Task 2. Read the presentation, paying special attention to the structure of the presentation.

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I'm Julia Wilhelmsen from the Research and Development Department of Saeco Magic Corporation. I'm going to be talking this morning about a new product which we are planning to launch in two months' time; it’s called Cherry Juice and it’s a cherry-flavored drink.

Well, I'll start with the background to the product launch; and then move on to a description of the product itself; finally, I'm going to list some of the main selling points that we should emphasize in the advertising and sales campaign. I think if you don't mind, we'll leave questions to the end.                            

Firstly, as you all know, we have had a gap in our soft-drink product range for the last three years and I think we all agreed that there is a room on the market for a completely new cherry-flavored drink. Secondly, the market research indicated that more and more consumers are using soft drinks as mixers with alcohol so, in other words, the market itself has expanded.

This brings me to my next point, which is that we have a rathernew customer-profile in mind; I must emphasize that this product is aimed at the young-professional, high-income market. At this point we must consider the importance of packaging and design, so we have completely revamped the container itself as well as the label and slogan. The more sophisticated packaging means a high unit cost, and this may be a problem in the selling area, but we'll have a chance to discuss that aspect later, so to go back to my earlier point, this is a totally new concept as far as Saeco Magic Corporation are concerned; as you see we are using both the new-size glass bottle and the miniature metal cans. Finally, let's look at the major advantages of the product. In spite of the higher price it will compete well with existing brands; the design is more modern than any of the current rival products, and incidentally the flavor is more natural and it's low calorie, too.

Just before closing, I'd like to summarize my main points again. We haveCherry Juice, a new design concept, aimed at a relatively new age and income group. It can be used on its own and as a mixerin alcohol-based drinks and cocktails. It comes in both bottle and can that means a slightly higher selling price, but the improved flavor and the package design give us a real advantage in today’s market. That’s all I have to say for the moment. Thank you for your attention. Now if there are any questions I’ll be happy to answer them.

Task 3. Read the presentation and say if these points are true or false.

1. Mrs. Wilhelmsen is from the Marketing Department of Saeco Magic Corporation.

2. Our company is planning to launch the product next week.

3. The new product is a cherry-flavored drink.

4. Saeco Magic Corporation has not produced any drinks for two years.

5. Everyone thinks there is a gap in the market.

6. Market studies prove that the market is shrinking.

7. We are aiming at a new type of a consumer.

8. The container design is unchanged.

9. The design of the packaging will mean that the product is cheaper.

10. The drink comes in both bottles and cans.

11. The calorie-content of the drink is relatively low.

 

Task 4. Put the following phrases in order and construct a presentation.

 

1. Before I finish, I¢d like to run through the main points again.

2. I'll begin with …, and then go on to … and I'll end with …

3. In conclusion, I’d like to say…

4. I want to emphasize…

5. Good afternoon.

6. That brings me to the end of my presentation.

7. I’d like to talk about…

8. This brings me to the earlier point…

9. Let me introduce myself. I'm … from …

10. Fell free to interrupt if you have any questions.

11. Thank you for your attention.

12.  First of all…Next…

13.  I’d like now to turn to…

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

15.  At this point we have to bear in mind…

Unit 6. Presentation techniques

Introductions

How you begin your presentation depends on how formal the situation is. Most audiences prefer a relatively informal approach. Below you will find two alternative ways of introducing yourself and the subject of your presentation - one fairly formal, the other more friendly.

 

Fairly formal	More friendly
Erm, perhaps we should begin.	OK, let's get started.
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.	Morning, everyone.
On behalf of..., may I welcome you to...	Thanks for coming.
My name's...	I'm...
For those who don't know me yet,...	As you know...
I'm responsible for...	I'm in charge of...
This morning I'd like to...	What I want to do this morning is...
discuss...	talk to you about...
report on...	tell you about...
and present...	and show you...
If you have any questions you'd like to ask, I'll be happy to answer them.	Feel free to ask any questions as we go along.

 

Task 1. Choose the phrase in the right column, which is equivalent to that on the left:

 

Erm, perhaps we should begin.	As you know… OK, let’s get started I’m in charge of…
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.	Morning, everyone. I’m… And show you…
On behalf of..., may I welcome you to...	Talk to you about… Tanks for coming. What I want to do this morning is…
My name's...	I’m in charge of…. Morning, everyone I’m…
For those of you who don't know me yet...	As you know OK, let’s get started Tell you about…
I am responsible for...	OK, let’s get started Tell you about… I’m in charge of…
This morning I'd like to...	Talk to you about… Thanks for coming. What I want to do this morning is…
discuss…	And show you… Talk to you about… Thanks for coming.
report on…	OK, let’s get started Tell you about… I’m in charge of…
and present…	And show you… Talk to you about… Thanks for coming.

Effective Openings

Communications experts are all agreed that the first three minutes of a presentation are the most important. They talk about 'hooks' - simple techniques for getting the immediate attention of the audience. A good start makes you feel more confident. Here's how the experts suggest you 'hook' your audience:
1. Give them a problem to think about.
2. Give them some amazing facts.
3. Give them a story or personal anecdote.

PROBLEM TECHNIQUE

Suppose.....
How would you......?
Have you ever wondered why it is that......?
Well, if I could show you.............. would you be interested?
How many people here this morning / afternoon / evening......?
Well, imagine................... Do you think that's possible?

AMAZING FACTS TECHNIQUE

Did you know that.......?
According to the latest study,.......
Statistics shows  that.......
I read somewhere the other day that.......

STORY / ANECDOTE TECHNIQUE

You know,.......
When I think about.........
I'm reminded of........
Have you ever been in the situation where.......
I remember when........
It turned out.......

 

Task 1. Look at the presentation openings below and put them under three headings:

Problems

Amazing facts

Stories

1. Did you know that Japanese companies spend four times more on entertaining clients in a year than the entire GDP of Bulgaria? 40 billion dollars, to be precise. You know, that's twice Colombia's total foreign debt. You could buy General Motors for the same money.

 

2. Suppose your advertising budget will be cut by 99% tomorrow.

How would you go about promoting your product?

 

3. According to the latest study, by 2050 only one in every four people in Western Europe will be going to work. And two will be old age pensioners.

 

4. You know, R&D is 90% luck. When I think about creativity, I’m reminded of the man who invented the microwave oven. He spent years messing around with radar transmitters, then noticed the chocolate in his pocket was starting to melt!

 

5. Statistics shows that in the last ten years more people have legally emigrated to the U.S. than to the rest of the world put together - about half a million of them a year, in fact. Now, over ten years, that's roughly equivalent to the population of Greece.

 

6. Have you ever wondered why it is that Americans are easier to sell to than Europeans? And why nine out of ten sales gurus are American? You have? Well, if I could show you what stops Europeans buying, would you be interested?

 

7. I read somewhere the other day that the world's highest paid executive works for Disney and gets $230 million a year. Now that's about $2000 a minute. That means he's currently making more money than Volkswagen.

 

8. How many people here this morning hate going to meetings? Just about everybody, right? Well, imagine a company where there were never any meetings and everything ran smoothly. Do you think that’s possible?

 

9. Have you ever been in the situation where you've had to negotiate with the Japanese? I remember when I was working in Nagoya and everybody had told me the Japanese don't like saying "no". So in meetings I just kept saying "yeah" to everything and they hated it. It turned out "yeah" sounds like "no" in Japanese!