A.D.

Speaking course
USEFUL LANGUAGE FOR PRESENTATIONS/SEMINARS

FUNCTIONS
1. I can structure my talk & link ideas well and use signposts effectively.
2. I can deal with charts and graphs
3. I can give my point of view about a presentation.
4. I can deal with questions from the audience in a variety of ways.

1. I can structure my talk & link ideas well and use signposts effectively.
Signposts for structuring my talk:
Hello everyone, and welcome.
The purpose of this talk is to ...
Today I'm going to talk to you about ...
To start with I'll talk about ...
I'll begin by talking about ...
After that I'll ... / Then I'll . . . / Finally, I'll ...
A good example of this is ...
To give you another example, ...
So, in conclusion ... / To sum up ...
Would anyone like to ask a question?
Thank you for giving me this opportunity to ...
The purpose of this presentation is to ...
Today I want to talk to you about ...
First of all, I'll go over some background details.
To start with, I'll review ...
I'll start by describing ...
Then I'll look at ...
After that, I'll move on to ...
Finally, I'll review the main points.
Feel free to interrupt me if you have any questions.
I'll make sure we have enough time for questions at the
end.

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Finishing one point: We've looked at ..., I've told you about ...
Starting another point: Let's move on to ..., Let me turn to …
Emphasizing an important point: The crucial point here is …, The thing to remember is …
Examples:
1. Right, I've told you about productivity so let's move on to profit. The crucial point here is that corporation tax has
gone up by 2%.
2. Now we've looked at staff levels let me turn to salaries. The thing to remember here is that there have been no
pay rises for two years.
3. OK, I've told you about domestic marketing. Now let's move on to international marketing. The crucial point is
that here we can see some big cultural differences.
4. We've looked at the workforce. Now let's turn to the management. The thing to remember here is that there are
currently far fewer women than men in managerial positions.

Signposts for structuring linking my ideas effectively:

Linking supporting ideas: in addition, also, furthermore, moreover
Contrasting different ideas: although, whereas, however, despite
Examples:
1. The company's profits were good despite a slow start.
2. We decided to expand our European operations in spite of advice to the contrary.
3. The results were poor. However, there were no redundancies.
4. Although performance was rather disappointing, the board remained optimistic.
5. The management had a pay rise, whereas the workers' salaries were cut.
6. Even though we have reduced our prices, sales have not gone up.

2. I can deal with charts and graphs

You'll notice, that ... What we can see here is ...
You can see from this chart that ... As you can see from ...
This graph shows… I'd like to draw your attention to ...
Examples:
1. You'll notice that the most popular months for visitors to come to New Zealand are between November and the
end of March.
2. You can see from this chart that there is almost no change in the popularity of each month year after year.

3. I can give my point of view about a presentation.

I really enjoyed that presentation. I didn't enjoy it very much.
What did you think of the presentation? Why do you think that?
Did you enjoy the talk? It was a bit boring.
I think that it was very interesting. Really? I don't agree
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4. I can deal with questions from the audience in a variety of ways.

Do you mind if we press on? I'll answer that at the end.
There's no time now, but let's chat about it afterwards.
Can I answer any questions?
Are there any final questions?
I'll try to answer any questions you may have.
Sure. Go ahead.
Yes? Please ask your question.
Yes, of course. What would you like to know?
Now, does anyone else have a question?
I'm not quite sure I agree with you on that.
That's a very good point. What does everyone else
think?
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USEFUL LANGUAGE FOR DISCUSSIONS / EXCHANGING OPINIONS

1. I can express my opinion and disagree politely.

Disagree about facts: I think you might be mistaken on that point; I don't think you've got that right
1. I think you might be mistaken on that point. I think it's over 3,500 years ago.
2. I don't think you've got that right. I think a third of all languages are African languages.
Disagree about opinions: I don’t quite see it like that; I'm not sure (that) I agree.
1. I'm not sure I agree. I think it's too expensive to do that.
2. I don't quite see it like that. I think it would be less interesting.

2. I can ask for more detail if necessary.

I'd like to hear more about the ...
Do you have any specific details about the ...
Can you give an example of a ...

3. I can use a range of techniques to participate effectively and politely.

1. Ask someone for their opinion What do you think, Peter?
What do you think of ...?
Do you agree with ...?
What's your opinion?
Do you think that ...?
2. Ask someone to explain what they mean Sorry, what do you mean exactly?
Can you go over that?
Could you say what you mean?
Can you explain that?
3. Ask to interrupt Can I say something here?
Can I add a point here?
Do you mind if I interrupt?
4. Stop someone from interrupting you Sorry, can I just finish what I was saying?
Can you wait a moment while I finish?
Can you let me finish?
His response Sure. Go ahead.
5. Apologize for misunderstanding someone My mistake. I got it wrong. Sorry.
Sorry, I misunderstood.
6. Try to get the discussion back on target I think we're drifting off the point slightly.
Can we get back to the point here, please?
7. Agree with someone That's the way I feel, too.
I think you're right.
Yes, I agree (completely).
That's a good point.
8. Disagree with someone No, sorry. I don't really go along with that.
I don't agree (at all).
I think you're mistaken/wrong.
9. Partly agree with someone I agree with some of what you've said.
I don't completely disagree but ...
That's a good point but ...
10. Check you've understood OK. So what you’re saying is…
Let me see if I've understood correctly.
Am I right in thinking …
11. Say someone has misunderstood you That's not really what I meant.
You didn't understand what I said.
12. Give your opinion strongly I really do think that it's important.
I'm absolutely sure/convinced that ...
I strongly believe that ...

4. I can show that I’m skeptical before I decide to agree/disagree.

Ask someone to explain their position
Is there any evidence to back that up?
How can you be so sure?
Where’s the proof?
What makes you think that?
Are you sure that’s right?
Sound slightly hesitant:
 I don’t see how it follows that …
I’m not convinced.
Express doubt strongly:
That doesn’t make much sense.
That argument doesn’t hold water.
That’s hardly likely to happen, is it?
There’s no chance of …
I wouldn’t put money on it.
I’m not buying it.
That doesn’t prove anything.