Has your upcoming business presentation in English got you anxious?
Success in business is as much about how you present your knowledge as what you know.
But unfortunately, many non-native English speakers feel uncomfortable writing a presentation in English.
You know your stuff, but you want to get the words right. Perhaps it’s your first time writing a presentation in English and you’re not sure of the exact phrases to link your ideas.
The fear of public speaking is a real thing, especially if you are presenting in a language that is not your own.
According to Presentation Panda, 92% of people in their survey strongly agree that “Presentation skills are critical to success at work.”
In today’s business world, one of those essential skills is being able to present in English.
This article will empower you with the useful business English phrases you need.
Writing an outline for your business presentation
The most memorable presentations tell a story, creating a narrative throughout that keeps the audience engaged, especially if there are a lot of dry statistics used.
Your presentation should have a good structure so that your ideas are easily laid out. A basic structure should include:
● an engaging introduction, preferably with an attention-grabbing anecdote or story
● the main message where you get the information across
● a conclusion where you sum up and open the floor for questions. rt to write your presentation, you need certain
As Brian Tracy says in his informative article 16 Tips for an Awesome PowerPoint Presentation, “Tailor the message to your audience to help them understand why you are presenting and to reach your goal.”
Greeting your audience and starting your presentation
Your first words should capture the room. How you open your presentation is essential to setting the tone and atmosphere in the room.
Some good ways to do this are:
● ask an open-ended question
● tell a relevant story, or
● lead with a quote or surprising fact.
You can do this before or after introducing yourself.
Here are some useful English phrases for introducing yourself and starting off the presentation.
Introductions
1. Good morning/afternoon/evening, everyone.
2. Welcome to [name of event].
3. First, let me introduce myself. I am [name] from [company].
4. Let me start by giving you some background information...
5. My talk is particularly relevant to those of you who...
6. This talk is designed to act as a springboard for discussion...
7. We will be looking at/identifying/analyzing...
8. My first point is...
Essential phrases for the main body of your presentation
In the main body, you set out your main points. The key here is to be brief and have visuals to support what you are saying.
In this section you will need phrases that help you transition from one topic to another, expand on your topic, give examples and provide more details, and draw conclusions.
Moving on to the next topic
9. Let’s move on to...
10. Let’s turn our attention to...
11. We have seen how… Now, I would like to give you a case study/show you a chart, etc.
12. On the other hand...
13. Firstly, Secondly, etc.
Providing more details
14. To explain this further, I’ll show you….
15. Let me elaborate further/let me expand...
16. We can break this area down into the following fields....
17. I’d like to discuss in more depth the...
Giving examples
18. Take the case of/example of….
19. Let me illustrate this by…
20. For instance…
21. As an example….
Transition to a side note
22. On a side note…
23. Incidentally…
24. That reminds me…
Drawing conclusions
25. The significance of this is...
26. This is important because...
27. Based on our findings...
28. The data shows that...
29. This chart shows...
30. As we can see on this chart/pie chart/graph/flow diagram...
Writing a good conclusion for a presentation and Q&A
A good conclusion should include a slide summarizing the main points of your presentation and a slide with your name and contact details right at the end.
This is also a good time to pick up any narrative created at the beginning of the presentation or finish with a powerful quote or statistic.
Useful phrases for ending your presentation
31. In conclusion...
32. To sum up the main points...
33. As [someone] said...
34. Thank you for your attention.
35. I can email the PowerPoint presentation to anyone who would like it.
36. I am happy to answer your questions.
Paul Petrone has some great ideas in his article The 6 Best Ways to Close a Presentation.
Extra tips for giving a great presentation
Now that you have written your presentation, you are ready to practice.
● Don’t forget to proofread and spell check.
● Time how long it takes to deliver the whole presentation.
● Do not learn it by heart.
● Make sure your slides are well designed and nicely laid out.
● Prepare yourself for questions.
● Speak clearly and at a steady space.
● Make sure you know the correct pronunciation of the words.
● If you are presenting on Zoom or other video conferencing platform, have a look at our tips on participating in video conference calls.
Good luck with your presentation!
More about writing and giving presentations in English are covered in our business English courses.