ORAL PRESENTATION

2. 0 The structure of a presentation
You should have a clear, organised structure for your oral presentation. A poorly structured talk will confuse and frustrate an audience

Basically there are 3 sections to a typical presentation: the introduction, body and conclusion (or beginning, the middle and the end).

2.1 The introduction or beginning

The beginning of a presentation is the most important part. It is when you establish a link with the audience and when you have its attention.

Get the audience's attention and signal the beginning

Useful expressions * Let's begin. * Can we start? * Shall we start?

It is not unusual for the presenter to begin with a joke, an anecdote, a statement made to surprise or provoke in order to gain the audience's attention, to make people want to listen, to feel relaxed and even to introduce the subject.

A good technique is to try to get your audience involved in your presentation either by asking direct or rhetorical questions. Ask for a show of hands for example, in response to a question or, present information in such a way that the audience can identify with it. You can give an anecdote, unusual or surprising facts, or an illustration from real life.

Greet audience.
It is important to greet the audience:

Useful expressions

* Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. * Good afternoon everyone. Shall we begin? * Ladies and gentlemen. Good morning. It's a pleasure to be here with you today. * Good afternoon. If everybody's ready, I think we can begin now.

Introduce yourself
Do this not only to give important information so people can identify you but also to establish your authority on the subject and to allow the audience to see your point of view on the subject

Useful expressions

* Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, let me