than many unreliable ones. The latter can take a while to figure out what is good and what isn’t.

You may also use ChatGPT or other AI tools for this purpose as it can make the process much quicker, but make sure to double-check the information it gives you.

Write Pointers, Not Entire Speech!

Since you have less time, do not try to prepare complete speeches by writing them down. Speaking word-to-word from a paper does not look good anyway. Instead, prepare pointers and keywords that can act as nudges for you to speak the whole thing. These can be present in the PPT itself or you can use a small chit.

Even when you’re writing the pointers, try not to focus too much on things you cannot remember, like figures and facts. You can put those on the PPT for the audience to look at themself. Focus only on easy-to-remember pointers that you can describe in good detail.

Make a PPT in no time!

Now that you have your information in place, it’s time to make it visually attractive using a PPT. When information is well organized and attractive to view, it makes the audience more engaged.

You can use templates from sites such as Canva , SlidesCarnival , and Slidesgo . They allow for a lot of customization on top of the elements that are already there, which can come in handy on short notice.

Last, but not least, rehearse your presentation at least once. Have a timer, pretend it’s the actual thing, and go for it. This is the most important part, and you’ll realize if any edits on the PPT or changes in the speech need to be made on the basis of this. Do not pressure yourself to make things perfect, try to do the reasonable best in the time constraint you have.

There are effective techniques for memorization, such as mnemonics, that can help you learn things quickly. Additionally, the use of cue cards can assist in retaining important information, including topics and terms.

Other Tips to Help You Last-Minute

This would include being confident, being ready to improvise, and focusing on the main objective.

Being Confident

Practice helps the best with confidence. Additionally, keep in mind that if this was a last-minute thing, there may be some things you missed. Do not be surprised when this is discovered, aim to correct it on the spot through your speech. Apart from that, you can also:

• Take a bunch of long deep breaths before the presentation
• Engage in a power pose and shrug off any tension so your body language appears comfortable
• Remind yourself that you know your material and can manage what you do not

Don’t aim to be perfect

Some things can go wrong and it does for many presenters, such as technical issues or the audience not answering. This might especially be the case when you’re not prepared. Know that it’s normal and there is no need to do it perfectly.

You can also use light humour to defuse any tension or point things out instead of covering for them. E.g., when the audience doesn’t answer, you could smile and say, “I get that most of you are not even interested in this topic but wow! Moving on!”

When there is a Q and A section to your presentation and you do not know the answer to something, feel free to add that you’ll get back about it. If that is not an option, be honest and tell them you’re not sure. It’s understandable not to know everything. 

Focus On Your Main Objective

What are you trying to do through this presentation? Inform others? Persuade? Entertain? It could be anything. Keep that in mind and focus on that when you’re presenting. Without this, other relatively less important things can distract you and make you lose focus on what’s important.

Check out this article for some more tips.

We covered what exactly you can do when you have a presentation tomorrow & are not prepared along with some practical methods and resources that you could use. We also covered some tips that can help you ace the presentation. 

Presentations involve public speaking, which is a skill that you can master. Public speaking coaching can help with that.

Enroll in our transformative 1:1 Coaching Program

Schedule a call with our expert communication coach to know if this program would be the right fit for you

8 Ways to Rise Above the Noise to Communicate Better

How to Negotiate: The Art of Getting What You Want

10 Hand Gestures That Will Make You More Confident and Efficient

• [email protected]
• +91 98203 57888

Get our latest tips and tricks in your inbox always

Copyright © 2023 Frantically Speaking All rights reserved

Kindly drop your contact details so that we can arrange call back

Select Country Afghanistan Albania Algeria AmericanSamoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil British Indian Ocean Territory Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Colombia Comoros Congo Cook Islands Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Honduras Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands Netherlands Antilles New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Romania Rwanda Samoa San Marino Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands South Africa South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Tajikistan Thailand Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Wallis and Futuna Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe land Islands Antarctica Bolivia, Plurinational State of Brunei Darussalam Cocos (Keeling) Islands Congo, The Democratic Republic of the Cote d'Ivoire Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Guernsey Holy See (Vatican City State) Hong Kong Iran, Islamic Republic of Isle of Man Jersey Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Lao People's Democratic Republic Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Macao Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Mozambique Palestinian Territory, Occupied Pitcairn Réunion Russia Saint Barthélemy Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan Da Cunha Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Martin Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Sao Tome and Principe Somalia Svalbard and Jan Mayen Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tanzania, United Republic of Timor-Leste Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands, U.S.

English Harmony

I’m Robby, and I’m a non-native English speaker. Throughout my entire life I’ve always wanted to speak in English fluently, but because of the way English is taught in schools, I always struggled with my spoken English.

I couldn't learn to speak fluent English for 5 years - read about what I was doing to learn to speak fluently HERE - are YOU in the same situation?

Then, one fine day, after years of constant pursuit of English fluency, I realized the key aspect of spoken English improvement – learning English phrases and word combinations instead of studying grammar rules and trying to construct sentences in your head from scratch!

If you’re interested in improving your English fluency too, please check out the English Harmony System which is a product I created to help all my fellow foreigners to better their spoken English and achieve so much more in professional, social and personal life.

For those foreign English speakers whose English understanding, writing and grammar is already good but they're struggling with spoken English!

Imprints natural English speech patterns in your mind - revolutionary speech exercising technology!

Builds your English confidence - no more situations when you stop and hesitate when speaking English!

How to Give the PERFECT Presentation in English

If you are new here please read this first.

If I had to name The KEY to your success in giving a presentation, it would be PREPARATION and PRACTICE.

If you think about it, it’s not really a rocket science – you have to prepare slides for the presentation and that’s half of the job already done!

Yes, it’s the actual slides that make up the main part of the presentation and in theory you could give a decent presentation just by switching between the slides and describing what you see in them!

Therefore it would seem to follow that all you have to do to ensure successful performance during a presentation is to prepare the slideshow in a way that enables you to more or less read all the information off the screen, right?

Well, slide preparation is obviously crucial in order to give a presentation, there’s no doubt about that!

I mean – preparing the slides and presenting all the information to the audience is what makes the presentation a presentation.

For those unaware – if you’re just standing in front of people talking about a specific subject, it’s called a SPEECH.

Adding some visual clues to your speech makes it a PRESENTATION – at least in my opinion.

In reality, to engage the audience and make the presentation flow nicely, reading information off the slides just doesn’t cut it:

• You have to know how to address the audience.
• You have to use the best means of expression to comment on the slides.
• And you also have to use the proper English phrases to stress the main points and draw conclusions during the presentation!

That’s exactly where English presentation phrases step in , so without further ado let me give you the very cream of the crop!

Presentation Opening Statements

I’d like to take this opportunity – this is a typical phrase you can use to thank everyone for attending the presentation: “Hello everyone, my name is such and such, and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you all for coming along!”

I’m honored to be here – this is how you express your gratitude for being invited to give the presentation.

Having been given this opportunity to – this is another handy phrase to use when expressing gratitude during the opening statement of the presentation: “I’m really thankful for having been given this opportunity to speak in front of such a large audience!”

Without further ado – this may be an overused phrase, but it doesn’t make it less useful! Basically you can use it whenever you’re ready to proceed to the next stage of the presentation: “So, without further ado, let me introduce the main concepts I’m going to cover in this presentation!”

Providing an Overview of the Presentation

I’m going to address – when you’re announcing the topic of your presentation, this English phrase comes in very handy: “In this presentation I’m going to address the rise and fall of the Roman Empire.”

Give you a quick rundown – “rundown” is a synonym for “summary”: “Now I’m going to give you a quick rundown of the various companies I’m going to mention during this presentation.”

I’ll walk you through – here’s an example of how this phrase can be used: “… and then I’ll walk you through the different stages of a product lifecycle.”

Here are the main points we’re going to cover – this is a really practical phrase you can use in your presentation to list all the main points.

And finally, I’ll wrap up this presentation by looking at – here’s how you specify what you’ll do at the very end of the presentation: “And finally, I’ll wrap up this presentation by looking at how the new budget is going to affect the ordinary working class people.”

How to Mention Specific Facts and Present Data

…to paint a clearer picture for you! – this English idiomatic expression means “to make it clearer for you” and is perfect during presentations: “So, in order to paint a clearer picture for you, let me bring up this slide where you can see…”

This is a classic example of – when presenting specific facts, you can use this phrase to stress that the subject in question is a typical representation of the issue at hand: “Please have a closer look at this specimen – it’s a classic example of a mutated fish which is a direct result of waste water contamination!”

The most pressing issue – it simply means the most important issue.

Many studies have shown that – this is how you introduce some facts you don’t have a specific reference for, but you know them to be true: “Many studies with lab rats have shown that consuming genetically modified food increases the incidence of certain types of cancer.”

So, where were we? – if there’s been a short interruption during the presentation, this is how you resume it: “All right, so, where we? If I’m not mistaken, we were looking at the current euro currency rate…”

Ranging from … to – this is how you describe a range of objects: “As we already know, our competitors offer all kinds of children’s clothing ranging from shoes to school uniforms, so the best option for us is to specialize in a specific line of children’s clothing.”

More detailed information on it – if you have to tell your audience where they can find more information on a particular topic, this is the sentence to use: “… and you can find more detailed information on last year’s fiscal policy by visiting this website…”

Anything below (above)… is considered to be – this English presentation phrase helps you describe values below or above a certain threshold: “… and anything below 7 is considered to be a poor performance figure.”

Another important factor to consider – this phrase helps you to move on to the next point in the presentation: “Another important factor to consider when looking at the sales figures is the stock levels, so let me bring up this slide where you can see…”

Which brings us to the next point – this phrase is ideal in a situation when you have to make a transition from the previous point to the next one: “When dealing with crime, high conviction rate alone isn’t going to solve the problem, we have to look at how to avoid ex-convicts re-offending again, which brings us to the next point – rehabilitation.”

Currently stands at – do you have to present a specific figure during your presentation? This is the perfect way of doing it: “As you can see in the chart, the unemployment rate currently stands at 6% which is a 10-year low.”

Current estimate is around – when presenting estimates, this is a very handy phrase to use: “Speaking of last month’s turnover, the current estimate is around 70 thousand dollars, but we have to wait on the accountant’s report to get the exact figure.”

Speaking in purely … terms – a perfect phrase introducing a statement where you’re going to use industry-specific language: “Speaking in purely technical terms, the current average downtime is acceptable, so I don’t think this particular incident requires special attention.”

To put it in perspective – this English phrase is handy when you’re providing more information on the matter to make the audience understand the full scale of the issue: “Our company profits have dwindled heavily over the last few years. To put it in perspective – 10 years ago we could afford to employ twice as many staff members.”

The biggest contributing factor – when describing the major contributor to the issue, this is the phrase you want to use: “The biggest contributing factor in the high unemployment figure is unemployment among 18 – 25 years olds.”

Accounts for the vast majority of – do you have to specify what kind of data makes up the majority of the data pool? This is how you do it: “According to latest reports, burglaries and thefts account for the vast majority of reported crime.”

Working with Presentation Slides

As you can clearly see – this is a perfect phrase for drawing everyone’s attention to the slide: “As you can clearly see in this chart, the demographic explosion coincided with the massive increase in oil production.”

This image allows us to see – another great way of insuring that people have a closer look at your slide: “Now, this image allows us to see that the actual situation in the region is much different from what the mainstream media is reporting.”

Move on to the next slide – pretty self-explanatory; this is simply how you fill the gaps in your speech while you’re switching between the slides: “And now we’re moving on to the next slide where we’re going to have a closer look at how…”

Let me give you a more technical insight into – you can use this sentence right before bringing up a slide containing detailed information on a specific subject such as a chart or a diagram.

Emphasizing the Main Points During a Presentation

Let me remind you once more – this phrase is used when you’re about to repeat something you’ve stated previously during the presentation.

As I mentioned before – this English presentation phrase carries pretty much the same meaning as the previous one and can be used to put emphasis onto something by mentioning it again.

It’s worth mentioning that – when discussing factors that don’t play the central role in the issue but are also important, this is the phrase you want to use: “And by the way, it’s worth mentioning that the educational background also contributes to a lower birth rate.”

Plays a significant role in – this is how you introduce very important facts to the listeners of your presentation: “As a matter of fact, country’s geographical location plays a significant role in its foreign policy.”

Let’s not forget – nice English phrase to use when emphasizing a point that could be easily ignored: “And let’s not forget that the federal government funding in our sector has been reduced by 10% this year, which makes the whole issue of wage increase even more difficult.”

That’s exactly where… steps in – this is how you provide a solution to a problem: “Our current staff members can’t deal with the ever-increasing call volumes, and that’s exactly where outsourcing steps in!”

Let me draw your attention to the fact that – pretty self-explanatory phrase, isn’t it?

Everybody agrees at this stage that – this is how you explain that there’s a widespread acceptance of a particular fact – “And I think everybody agrees at this stage that global climate change is happening.”

Let me reiterate – this phrase is useful in situations when you have to repeat something to stress its importance: “And let me reiterate – one third of school children are obese, so it’s obvious that this issue needs to be tackled right now!”

Drawing Conclusions

It’s safe to assume that – this is how you begin a sentence where you’re going to make a safe assumption: “Considering that our sales figures have remained steady over the last few years, I think it’s safe to assume that this year’s figures are going to be in line with our expectations.”

Predicated on the assumption that – this phrase sounds very sophisticated, but if you memorize it, it becomes very easy and you can use it to explain reasons why certain things happen: “Next year’s budget recommendations are predicated on the assumption that the economy will grow by another 1.5%”

Figures can be extrapolated to – this fancy phrase can be used to describe the concept of using the available data from one particular range of subjects when making assumptions about a related group of subjects: “The 18 – 25 year old male customer conversation rate is 1.5% which can be extrapolated to 26 – 40 year olds, thus giving us the sales forecast of 150 thousand dollars.”

It begs the question – when something you’re discussing leads to a new question to be asked, this is the phrase to be used: “As you can clearly see, the current abstinence level is unacceptable, and it begs the question – what can be done about that?”

Shows the correlation between – if you want to explain that two processes are related, this is how you do it: “This chart clearly shows the correlation between the number of fast food outlets and cancer incidence in the general population.”

Inevitably leads to – when one thing always leads to another, this is the phrase you can use when describing this phenomenon during your presentation: “… it’s not really a solution because increase in social welfare handouts inevitably leads to the so-called “culture of entitlement.”

Which is a direct result of – do you have to explain the fact that a particular phenomenon occurs because of something else? Then do it this way: “…profits have gone up by 5% which is a direct result of the recent measures introduced to deal with absenteeism.”

Summing Up the Presentation

On the finishing note – this is how you start the ending of your presentation: “On the finishing note, I’d like to thank everyone for coming along!”

To sum it up – this phrase is quite similar to the previous one – the only difference being that “on the finishing note” doesn’t necessarily require you to draw any conclusions while this one actually does: “So, to sum it up, the third production line model is the most efficient one, and that’s what our company should go for.”

The bottom line is – this phrase can be actually used interchangeably with “to sum it up”, and it’s a perfect way of announcing the main premise of the entire presentation: “So, the bottom line is – based on all the available data, it’s not economically viable to maintain the current staff levels.”

I hope you find these phrases useful when preparing for a presentation.

I also hope you put on a great show  when giving the presentation!

P.S. Would you like to find out why I’m highlighting some of the text in red? Read this article and you’ll learn why it’s so important to learn idiomatic expressions and how it will help you to improve your spoken English!

P.S.S. Are you serious about your spoken English improvement? Check out my English Harmony System HERE!

P.S. Are you serious about your spoken English improvement? Check out the English Harmony System HERE!

Thank you ever so much dear Robby. Really very helpful article.

Thank You ever so much dear Robby. Really helpful work. Well done.

Hi Ghazale,

I’m really glad you find this article useful, you’re welcome!

Thanks a bunch dear Robby. I got the most out of your great article. You explained everything in detail. Must have a heart of gold to share such marvelous information with your readers:)

Yes Sergio, I agree that the techniques you just mentioned are useful in terms of audience engagement but please let me point out that they don’t contradict with the main structure of the presentation. They’re just small additions, if you like; the purpose of this article was to provide my readers with a bunch of useful phrases to use when structuring and doing a presentation and obviously such attention hooks as asking rhetoric questions etc is something that anyone can use as they see fit!

No problem, you’re welcome!

Thanks a lot for the post Robby, by far one the most useful I have ever read. However, some experts say we should start a presentation with a question, a remark or something that holds the audiencie attention and makes them interested in what will come next. Similarly, the end of the presentation would be one phrase, statement, quotation, that invites to reflexion or action, depending on the purpose of the presentations. Could you elaborate a little bit on that?

Thanks Robby, you helped me to disappear my doubt and exaggerastions that plants in my mind for years. Best

Sorry for missing your e-mail!

Speaking of whether I’m focusing mostly on American or British phraseology, just let me tell you one thing – 99.9% of English I use is understood worldwide!

People tend to believe that there are huge differences between American and British English while in reality it’s a gross exaggeration.

Please read more about it here: http://accentadventure.com/american-phrases/ and also refer to the comments below the article.

Hi Dear Robby I have a question and sent an email to you about one month ago, but I haven’t any answer. I want to know the phrases you use in your articles belongs and common in British English or American English?I’m interested in American English vocabularies, phrases. How many phrases you introduce in your articles can be use in American English that the Americans who understand well and are familiar with them?

You’re welcome Alphonse, I’m really glad these phrases will come in handy for you!

Wow this is very useful. I always think of some transitional phrases for my presentations at school and only a few comes to mind. Thanks for compiling them up.

• SUGGESTED TOPICS
• The Magazine
• Newsletters
• Managing Yourself
• Managing Teams
• Work-life Balance
• The Big Idea
• Data & Visuals
• Reading Lists
• Case Selections
• HBR Learning
• Topic Feeds
• Account Settings
• Email Preferences

Don’t Let Anxiety Sabotage Your Next Presentation

• Riaz Meghji

Stop focusing on yourself and start focusing on your audience.

If you want to beat speaking anxiety, you need to stop focusing on yourself and point your focus outward. This shift isn’t something that can happen instantaneously. It takes time, patience, and practice. Here’s how to get started.

• Be a giver, not a taker. Takers tend to have more anxiety. They want and need validation from their listeners.
• Givers, on the other hand, are all about service. They do work beforehand to connect with stakeholders and use the information they receive to address the needs of their audience. As a result, their presentation becomes less about them and more about helping the other people in the room.
• If you want to turn your presentation into an act of service, you need to talk to the people in the room — well before your presentation begins.
• Choose about three to five influential leaders, and meet with them before to learn their concerns and goals surrounding the topic you’re presenting on.
• Then, incorporate your findings into you presentation. This will help you shift your focus outwards, from yourself to the audience, and as a result, ease some of your nerves.

Where your work meets your life. See more from Ascend here .

How many times have you had an important message to share, only to be sabotaged by anxiety right before you speak?

• RM Riaz Meghji is a human connection keynote speaker, author of Every Conversation Counts: The 5 Habits of Human Connection That Build Extraordinary Relationships and creator of The Magnetic Presenter speaker coaching program. He is also an accomplished broadcaster with 17 years of television hosting experience. Riaz has hosted for Citytv’s Breakfast Television, MTV Canada, TEDxVancouver, CTV News, and the Toronto International Film Festival.  

Partner Center

I have a presentation tomorrow and I’m not ready

How to be prepared when i have a presentation tomorrow.

I don’t know to say fortunately or unfortunately, but it may have happened to us. The day that you say to yourself: I have a presentation tomorrow, and I am not ready.

There are simple ways to help you with these situations which we will explain in this article but first:

Everything is about practice

At first, I want you to know that you only can use these ways and methods if you had practice before. Otherwise, it’s raw information which will have no use.

I have a presentation tomorrow and I have to practice to get ready.

Three lessons

I want you to read these articles first and then when you say “I have a presentation tomorrow”, you won’t be that nervous.

how to overcome the fear of public speaking?

how to write a presentation script example?

how to practice a speech?

Speech mistakes

I have a presentation tomorrow and I don’t have to make any mistakes

Now, it’s best to attend to these three essential lessons:

1- one of the worst mistakes is not able to make the audience understand why they need to listen to us. 2- some speakers don’t know how to move or stand on the stage . 3- If you use PowerPoint in your presentations, don’t forget to learn the principles first.

Also, I suggest you read “ speech mistakes .”

1 Comment . Leave new

very good thank you

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Post Comment

• English (US)

How do you say this in Japanese? I have a presentation tomorrow See a translation

• Report copyright infringement

Was this answer helpful?

• Why did you respond with "Hmm..."?
• Your feedback will not be shown to other users.

Ask native speakers questions for free

Solve your problems more easily with the app!

• Find the answer you're looking for from 45 million answers logged!
• Enjoy the auto-translate feature when searching for answers!
• It’s FREE!!

• How do you say this in ...