How to nail that presentation

1. Match the halves to complete the phrases.

a) step up 3 1) run
b) rev 4 2) robotic
c) dry 1 3) your game
d) nooks and 6 4) up
e) hit a 5 5) home run
f) be stiff and 2 6) crannies

2. Read the sentences and complete the gaps with the phrases from ex. 1.
Discuss if you agree with these sentences.
a) Make a joke at the beginning of your presentation to seem more sociable and
to rev up the audience.
b) The audience will only trust you if they feel that you know all the nooks and
crannies of the topic you present.
c) Doing a dry run in front of the mirror is not the same thing as doing it in front of
an audience.
d) It doesn’t matter if you are being stiff and robotic as long as the information you
present is valuable.
e) There’s no better way to step up your game and do better presentations than
actually doing it many times.
f) The more visual aids you use, the better your chances to hit a home run with
your presentation are.

3. You are going to watch a video about common mistakes to avoid during a
virtual presentation. Before watching, look at the tips and decide if they
should be in a ‘do’ or ‘don’t’ list for successful virtual presentations. Watch
the video [https://youtu.be/atLvsjIIsOI] and check your answers.
a) Exaggerate your gestures and your tone of voice. do [01:07]
b) Try to maintain eye contact by looking at every participant. don’t [02:20]
c) Avoid telling any stories or anecdotes. don’t [03:23]
d) Do a dry run. do [03:45]
e) Make it a lecture and leave questions for the end. don’t [04:36]
 How to nail that presentation

4. Watch the video again and answer the questions.

a) Why is it important to be able to do a presentation virtually? Because it is
ubiquitous nowadays and being able to present is a core skill in the new
environment. [00:01]
b) What should you do to avoid being stiff? You should exaggerate your gestures
and your tone of voice. Try recording yourself, your normal version of doing a
presentation and the exaggerated one. Analyse and decide what looks good
and what doesn’t. [00:37]
c) How is maintaining eye contact different when presenting online rather than in
person? When you do a presentation offline, you are encouraged to look
around the room and make eye contact with people. When presenting virtually,
you should look at your camera directly to give everyone the feeling that you’re
looking at them. [02:02]
d) What is the rule concerning timing? You should keep it short. You can still tell a
story or an anecdote but make it concise. [02:52]
e) Why is it important to do a dry run? Because it’s the only way you can catch all
the nooks and crannies of the things that can go wrong. [03:45]
f) What can you do to make your presentation look less like a lecture? You
should deemphasize yourself and your slides and focus on the audience. Try to
engage them in conversation, make it interactive (use polls, break them out
into groups, have competitions). [04:37]

5. Discuss the questions.

• What do you think of the tips presented in
the video? What are some other tips to
consider when presenting virtually?
• How is a virtual presentation different from
an offline one? What tips would you
suggest for giving a presentation in
person?
[To facilitate the discussion, you may use
these tips https://www.renderforest.com/blog/tricks-for-an-effective-
presentation ]

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 How to nail that presentation

6. Read the short text and find the words to match the meanings below.

An elevator pitch (a brief summary of your background and experience you

give to a person you want to network with) is ubiquitous in the business world.
Therefore, everyone should have the basic skills to be able to do it. Don’t be
afraid to smile as you want to seem affable. Highlight your authenticity and
don’t ramble as it might detract your listener from the main points.

MEANINGS:
a) pleasant and easy to talk to affable
b) distract from detract from
c) quality of being real or true authenticity
d) present or found everywhere ubiquitous

7. Look at the text above again and discuss the questions.

• Have you ever had to give an elevator pitch? How did it go?
• What advice would you give to someone who needs to give an elevator pitch?
• What other types of business presentations do you know?

8. Match the sentences to the types of presentations they describe.

annual stakeholder report pitch deck

roadmap presentation team briefing

a) I think my presentation really hit a home run. They appreciated my authenticity

and told me they wanted in. I think having done a dry run really helped. pitch
deck
b) By highlighting our success in sales this year, we’ve tried to detract their
attention from the failed launch of the new feature. annual stakeholder report
c) I tried to communicate our milestones and emphasize ubiquitous ideas of
productivity. I pinpointed the stages where we had to step up our game to
reach the end goal. roadmap presentation

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 How to nail that presentation

d) It went on for hours. The manager didn’t just update us on the recent news
and changes in our system. She really went through all the nooks and
crannies. team briefing

9. Discuss the questions.

• Which of the presentations above have you done? What is difficult about
them? Can you think of some tips for each of them?
• Look at the common structure of a business presentation below. Do you think
it is applicable to all types of presentation?

• Look at some other examples of presentations. Discuss structure and tips for
each of them.
o pitching an app to investors
o giving a demo for the MVP
o presenting a new approach to the team
o sharing an action plan with a potential client
[In the next page, you can find some presentation structures that you can share
with students and then discuss what types of presentation they could be used for.]
Possible answers:
• pitching an app to investors: the pitch, situation – challenge – resolution
• giving a demo for the MVP: the explanation, situation – challenge –
resolution
• presenting a new approach to the team: the explanation, the pitch
• sharing an action plan with a potential client: the explanation

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 How to nail that presentation

THE EXPLANATION THE PITCH

SITUATION – COMPLICATION – RESOLUTION

Copyrights by ESL Brains