Business English Classes

Introduction (1 class)

What is a presentation: Talking about what a presentation is and different types of presentations.
Student's experiences: The experience the students have of making a presentation.
Knowing the Audience and Purpose: Students will practice looking at who their listeners are to shape their content and delivery, and they’ll learn how to set clear goals for each talk.
Organizing a Presentation: They’ll work on different ways to structure their talk, making sure it has a smooth flow with clear openings, main sections, and closings. This also includes using linking phrases to guide the audience.

Unit 1 – Getting Started (4 classes)

This first unit is very important because it talks about how to begin your presentation. The beginning of a presentation often feels the most difficult, especially if you feel nervous, so this unit helps you with building confidence and the language used to introduce yourself and tell the audience about your presentation.

Topics Covered in this Unit:

1) Welcoming your audience – You need to start by greeting your audience in a polite and professional way.
2) Introducing yourself and the topic – After welcoming, you say who you are and what topic you will talk about.
3) Dealing with nervousness – Many presenters feel anxious, so it is important to learn techniques to stay calm and confident.
4) Opening a presentation – This means choosing strong first sentences to create interest and start effectively.
5) Structuring a presentation – You need to explain how your presentation is organized so the audience can follow easily.
6) Organizational details – This includes talking about timing, handouts, and when the audience can ask questions.
7) Getting the audience’s attention – You can do this by asking a question, giving an interesting fact, or showing enthusiasm.

Additional Discussion Topics in this Unit:

1) Using body language, whether you should walk around, and how to connect with the audience. This is important for creating confidence.

2) Phrases used to make a presention to an English-speaking audience, so you can speak clearly and politely.

Unit 2 – Let's Move on (3 classes)

In this unit, we will focus on body language and signposting. These are very important skills to help you communicate clearly when giving a presentation in English.

Topics covered in this unit:

1) Body Language - This is important because your audience does not only listen to your words, they also look at your body. If you look confident, people will believe you more.
2) Tips on Presenting to an English-Speaking Audience
3) Signposting - Signposting means showing the audience where you are in your presentation, like road signs on a street. We will look at how to guide your audience through your presentation so they can easily follow your ideas. For example, you can say: “My next slide shows …” to let people know what is coming. Signposting phrases are very helpful because they keep your presentation clear and structured.
4) Talking About Difficult Issues - Sometimes, in a presentation, you need to talk about a difficult issue. Maybe it is a problem in your company, or maybe it is a financial loss. You should explain the facts clearly but not sound negative. For example, you can say, “We are facing some challenges” instead of “We are failing.”

5) Referring to Other Points: - We will look at linking expressions. For example, “As I mentioned before …” this helps the audience connect different parts of your talk.

7) Adding Ideas - Sometimes you also want to add more information. We will practice using simple phrases like: “In addition …” to make your presentation smoother.

Unit 3 – Presentation Tools and Visuals

Visuals are very powerful because they help your audience to understand your information quickly, however, not understanding the expectations of your audience can create confussion and make your presentation less effective.

In this unit we will look at standard practices in the UK and USA, as we as how to speak about numbers.

1) Say Numbers and Using Approximate Numbers - First, sometimes you do not need to give an exact number. You can use approximate numbers. For example, we will cover phrases such as “around 20 percent”, this makes your language more natural.
2) Creating Effective Visuals - Here we look at how to design your slides, including images and text.3) Presenting Visuals Effectively - To present visuals, you should not just read the slide. Instead, it is better to explain the meaning. We will look at how you can do this using phrases such as “As you can see from this graph …” and then explain the result.

4) Introducing Visuals - Here well will look at phrases you can use when you show a new visual, such as “This chart illustrates …”.

5) Emphasizing Important Points - We will look at how you can use your voice to engage the audience and emphasize important points.

6) Making Contrasts and Describing Results - We will look at how to describe the results shown in the charts.

Unit 4 – Describing Graphs and Trends

In this part we will look at describing graphs and trends.

1) Types of Visuals to Present Data - We will introduce different types of visuals, such as bar charts, line graphs, and pie charts.
2) Describing Graphs and Charts - We will look at how to speak about the information shown in the charts.
3) Interpreting Visuals - Here we will look at phrases which are useful for explaining what the audience can already see. For example: “This increase means our strategy is working.”
4) Tips for Describing Trends - We will practice using verbs like increase, and rise to describe trends. And the use of adverbs such as quickly.
5) Guiding the audience - Using phrases such as “On the left, you can see …” when talking about visuals to guide your audience.

6) Talking About Trends - How to use different tenses to speak about trends. For example when speaking about continuing trends, we can use the present perfect: “Sales have been increasing since last year.”

Unit 5 – To Sum Up

In this part we will look at how to end a presentation well.

1) Concluding a Presentation - For example we will look at using phrases like “To sum up …” will help the audience understand
2) Strategies for a Good Conclusion - A good conclusion does not just finish; it leaves your audience with a strong message. You can summarize, recommend, or give a vision for the future.
3) Summarizing the Main Points - When you summarize, mention the main points you have already explained. You do not need to repeat everything, but you should remind people of the key ideas.

4) Making Recommendations - You can also make recommendations by saying “I suggest that …” or “We should consider …” This shows your audience what action you want them to take.

5) Using Your Voice Effectively - We will look at using your voice to stress important words and other methods to ensure your words stay in the minds of your audience.

Unit 6 – Dealing with Questions

The final unit deals with the question and answer session after your presentation. This is where the audience asks you questions, and sometimes this part can feel the hardest, because you do not know what people will ask.

1) Handling the Question-and-Answer Session - how to answer questions.
2) Asking Polite Questions - We will practice how to ask polite questions such as “Could you explain …?” instead of “What do you mean … ?”
3) Anticipating Questions - we will look at how to anticipate questions before the presentation. This means think of the questions people may ask and prepare your answers.
4) Dealing With Interruptions
Sometimes people may interrupt you, we will look at how to respond politely, such as “Please let me finish, then I will answer your question.”

5) Reformulating Questions - We will also practice reformulating the question, to help clarify it and ensure you understand. For example by saying: “If I understand you correctly, you are asking …” This gives you time to think and also shows respect to the person asking.