Page 29 - ELG1807 July Issue 459

REVIEWS & RESOURCES

Presentation skills are TOP 10
vital for professionals and presentation skills to

university students learning
English, for everything from pass on to your students
business meetings to job
SPEAK WITHIN YOUR LIMITS
interviews, writes expert 1
Use words, grammar and sentence structures that you’re
Susanne Lewis familiar and comfortable with.

2
VOICE ONE IDEA PER SENTENCE
This will not only make it easier for you to speak, it will
also make it easier for the audience to follow you. Opt
to use plain English, i.e. shorter words and sentences.
3
PACE YOURSELF
Take your time and deliver your presentation at a speed
you feel comfortable with. It is more helpful for the
audience if you speak slowly and clearly than if you rush,
which can cause you to muddle up your words or leave out
syllables.

4
USE DESCRIPTIVE AND MEANINGFUL WORDS
Don’t ever assume that the audience sees the world
the same way you do. Instead, paint a picture providing
them with as many details as possible.

5
USE NEUTRAL LANGUAGE
Be specific and provide facts to allow the audience
Making to form their own opinion. On the same note, avoid
FURTHER READING/VIDEOS presentations judgemental language.
 www.plainenglish.co.uk can be nerve-
 www.hofstede-insights.com wracking
 www.ted.com/topics/presentation 6
INCLUDE ADDITIONAL TIME REFERENCES
If you’re uncertain on the tense, make clear time
will no longer feel scary and will equip them references to the past, present and future. This will help
the audience understand what tense you intended to
with the all-important presentation skills use, even if you’ve used the wrong one.
required to help them succeed in their lives.
All of the above is what drove me to
write my new book. It aims to help people CONSIDER CULTURAL DIFFERENCES
Align your presentation to the audience, based on their
whose first language is not English to 7
improve their ability to impress in the beliefs and values as well as how they perceive your
language. own nation. Elaborate on topics and concepts they’re
My aim was to provide an overview of not familiar with. Avoid certain topics altogether if they might
everything from preparing and structuring cause offence.
a presentation to cultural aspects and body
language, focusing on selected aspects of CAPITALISE ON NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION
the English language along the way. 8
How something is said outweighs what is actually said,
Each chapter is accompanied by exercises so make sure your gestures, facial expressions and tone
and top tips. So however you choose to of voice support and underpin what you’re saying.
tackle the challenge of making a good
presentation, good luck!
MAINTAIN GOOD EYE CONTACT
n Susanne Lewis is a 9
This will make you appear confident and helps build
Swiss native who has lived trust, which is needed if you want them to listen to you.
and worked in the UK
since the year 2000. She
is author of Presentation DELIVER IN A CONVERSATIONAL TONE
Present as if you were speaking to just one single
Skills for Non-Native 10
Speakers and managing person; in a conversational tone with vocal variety.
director of Matterhorn This will make you seem more personable and
Languages helps to keep your audience engaged.
editorial@elgazette.com 29

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