Signposts and language signals

INTRODUCING THE TALK

I'd like to talk about...

I'm going to discuss...

I want to tell you about...

What I'd like to do is to explain to you...

What I'm going to do is to describe...

What I want to do is to give an account of...

ORDERING POINTS(TIME ORDER)

To begin with At the beginning At the start

Secondly Then Next After that

Finally At the end

ORDERING POINTS (LISTING AND ADDING)

First(ly),

Second(ly),

A second reason

Another point

Also

Last(ly)

Third(ly), The third aspect Other factors In addition Finally

TRANSITION

Having considered (X), let us now move on to (Y). So these were our methods. What about our results?

CONTRASTING

But However Nevertheless,

On the other hand By contrast

REFERRING TO VISUAL AIDS

This slide (graph, chart) shows... Here you can see Here are This is

DEFINING

By X we mean yy.

X is defined as yy.

We call Xyy.

We can define X as yy.

REPHRASING

That is, In other words, To put it another way,

GIVING AN EXAMPLE

For example, For instance, such as say, like

To give you an example, Let me give you an example.

Including

An example of this is.,

Here is an example.

EMPHASISING

Actually in fact indeed

Importantly surprisingly interestingly

It is clear that clearly obviously

I'd like to underline highlight stress

It's important to bear in mind keep in mind remember

CONCLUDING THE TALK

So, Finally,

To summarize Summing up To 'Conclude In conclusion

I'd like to finish by saying...

I'd like to conclude now with a few remarks about...

NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION

POSTURE

a) Stand straight but not stiff.

b) Balance your weight evenly on both feet.

c) Standing well allows your diaphragm to move more easily to control your breathing and voice production. So you feel better, sound better, and look better.

MOVEMENT AND GESTURES

a) Too much movement is distracting; no movement at all is boring and uncommunicative.

b) Use movements and gestures to signal transition points or to stress pointsof importance.

c) Avoid meaningless gestures and repetitive movements. Don't wave your left hand about in circles or wave the pointer about. Use the pointer only when necessary, and with a firm movement. If you have a laser pointer, keep your hand close to your body when using it; don't hold it at arm's length Like a gun.

FACIAL EXPRESSION

a) Your facial expression must match your message. If you claim somethingis interesting, look as if you find it so.

b) Relax your facial muscles. If you look nervous, the audience will not be comfortable.

c) In the 10 minutes before you start, make sure your tongue is relaxed and not raised tensely against the roof of your mouth. If you can discreetly yawn widely once or twice, this will help to relax your facial and throat muscles and to feel less tense.

VOICE

a) Speak a little louder than you think is necessary. Project your voice to the

back of the room. Use your diaphragm to do this, not the muscles of your throat. Keep the muscles of your throat and mouth relaxed, Otherwise your voice loses resonance and power, and is less pleasant to listen to.

b) Speak a little more slowly than you normally do, especially if you feel nervous. This will help you sound and feel more confident. A useful rule-of-thumb is: the larger the audience, the more slowly you should speak.

c) Use your voice as a communication tool. Vary the speed - speak more slowly in the introduction and the conclusion. Use stress for important points and contrasts. A short silence can also serve to emphasize a point or a transition. All these techniques contribute greatly to making a presentation interesting to listen to.

EYE CONTACT

a) Eye contact creates a relationship between the speaker and the audience. It encourages the audience to listen. It helps to relax the speaker. So look atpeople.

b) Start and end with direct eye contact, looking round the whole audience. During the talk, don't gaze over people's heads or out of the window. Look at your visual aids (and notes if you have them) as much as is necessary, but don't stare at them and talk to them. Look at the audience as much as you can.

c) Don't look always at the same section of the audience or, even worse, at one Victim'. Don't dart your eyes about quickly or sweep your gaze round like a searchlight. Focus on one person or group for 1-2 seconds; then look at another person or group, then another.

 

ASKING AND DEALING with QUESTIONS

INTRODUCING A QUESTION

I've got a question about... Could I ask a question...? Sorry, could I just ask...?

CLARIFICATION

Sorry, I didn't follow what you said about. What did you mean when you said...? Could you give me an example of...?

MORE INFORMATION

Iwas interested in what you were saying about...

Could you tell us more about...?

Could you expand a bit on what you were saying about...?

CHECKINGCOMPREHENSION

So you mean...?

So you're saying...?

Can I just check I've understood - did you say...?

Have I got this right:...?

RESPONDING TO ANSWERS

Yes, I see.

OK, thanks.

Thanks, that's clear now.

That's not really what I was asking. What I meant was...

OK, but what I really wanted to know was...

Sorry, I'm still not clear about...

Perhaps I didn't make my question clear. What I was really asking was...

DEALING WITH QUESTIONS

ANSWERING DIRECTLY

Well, as I understand it...

If I've understood X correctly,...

Well, according to our results...

OK -1 think I can answer that quite simply..,

PLAYING FOR TIME

Er, let me see... Well, I suppose I'd say...

That's an interesting/a very good question! Well,.

HANDLINGCOMPLEXQUESTIONS

Well, those are really two different questions. OK- let me deal with those questions one at a time. Your first question/point was about... I'll deal with your second question/point first, if I may.