THE MIDDLE OF THE PRESENTATION

Objective: Students are able to learn how hold the audience’s attention.
Students are able to develop the main body of the presentation.

A. Presentation

Read the following passage and identify at least six recommendations

about speaking technique which can help to make the message in a
presentation clear.

You're lost if you lose your audience

Clear objectives, clear plan, clear signals: the secrets of presentation success

Any presentation requires a clear strategy or plan to help you reach your
objectives. The aim is not to pass away twenty minutes talking non-stop and
showing a lot of nice pictures. It is to convey a message that is worth hearing to an
audience who want to hear it. However, how many speakers really hold an
audience's attention? What is the secret for those who do? First, find out about the
audience and what they need to know. Plan what you're going to say and say it
clearly and concisely.
A good speaker uses various signals to help hold the audience's attention and
make the information clear. One type of signal is to introduce a list with a phrase
like - There are three things we have to consider. The speaker then says what the
three things are and talks to about each one at the required level of detail. For
example: There are three types of price that I’ve have to think about: economic
price, market price and psychological price. Let's look at each of these in more
detail. First, economic price. This is based on production costs and the need to
make a profit ... and the speaker goes on to describe this type of price. After
that, he goes on to talk about the market price and so on.
Another signaling technique is to give a link between parts of the
presentation. Say where one part of the talk finishes and another starts. For
 example, a well organised presentation usually contains different parts and
progression from one part to the next must be clear, with phrases like That's all
I want to say about the development of the product. Now let's turn to the actual
marketing plant. This technique is very helpful to the audience, including those
who are mainly interested in one part only.
Another type of signaling is sequencing of information. This usually follows a
logical order, perhaps based on time. So a project may be described in terms of the
background, the present situation and the future. Key words in sequencing
information are first, then, next, after that, later, at the end, finally, etc.
Still another technique which helps to emphasise key points is careful
repetition. Examples are As I've already said, there is no alternative but to
increase production by 100 per cent or I'd like to emphasise the main benefit
of the new design — it achieves twice as much power with half as much fuel.
A final point concerns timing and quantity of information. Psychologists have
suggested that concentration is reduced after about twenty minutes without a
break or a change in activity. Furthermore, audiences should not be overburdened
with technical details or given too many facts to remember. It is claimed that to ask
people to remember more than three things in a five minute talk is too much. Some
say that seven is the maximum number of any length of presentation. Any such
calculations are probably not very reliable, but every speaker needs to think about
exactly how much information of a particular type a specific audience is likely to
absorb and to plan accordingly.

B. Practice
Structure (2) The main body

1. Read the following text and identify the following:

a) the relationship between the main body of the presentation and the
introduction
b) a recommendation on one way to divide the main body of a talk.

The main body of the presentation contains the details of the subject or themes
described in the introduction. All the above techniques are especially useful in
making the main body easily understood. They help the audience to follow the
information and to remember it. They also help the speaker to keep to the planned
structure and to know exactly what stage has been reached at all times during the
presentation. Clear structure doesn't just help the audience! In many presentations
the main body can be usefully divided into different parts. The main parts, each with a
main heading, are referred to in the Introduction (see Unit 6). Clearly there are many
ways to divide the main body of a presentation and often different parts will
themselves be divided into smaller sections of information:

Introduction Main body of information

First part Second part Third part

—a —a —a
—b —b —b
—c —c
—d

Listing information

1. Listen to two presentations of the same information about climatic change.

Which is easiest to understand: Example 1 or 2? Why?
2. Now read the transcript of one of the two examples. Underline the
words and phrases which list key information and give signals to the
audience.

... climatic changes in the Northern hemisphere may have been the result
of three types of effect on the environment: first, volcanic activity, second,
industrial pollution, and thirdly, transport. Let's look at these in more detail.
First, volcanic eruptions. The 1991 eruption may have contributed to ozone
damage causing the unusually high world temperatures in 1992. The
second key area is industrial contamination. Industry puts important
quantities of noxious gases and chemicals into the atmosphere. There are
four important gases released by burning fossil fuels. These are CO 2, SO 2,
CO and NO 2. They contribute to the so-called 'greenhouse' effect and
global warming. The second main area of industrial pollution of the
atmosphere is the release of ozone damaging chemicals like10
chlorofluorocarbons and polychlorohiphenols. These are used in refrigeration,
some manufacturing processes and in fire extinguishers. Finally, the third
source of damage to the environment is transport. Car and plane engines are
a problem because they release they so called 'greenhouse' gases such as
CO 2.
Linking ideas

1. Listen to the recording of part of the main body of a presentation on Energy

Resources in Latin America and complete the notes below.

Topic: Energy resources In Venezuela, Argentina and Peru.

Venezuela ......................................………..
Argentina ................................... ………… power and …………………………

Peru ..........................................but .........................................

WHY?
................................................. and ................................... factors
and………………………………………………………………………………

2. Listen again and this time notice how the speaker links different parts of the
presentation. Write in the missing words.
a) new topic

Let’s …………………………….. Argentina, which ………………………………..

Venezuela in that it hasn’t enjoyed such ………………..

Old topic

b) old topic

That’s ……………………………………………………………………..…. Argentina

Now ………………………………… Peru. For many ………………..

new topic

c) Old topic

Now, …………………………………. Peru. I now want……………………………

Other opportunities in Latin America (fade)
 new topic

Sequencing

1. Listen to part of a presentation about a construction project in Seoul,

South Korea. Number the stages in the project in the right order.
Put out tenders for construction. ❑
Technical consultation to determine design needs. ❑
Purchasing procedure. ❑
Building. ❑
Put out a call for tenders to architects. ❑
Select the best proposal. ❑
Commission research to find best location for plant. ❑
Period of consultation with architects over details. ❑

2. Listen again, this time focusing on the language used to indicate the
sequence of events. Identify seven words or phrases that are
used in this way.
a) F i r s t o f a l l
b) N __ __ __
c) W __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
d) The __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ be
e) T __ __ __
f) H __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
g) The __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ to

C. Practice
You are a Project Manager of Sasi, an electronic components manufacturer. You have
to give presentation to colleagues explaining the company’s decision to build another
factory.