Presentation in English | Business English Presentation

BEP 101c – Introducing a Presentation in English

A2, Business English, Presentation in English / September 14, 2014

In this Business English Pod lesson, we’re going to learn how to introduce a presentation in English.

And if you think this topic sounds familiar, you’re right! This lesson is the start of a new series where we’ll take a fresh look at some of our older lessons. We’re going to keep the original dialog and record new explanations and practices with the aim of making these lessons more accessible to some of our lower level learners.

In the dialog you’re going to hear a presenter named Claude. Claude is presenting an “analysis” of sales data. When we talk about “analysis” or use the verb “analyze”, we’re talking about looking closely at something to understand it. So Claude is looking closely at sales information and explaining what he sees to a group of managers.

Listening Questions

1. At the beginning of the presentation, what language does Claude use to sound friendly?
2. What is Claude’s job?
3. What does Claude “hope to” do?
4. What is the “final” part of the presentation going to be?

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BEP 246 – Product Presentations in English (2)

Business English, Presentation in English, Sales English / February 16, 2014

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on giving a product presentation in English.

There’s no better way to show off a new product than talking to a group of customers directly. You can teach them about the product and gently persuade them that they need it. And you can adapt your presentation for specific audiences. Whether you’re at a trade show, a corporate event, a conference, or a customer’s office, you can learn to work the crowd in front of you.

Working the crowd during a product presentation is probably familiar to anyone who works in sales and marketing. But the techniques involved are useful for anyone in a company who has to talk about products or deliver presentations. In this lesson, we’ll cover many of these useful techniques, including relating changes to customer feedback, highlighting user benefits, and demonstrating a feature. We’ll also look at anticipating concerns and encouraging questions from the audience.

In the dialog, we’ll rejoin Jenny, who’s presenting a new software upgrade to a group of customers at a trade conference. She’ll also be joined by Tony, who works for a partner company called PaySys. Together, Jenny and Tony are explaining how their products work together.

Listening Questions

1. What does Tony say customers have asked for?
2. Tony mentions a few benefits of the recent product changes. What are they?
3. What does Jenny think that some people might be concerned about?

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BEP 245 – Product Presentations in English (1)

Business English, Presentation in English, Sales English / February 8, 2014

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on giving a product presentation in English.

Okay, so imagine your company has just launched a brand new product, or a new and improved version of an existing one. Now it’s time to get the word out and show the world what this new product is all about. And how do we do that? Well, nothing beats a great product presentation. You can go to the customer directly and show off the item, talk about its features, and demonstrate how it works.

So how can we make sure our product presentations are effective? How can we talk to our customers in ways they understand? Fortunately, there are several key techniques you can learn to deliver a great product presentation. In this lesson, we’ll cover many of these techniques, including presenting the current situation, relating features to audience needs, and giving an overview of features. We’ll also look at how to call attention to something on-screen and deal with technical issues, which can mess up any well-planned presentation.

In the dialog, we’ll hear Jenny, who’s at a trade conference representing her company, ProBooks. They’ve just launched a new upgrade called ProBooks Fusion, and Jenny’s explaining what it’s all about to an audience of existing customers.

Listening Questions

1. What is the key concept behind the most recent ProBooks upgrade?
2. What feature of the software does Jenny want to demonstrate?
3. What is Jenny’s solution to the technical problem?

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BEP 233 – English for Conferences 1: Opening Presentation

Business English, Communication, Presentation in English / June 23, 2013

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on hosting a conference in English.

If you’ve ever had to play host, for a conference, a meeting, a fundraiser, or any other type of event, you know it’s a lot of work. There’s months of planning and preparation, all for a single day or single weekend. And you want things to be perfect. You want the attendees to have a fabulous time. You want no problems or glitches.

Of course, it rarely works out that way. There are always problems to solve, but as the host, you can’t lose your cool. You’re the face of the event, and you’ve got to smile and make sure everyone has a great time. So, how can you do that?

Today we’ll look at some of the techniques you need to be a great host. In particular, we’ll focus on giving an opening address to kick off a conference or other event. We will learn how to officially welcome people, introduce the theme, outline goals and events, and introduce a speaker.

In the dialog, you’ll hear the official start to a conference that has brought together a company’s HR personnel from throughout the American midwest. The opening address is being delivered by Amy, the company’s VP of Human Resources in Chicago. You will hear the techniques Amy uses as host of the conference.

Listening Questions

1. What is the first goal of the conference that Amy mentions?
2. What are some of the events in Day 1 of the conference?
3. What kind of information does Amy give about the keynote speaker?

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BEP 230 – Presenting in English: Freestyle Q&A (2)

Business English, Communication, Presentation in English / May 5, 2013

In today’s Business English lesson, we continue our look at how to handle questions during your business English presentation.

Have you ever delivered a presentation to a quiet and happy audience that accepts everything you say and applauds at the end? Probably not. It doesn’t matter whether you’re presenting to a possible client, at a staff meeting, to a group of senior executives, or during a professional development event. Your audience will likely ask you questions throughout your presentation.

No matter how well you prepare, you’re going to have to think on your feet. That means you’ll have to step outside what you’ve rehearsed and deal with the questions as they come. You might know the answer, but then again you might not. The question might be about something you planned to talk about, but it might not. Your presentation will succeed or fail not just on how pretty your PowerPoint slides are, but on how well you handle the audience and their questions. And that’s what we’re looking at in this lesson.

The techniques we’ll hear today include clarifying a question, using a question to jump ahead in your presentation, and evading a difficult question. We’ll also learn how to separate multiple questions into parts as well as how to admit we don’t know the answer to a question.

In the dialog, we rejoin the publishing company where Amy is giving a presentation to senior executives, including Brenda and Dennis. Amy is explaining a potential overseas partnership with two Korean companies. Brenda and Dennis are asking her plenty of tough questions.

Listening Questions

1. What exactly is Brenda worried about at the start of the dialog?
2. How does Amy respond to Dennis’s question about licensing rights and terms?
3. Which question does Amy say she doesn’t have enough information to answer?

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