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Today we look at some of the language used during internal presentations.
To start off this episode, I’ve asked some of my colleagues what tips they might have for making a good introduction. Following that, we have the main dialog and then the debrief. So here’s me putting me colleagues right on the spot…

Clayton: Okay, we’re talking about presentations, and in particular introductions to presentations. Jeff, do you have any guidelines you use when you’re writing, preparing or actually doing an introduction. Is there something you always keep in mind, and say, “Well this is what I always do and must do?”
 Jeff: Well,in English “elevator pitch”   – which is like a summary of a proposal or idea, which takes maybe no more than 10 to 15 seconds to explain.The idea is that it’s something short enough that you can actually give it to someone in an elevator, just in that very brief period of time when you actually have their attention.
Now I think when you’re beginning a presentation, in some ways you’re in the same situation: You may be planning to give a very long speech – it could last 30 to 45 minutes – but you’ve only got that first minute or so to convince people that they should be listening to what you’re going to say. So you’ve got to give them some good reasons to listen to everything else that is coming up – give them an idea of what you’re going to say and why they should be listening.
Clayton: Do you have a formula Peter? I do.
Peter: Er, well, please tell me! Let me get my pen!
Clayton: Well I got this formula from a certain school a long time ago. It’s
pretty good. It’s has all the elements I think should be in every presentation –
whether it’s formal or informal.
Peter: Well tell us!
Clayton: Your name - well first of all a greeting – you have to say …
Peter: I think you should always start with a Thank you!
Clayton: Or Welcome or Hello.
Peter: I think Thank you.
Jeff: Or Hello.
Peter: Thank you and welcome.
Clayton: Well why don’t we put them all together, “Hello, thank you and
welcome to what-do-you-call-it.”
Jeff: You can put them all together.

Clayton: Put them all together – one package. And then a name – I think it’s
kind of rude not to tell people exactly who you are and your title or what your
job is and why you are qualified to speak on the subject.
Peter: And that’s a good point – you know a lot of internal presentations these
days are done over telephone conference or video conference and you’ve got
people from different international locations. They might of heard your name but
they might not know your face. And so when you get up to speak, even within
your company and even maybe your division or your department – it is, as you
say good manners, but it is also important (to identify yourself).
Clayton: Yeah, I think a lot of listeners to these podcasts – they themselves are
very accomplished speakers in their own language – and so I’m sure they know
how to make a speech, or presentation, but hopefully though, this podcast will
give these speakers, and others, the ideas of the types of language we use in
presentations, and in particular introductions in this particular podcast.

Dialog
Perry: Okay, everybody, let’s all
take a seat and get things started.
We have a long day ahead of us,
and we need to keep to the
schedule… So let’s see how our
videoconference line is working.
Hello Sydney and New York! Can
both of you all hear and see us ok?
Sydney: Yes, Perry, we have our
whole sales group here.
Everything is working ok, and
we’re ready when you are.
New York: Loud and clear here in
New York too, Perry.
Perry: OK then…..leading off this morning is Claude Dautry from the consumer
products division, who will be presenting some of the latest sales figures and
trends for our product lines in this very key sector. Claude…if you’re
ready……please take it away.
Claude: Thank you, Perry…. And Good morning everybody. A warm welcome
from our Paris office, whether you are here in person – or here via video from
Sydney or New York. For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Claude Dautry,
senior sales analyst from our Consumer Products Division, and I’ll be presenting
our analysis of recent sales data. We will then examine some important trends
and conclusions we can make about the growth of our product lines. After that,
we plan to look at some forecasts and proposed sales strategies to adjust to the
trends we see developing.
During this kickoff meeting, we hope to arrive at some recommendations to
forward to senior management, before their next shareholder meeting. (pause)
And finally, we will open it up to any questions you might have about sales in
general, whether it concerns the EU, the Americas or the Asia-Pacific region. I
estimate my prepared remarks will cover about 30 minutes, and the next 30
minutes will be dedicated to answering your questions. Hopefully, you’ve all
received the handout material I sent, but I’ll also be showing the charts in
PowerPoint, in case you don’t have your handouts with you. So, let’s take a look
at our first topic, which– uh yes, you have a question?
Questioner: Yes, sorry to interrupt…but I was wondering if you planned to talk
about global marketing efforts and how they tie in to regional sales promotions.

Building up a spirit of teamwork in an internal meeting is very important,
especially during the introduction stage of a presentation. Personality plays a
part, but some simple language patterns help. Use pronouns such as: we, all,
us, our, ours, and everybody as much as possible. For example, when starting a
meeting, we can say:
 Well, why don’t we all get started.
 Let’s all take our seats, if we could.
 Is everybody ready to start?
 Ok, let’s kick this meeting off.
The introduction phase sets the tone and expectations of a meeting or
presentation. Although very often the presenter will introduce him or herself to
the audience, sometimes another person may introduce the speaker, as in our
example where the presenter was introduced by the chairperson of the
teleconference. A complete introduction for a presentation includes the following
parts:
A greeting
↓
your name and position
↓
the title and subject
↓
the objective of the presentation
↓
the main parts of your talk
↓
a mention of the visual aids that you will use
↓
the time you will take
↓
when you would like questions
↓
a reference to the audience
↓
and a link to the first section of your presentation
Not all presentation introductions will have every one of these elements, and not
all will follow this sequence. However, most proper introductions will use a
majority of these elements in some form, and in this general sequence.

Let’s start with some greetings:
 Good morning, everybody.
 Good afternoon, and welcome to the North American division.
 Welcome, all of you, to the Smith Center.
 I thank you all for coming this evening, to our first employee benefits review.
The name and position of the presenter usually follows. If the presenter is well
known amongst the audience, he may not even mention his own name. If most
of the people know the presenter, then he may precede his self-introduction with
“For those of you who don’t know me…”. However, when presenting in front of
large or widely separated departments, it is customary to introduce oneself with
not only one’s full name, but with a title and area of responsibility. This tells
audience members who you are, what your position is, and what sort of
knowledge or duties you have concerning the presentation subject. Let’s try
some names and titles:
 My name is _______, and I’m the HR manager for our UK operation.
 I’m ___________, and I’m a test engineer for the QC Department.
(Repeated with example names)
 My name is Alison Wright, and I’m the HR manager for our UK operation.
 I’m Chuck Yeager, and I’m a test engineer for the Quality Department.
When introducing one’s duties, or areas of knowledge, we usually use the words
“I am responsible for…”. Or, “I am in charge of…”. Let’s try some of these:
 I’m responsible for new employee training…
 I’m in charge of test data collection…
 I’m responsible for designing new electrical switches…
 I manage regional sales promotions in South America…
Now, try combining the previous phrases into complete introductory statements
that include name, title and area of responsibility: After the beep, introduce
yourself and state your responsibilities at your company. Then listen to an
example answer to compare. Of course, the details of everyone’s answer will be
a little different:

Example answer: Good morning everybody, my name is Alison Wright. I’m an
HR manager at our London division, and I’m responsible for new employee
training.
After the presenter introduces himself and his position, the subject of the
presentation is then usually stated, along with the purpose of the presentation.
A well-designed presentation will then include a guide to the rest of the talk.
The presenter will tell the audience what is to come, and what parts of the
presentation will be presented in which order. This is called signposting, like the
signs on street corners that tell a traveler where he is, and where he is going.
Signposting helps to focus the audience’s attention.
We’ll cover signposting in the next podcast.