YPL Presentation skills I: Openings

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• havo
• Leerjaar 5

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Presentation skills

How to become a better presenter 

(in English)

02:29

Obama uses a classic rhetorical strategy: the three-fold argument. He talks about... (3 correct answers)

1. poor elderly people
2. disadvantaged children
3. racism
4. taking care of others

02:57

Obama uses three techniques in this speech: detail, storytelling, and antithesis. What is antithesis?

1. confronting his audience with unpleasant truths
2. pretending to be a victim
3. creating contrast with structures and examples
4. making things bigger than they are

00:54

How does Obama create a connection with his audience?

1. He tells a joke
2. He tells an anecdote
3. He tells a shocking fact
4. He places his speech in a bigger context

We can't all be Obamas, or Gormans, or Captain Holts, or *insert fantastic public speaker*...

.. but we can improve our presentation skills (in English) with some simple techniques.

This workshop is aimed at making you a more engaging and more confident public speaker. 

Presentation skills

• Effective openings
• Using your voice
• Rhetorical techniques

Effective openings

Opening with flair

Stating your purpose

Signposting

Opening with flair, what techniques can you use to do that?

Effective openings

Opening effectively means connecting with your audience: engaging them, interesting them in the story you're about to tell. 

Cold open

Almost every TV show or movie makes use of the 'cold open', an opening scene that serves as a teaser for the story to come. 

Historically, TV makers started using this technique to involve the audience in the plot as soon as possible to reduce the likelihood of their switching from a show during the opening credits. 

In public speaking, there are multiple ways of engaging an audience and opening your speech effectively. 

We will take a look at some examples, and discuss the most effective methods of opening a speech or presentation. 

For the next few clips, keep in mind the question: "What method of engaging the audience is used here?"

What method of engaging the audience does speaker Ric Elias use here?

“Imagine a big explosion as you climb through 3,000 ft. Imagine a plane full of smoke. Imagine an engine going clack, clack, clack. It sounds scary. Well I had a unique seat that day. I was sitting in 1D.”

Maximum engagement: 

• using the power of imagination to put the audience in the story. 
• give details to guide the imaginaton, speak to the senses

What method of engaging the audience does president Obama use here, and why is it effective?

["You're going to miss me when I'm gone"] "You can't say it, but you know it's true"

Engagement:

• Using humor to appease your audience (get them to like you = get them to listen to you)
• Know your audience and stay close/true to yourself, don't overdo it. 

What method of engaging the audience does Kelly McGonigal use here?

"I have a confession to make. But first I want you to make a little confession to me.”

Engagement:

• Engage the audience by asking a question
• Engage the audience by using build-up (creating suspense and letting it linger for a while)

Other options

Storytelling (Obama's 2004 DNC speech)

Provocative statements

• “I want to discuss with you this afternoon why you’re going to fail to have a great career.” (TED-talk Larry Smith)

Using a quotation 

• "Congressman John Lewis, before his passing, wrote: "Democracy is not a state. It is an act."" (Victory speech Kamala Harris)

Asking a rhetorical question

• “How do you explain when things don’t go as we assume? Or better, how do you explain when others are able to achieve things that seem to defy all of the assumptions?" (TED-talk Simon Sinek)

Effective openings

Opening with flair

Stating your purpose

Signposting

Effective openings - grab attention

> Speak to the audience's imagination

> Tell a joke

> Asking a question

> Using build-up to create suspense

> Use a quotation (explain relevance later)

> Tell an anecdote

> Use  a provocative statement

Stating your purpose

When you have your audience's attention, you can introduce yourself, give your credentials, and state the purpose of your talk. 

The manner of doing so depends on the formality of the speech. 

Formal

Informal

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen

Morning, everyone

I'm responsible for ..

I''m in charge of..

This morning I'd like to ..

What I want to do this morning...

..discuss..

..talk to you about ..

... report on..

tell you about ..

.. present ..

... show you..

If you have any questions, I'll be happy to answer them ..

Feel free to ask any questions as we go along

Perhaps we can leave questions until the end of the presentation

There will be plenty of time for questions at the end of the presentation

Formal

• Perhaps we should begin
• Good morning, ladies and gentlemen
• I'm responsible for..
• This morning I'd like to..
• discuss..
• report on..
• present..
• If you have any questions, I'll be happy to answer them
• Perhaps we can leave questions until the end of the presentation

Informal

• Let's get started
• Morning, everyone
• I'm in charge  of..
• What I want to do this morning..
• talk to you about..
• tell you about ..
• show you..
• Feel free to ask any questions you like as we go along
• Don't worry, there'll be plenty of time left over for questions at the end. 

Assignment

Do assignment T1 from the workbook. 

Stating your purpose

"... talk to you about..'." is quite vague, and there is probably a better verb to describe your intention:

reporting on / taking a look at / giving an overview of. 

filling you in on.. / making observations..  / highlight

putting into perspective / discuss in depth / bringing you up to date 

Keep in mind that your purpose may be multi-layered!

Signposting

You can use set expressions to indicate when you move on from one point to the next and why.

to go back / to recap

to move on / to expand on

to conclude / to summarize 

to elaborate on / to give an example of 

Drag the function to the correct verb

to turn to

to move on

to expand on

to go back to

to recap

to elaborate on

changing direction

making your next point

giving a wider perspective

referring to an earlier point

repeating the main points

doing a deeper analysis

Assignment

Prepare a 3-minute presentation in English (workbook).

Write an introduction for your presentation. Focus on grabbing the audience's attention and stating your purpose.

To recap, what should you do in the first stage of your presentation, and why?

To recap, what should you do after you have established a connection with your audience?

To recap, what kind of words can you use to signal where you are in your speech?